Old Town
Dating from the 13th century, the imposing St Nicholas' Church (Niguliste kirik) was badly damaged by Soviet bombers in 1944 and a fire in the 1980s, but…
Must-see attractions in Tallinn
Tallinn
This sprawling ethnographic and architectural complex comprises 80 historic Estonian buildings, plucked from across the country and resurrected in…
Kadriorg
This futuristic, Finnish-designed, seven-storey building is a spectacular structure of limestone, glass and copper that integrates intelligently into the…
Old Town
Completed in 1404, this is the only surviving Gothic town hall in northern Europe. Inside, you can visit the Trade Hall (whose visitor book drips with…
Old Town
The Great Guild Hall (1410) is a wonderfully complete testament to the power of Tallinn's medieval trade guilds. Now a branch of the Estonian History…
Kadriorg
Kadriorg Palace, a baroque beauty built by Peter the Great between 1718 and 1736, houses a branch of the Art Museum of Estonia devoted to Dutch, German…
Kalamaja & Telliskivi
When this cavernous, triple-domed building was completed in 1917, its reinforced-concrete shell-frame construction was unique in the world. Resembling a…
Kalamaja & Telliskivi
Once literally on the wrong side of the tracks, this set of abandoned factory buildings is now Tallinn's most alternative shopping and entertainment…
Kadriorg
About 2km east of Old Town, this beautiful park’s ample acreage is Tallinn’s favourite patch of green. Together with the baroque Kadriorg Palace, its 70…
Old Town
In Tallinn all roads lead to Raekoja plats, the city's pulsing heart since markets began setting up here in the 11th century. One side is dominated by the…
Alexander Nevsky Orthodox Cathedral
Old Town
The positioning of this magnificent, onion-domed Russian Orthodox cathedral (completed in 1900) at the heart of the country's main administrative hub was…
Old Town
This stout, five-storey cannon tower was one of Tallinn’s most formidable defences when built in the 15th century. Its name (amusing to English ears) is…
Old Town
From 1549 until 1625, when its 159m steeple was struck by lightning and burnt down, this (now Baptist) church was one of the tallest buildings in the…
Tallinn
Boasting a broad collection of rare goat and sheep species, plus around 350 other varieties of feathered, furry and four-legged friends (including lions,…
Old Town
Tours exploring the 17th-century Swedish-built tunnels connecting the bastions that ring the town walls depart from the Kiek in de Kök tower. Over the…
Old Town
Perhaps Tallinn’s oldest building, St Catherine's Monastery was founded by Dominican monks in 1246. In its glory days it had its own brewery and hospital…
Kadriorg
Maarjamäe Palace, a neo-Gothic 19th-century extravagance built by a wealthy Russian, anchors this excellent cultural-historical complex, run by the…
City Centre
The Hotel Viru (1972) was not only Estonia’s first skyscraper, but literally the only place for tourists to stay in Tallinn at the time. Having all the…
Old Town
Running along the northwestern border of Old Town, the most photogenic stretch of Tallinn's remaining 1.9km of medieval walls connects nine towers,…
Kalamaja & Telliskivi
A sea fort built in the classicist style in 1840 as part of the defences of the Russian Empire, Patarei was subsequently used as a prison by the Estonian…
Old Town
The blue-and-gold clock on the facade of this striking 13th-century Gothic church is the oldest in Tallinn, dating from 1684. Inside are exquisite…
Pirita
Set on 1.2 sq km in the Pirita River valley and surrounded by lush conifer woodlands, these delightful gardens boast over 8000 species of plants,…
Kalamaja & Telliskivi
Resembling a cross between a nuclear bunker, a WWII sea-fort and some inscrutable temple to a vanished god, the Linnahall is in fact a covered concrete…
Kadriorg
This open-air amphitheatre is the site of Estonia’s quinquennial National Song Festival, assorted blockbuster rock concerts and other momentous events…
Kadriorg
The principal feature of the dispersed Estonian History Museum's Maarjamäe History Centre is the restored 19th-century Maarjamäe Palace, now a museum. An…
Kadriorg
Perched on the bluff next to Maarjamäe Palace, this large Soviet-era monument consists of an elegant bowed obelisk set amid a large crumbling concrete…
Pirita
Opened in time for the 1980 Olympics, this futuristic, 314m tower offers brilliant views from its 22nd floor (175m). Press a button and frosted glass…
Old Town
Tallinn's cathedral (now Lutheran, originally Catholic) was initially built by the Danes by at least 1233, although the current exterior dates mainly from…
Old Town
Tallinn’s City Museum is actually split over seven different sites. This location, its main branch, is set in a 14th-century merchant’s house and traces…
Vabamu Museum of Occupations and Freedom
Old Town
The permanent exhibition here, ‘Freedom Without Borders’, is divided into five sections examining the suffering of Estonians over five decades of…
Old Town
Nobody's too sure of the exact date it opened, but by 1422 this pharmacy was already onto its third owner, making it the oldest continually operating…
Pirita
Only the massively high Gothic stone walls remain of Pirita, completed in 1436 as the largest convent in Old Livonia. The rest was destroyed in 1577 by…
Old Town
Erich Carl Hugo Adamson, a towering figure of 20th-century art in Estonia, is celebrated in this reverent little museum in a historic house with which he…
Kadriorg
This handsome, two-storey weatherboard, the former kitchen for Kadriorg Palace, now displays a small but interesting assortment of paintings, porcelain…
Old Town
This state puppet-museum's collection is a wonderful introduction to the art of puppetry from many different cultures and eras. There's enough interactive…
Old Town
Formerly producing hushed dread in Tallinn's Soviet-era citizens, the KGB headquarters at Pagari 1 is now a historical site, and the Museum of Occupations…
Old Town
Old Thomas (Vana Toomas), Tallinn’s symbol and guardian, has been keeping watch from his perch on the town hall's weathervane since 1530, although his…
City Centre
With impressive contemporary architecture wedged between 19th-century brick warehouses, this development has transformed an outmoded (if historically very…
Old Town
Attached to the Great Coast Gate, this rotund 16th-century cannon tower once protected a major entrance to Old Town. It's now one half of the Estonian…
Pirita
Tallinn’s largest and most popular beach, Pirita is only 6km from the city. In summer, bronzed sun-lovers fill the sands and hang out in the laid-back…
