Tallinn Attractions - Tips for Cruise Travelers

Discover Tallinn attractions

Which Tallinn sights in Estonia can you discover on a short visit? We were in the Eastern Baltic States for the first time in the spring. Therefore, Baltic Sea places like Tallinn were particularly interesting for us. We were traveling on one Mini Cruise with the Tallink Silja Line. Of Helsinki In about two hours we take the ferry over Tallinn, which lies south to 80 kilometers. There we stay in the Tallink City Hotel *, just a few steps away from Tallinn's Old Town. We spend two nights there. We have two and a half days to see the sights in Tallinn, Estonia. Not enough to get to know all the attractions. However, with planning you can easily see the highlights of the city during this time. Here are our tips for cruisers who only have a short time to spend in Tallinn. Anda Galffy recommends Tallinn as a winter travel destination.

 

 

 

 

Tallinn attractions - tips for a day

If you only have one day to explore Estonia's capital, we recommend a walk through the old town. From the ferry terminal it is a few minutes by taxi to Viru street. We paid 5,50 Euro (June 2015) for the trip. From there you can explore the old town on foot. Most Tallinn sights in the city center are within the pedestrian area. Viru road leads past a row of flower stalls and restaurants through the Mud Gate into the old town to the junction with Vene street. There are two restaurants, the Olde Hansa and the Peppersack Restaurant, both reminiscent of the times of the Hanseatic League. Anyone who wants to eat medieval food will be served meals from the times in these restaurants, before there were potatoes or tomatoes in Europe.

 

 

Saint Nicholai Church and Alexander Nevsky Cathedral

However, we will give it to us and continue our walk in the direction of St. Nicholai Church, where today is the St. Nicholas Museum, in which three works of art from Estonia are exhibited from the Middle Ages. Only a few hundred meters up the hill is the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral, Estonia's main Russian Orthodox cathedral. If you are interested in the city's defenses, the bastions and the tunnels under the Domberg, you can make a detour to the cannon tower "Kiek in de Kök". He owes his name to the fact that the guards who served here joked that they could look into the kitchens of the houses below Domberg.

 

 

The town hall square

From there we go back to Kullassepa street, not without a quick stop in the visitor center on the Niguliste street. At the Town Hall Square (Raekoja Plats) we admire Northern Europe's only gothic town hall. This is used today for state receptions. Here kings and heads of state were guests. In July and August you can visit the town hall. Then the assembly halls, the vaults, wood carvings and the city's art treasures are open to the public. We had to skip it, because we were there a month early. Around the Town Hall Square are restaurants, from which one can watch the bustle on the Town Hall Square.

 

 

Tallinn sights - St. Katharinengasse

Not far from the Town Hall Square is the St. Katharinengasse, one of those streets in Tallinn, where you can feel the ambience of the city particularly well. Along this alley are workshops of glassblowers, weavers or potters, who still work with methods from the Middle Ages. If you want, you can watch the craftsmen at work.

Eat Italian

We go back via Viru street and finish our city tour through the old town in the restaurant Al Bastione. There we settle down in the courtyard and enjoy a pizza and an Armenian shashlik at moderate prices. A perfect end after a day, that could not be more beautiful.

 

 

Tallinn for Cruise Travelers - Tips for a second day

If you have two days to spend in Tallinn, you can choose this Hop-on hop-off tours* decide. The buses stop directly in front of the cruise terminal or - in the city - on Mere puiestee street just before the intersection with Vana-Viru street. For 21 dollars (as of June 2015) you can explore Tallinn's sights for 24 hours on the routes served by the buses. You can get in and out as often as you want.

 

 

For the second day, we recommend the Open Air Museum Line (60 minutes), which runs along the coast and offers views of Tallinn and the harbor. On the way you can stop off at the Estonian Open Air Museum, where you can get an insight into rural life in Estonia between the 18th and 20th centuries. Alternatively, you can take the Historic Center and Old Town Tour (50 minutes), which goes to Kadriorg Park. Peter the Great's castle is located there. He had it built in Tallinn for his wife Catherine I. Today it houses the art section of the Estonian Art Museum, which is worth a visit in itself.

 

 

Maritime Museum of Estonia

On the way, you will also pass the Estonian Maritime Museum, which is housed in the Fat Margaret tower. The history of Estonia's seafaring is shown on four floors. These range from fishing equipment from the Stone Age to a wheelhouse for a trawler from the XNUMXs.

 

 

Our tip for everyone who has a second day in Tallinn: Tips for Tallinn Ryan O'Rourke has it on his blog (in English). It's best to choose one or two sights outside the old town and take a closer look. This is more beneficial than if you take the buses on all three tours, because the routes are repeated, so you only see some new things if you go on all three routes of the hop-on hop-off tours.

 

 

 

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Travel Arrangements:

Parking at the airport

Here you can reserve your parking space at the airport.

Getting to Tallinn attractions:

For example, book your journey here by flight, bus or train*. Arrival is possible by ferry or plane. There are also Flixbus connections from Munich or Berlin. Tallinn has an airport. Tram line 4 (stop near the terminal) takes 15 – 17 minutes to get to the city center. It operates daily from morning until around midnight for late arrivals. There is also a ferry port from which the ferry companies' ships leave for the ports on the Baltic Sea.

By ferry to Tallinn sights:

For example, compare this one Prices for ferries and departure ports*.

Car Rentals:

You can book a rental car here cheaply *

Tallinn accommodation:

Hotels in Tallinn* You can find it for example under this link.

Travel Guide:

Buy yours Tallinn Travel Guide* for example at Amazon.de.

If you purchase via a link marked *, we receive a commission, which we use to run this blog.

 

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Source: On-site research. We would like to thank the Tallink Silja Line for the invitation to this mini cruise Baltic Sea and the overnight stay in Tallink City Hotel in Tallinn *. However, our opinion remains our own.

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Text: © Copyright Monika Fuchs and TravelWorldOnline
Photos: © Copyright Monika Fuchs and TravelWorldOnline