We had a 5 hour drive from Riga to Tallinn. We only made one stop, right after we crossed the border, in Parnu. This is on the Gulf of Lavonia and we visited the beach.

We went downtown. We started at a memorial to the constitution, and the Red Tower, then visited the beautiful little main street, Ruutli. We had an hour for lunch. I visited the Orthodox Church of Saint Catherine’s before returning to the van. I picked up a chicken sandwich at P11.

We arrived in Tallinn early afternoon. After checking in to the Park Inn Radisson, we met Signe back in the lobby for a walking tour of Old Town. It was raining but we got the layout of the area. The hotel was a 15 minute walk from the central square, Raekoja plats. I stayed in Old Town after the walk and spent several hours, having a quick dinner, then some excellent caramel cheesecake at Cafe Maiasmokk.

We had a tour the next morning with a local Estonian guide. It started off cloudy but we had clear blue skies later. We went through different areas of town, starting close to our hotel, walking through the Rotermann neighborhood. There are interesting merging of historic buildings with new architecture built on them or around them. Very unique.

We visited the flower market outside the city gates. We walked along Helleman Tower and walls to visit St. Catherine’s Passage and stopped to discuss the history of St. Catherine’s Convent. We saw the oldest clock in town, from the 14th c, on the wall of the Church of the Holy Ghost (or Spirit, I’ve seen both translations online). According to what I’ve read, the inscription around the clock says: “I strike time correctly for all, for the maidservant and for the manservant, for the master and for the mistress of the house.” I like this.

We visited the Russian embassy, right across from Cafe Maiasmokk. The sidewalk in front of the embassy has been blocked off since February 2022 when they started the war with Ukraine. I read some of the protest signs covering the fencing after buying some marzipan while the others on the tour had coffee in the cafe.

We went to Long Leg Gate and walked up “Long Leg”, or Pikk tänav, the road to upper town. This road was limited to horses and carriages for the nobility and clergy who lived in upper town.

At the top of the long leg is the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral of Tallinn. We were given some time to visit inside this lovely church. It was completed in 1900 when Estonia was part of the Russian empire. It was built just opposite Toompea Castle to “demonstrate Russian supremacy”. It is the primary cathedral of the Estonian Orthodox Church.

Part of the castle now serves at the parliament and we stopped to discuss their function, including appointing the prime minister and chief justice of the Supreme Court, and electing the president. We visited the gardens in back. 

We went to Patkuli viewing platform. This was packed with cruise passengers from the Princess ship docked in town. I visited again later that afternoon on my own and it was wonderfully empty. I got great photos and a video without 100s of other tourists in them.

We visited the Danish King’s Garden. Beautiful! More gorgeous views. We ended in Raekoja plats around noon. We were going to meet again in an hour to visit the Bastion Tunnels, so we all had lunch quickly. I joined Judy and Signe at Black Poodle for some great dumplings.

The Bastion Tunnels are part of the Kiek in the de Kok Fortifications Museum. We had Hannah, a great guide. The tour was about 80 minutes. The tunnels are from the 17th and 18th c, used to protect movement of men and supplies from the enemy. They were abandoned for more than a century. This is when legends began about the tunnels being haunted. There is a ghost! I saw it, too.

In the late 30s, they were converted to air raid shelters with sealed doors and new ventilation to protect from gas attacks. It was used for shelter during WWII. During the Soviet occupation, the shelters were upgraded with an independent electrical source and telephone lines, beds, storage, food; they were preparing for a nuclear war.

We ended the tour walking through the Carved Stone Museum, with tombstones and other ruins from the area, to get to the exit. It was close to Saint Nicholas.

After the tour, I went back to the Danish King’s Garden and spent several hours in the Fortifications Museum. I walked along the walls, visiting all the towers, Kiek in the Kok, built in 1483, Neitsitorn or Maiden Tower, built in 1373, Tallitorn or Marstal, built in 1380, and Varavatorn or Gate Tower, built in 1454. There are exhibits in multiple floors of all the towers. Kiek in the Kok, or “peek into the kitchen”, is the tallest tower and the largest artillery tower in the Baltics. There are exhibits about weapons of war, the Black Heads,  and ceremonial guards in the tower. Tallitorn was a dungeon and lookout tower.

I returned to the Patkuli viewing platform then walked out to the KGB Cells, 10€. But I bought the Tallinn Card here (online) since I had another day in Tallinn and knew I wanted to visit multiple sites on Saturday, so I had free entry. A one-day card cost 42€ but I visited enough museums in 24 hours to save about 40€.

The KGB Cells is in the basement of an old apartment building on Pagari Street. The name “Pagari” was “feared across Soviet Estonia”. It served as the headquarters of the KGB in Estonia and as a pre-trial prison. There is a lot of great information in the old cells with a new permanent exhibit, “Locked Up Stories: The KGB in Estonia”. From the laws they used to lock people up for the most minor infractions, stories from those imprisoned here, torture, solitary confinement cells, and much more. Interesting and very depressing.

I met the group at Peppersack for dinner. They have a “dueling” show at 2000. Average food.

The next day I was busy! There was a lot I wanted to see in town. Most of the museums didn’t open until 1000 but I started earlier because I had a half hour walk to the Maritime Museum at Seaplane Harbor (20€) on Tallinn Bay. I got there just as they opened, using my Tallinn Card for free entry. You enter on the second floor. I was reading the exhibits as I went towards the museum’s main attraction, the Lembit submarine, on the other side of the u-shaped walkway. But I saw a number of people behind me walking directly there, and thought, probably a pretty good idea. A submarine has limited room. So I walked all the way around to visit the Lembit first, and it does have a single entrance/exit, a narrow stair down to a round door and another steep stair. I’ve been on another submarine, somewhere, can’t remember where or when, but it was interesting to see the Lembit and I was glad for the visit. After walking the length of the ship and exiting, I went back to the start to see the interesting ice ships, kayaks and other vessels designed for the harsh winter weather.  Great exhibits throughout the museum. I continued on the first floor reading about the seaplane harbor building, designed specifically to build and maintain seaplanes.

The Maritime Museum also has exhibits in the Fat Margaret Tower. I had passed this tower and gate on the walk so went back for a visit. There is another entry fee (15€), but free with the Tallinn Card. The gate is from the 14th c. There is a Viking ship in the museum and more information on the shipping and fishing industry in the tower.

I returned to Old Town, stopping in Odessa for lunch. I visited the Estonian History Museum in the Guild Hall. (14€, free with Tallinn Card). The building is beautiful and there is a Hanseatic League exhibit about the trading routes. There is also a Chamber of the Legends, with beautiful artifacts, weapons, guild medallions, and much more. There is a huge coin collection upstairs.

The Tallinn card showed an offer for free marzipan at Cafe Maiasmokk. So I stopped over after visiting the Guild Hall.

Then Helleman Tower and walls (4€, free with Tallinn Card) are definitely worth a visit. There are good views from the tower.

The Tallinn Town Hall (7€, free with Tallinn Card) is the only surviving Gothic town hall in northern Europe. It is over 700 years old. The tower wasn’t added until the 17th c. There are multiple floors to visit, including the cellar. I visited the Citizen’s Hall, with beautiful tapestries and painted columns, and the Council Chamber with great wood carvings. The Town Hall tower is also included in the Tallinn Card, only open from June to September. Lots and lots of stairs.

Saint Nicholas Church and Niguliste Museum (15€, free with Tallinn Card) has a beautiful altar and there are some great paintings in the nave. The Gothic church is from the 13th c. They no longer hold regular church services. There is an elevator to the tower. I took the elevator to the 4th floor then walked down to see each floor. There are amazing views from the 4th floor of all of Tallinn. There are exhibits on each floor.

Every weekend @1600 there are organ recitals. On the main floor, is the 15th c. painting “Danse Macabre”, by Bernt Notke. I read it is only a partial piece of the painting that was originally 30 meters wide.

I made the Vabamu Museum of Occupations and Freedom (15€, free with Tallinn Card) my last visit of the day. The Tallinn card showed remaining time, very useful, and I only had 10 minutes left on the Tallinn Card when I arrived. It was also only an hour until the museum closed but still worth the visit. There are five rooms in the “Freedom without Borders” exhibit, Inhumanity, Exile, Soviet Estonia, Recovery, and Freedom. I headed back to Old Town and stopped at Nok Nok for dinner.

I left the next morning on the ferry for Helsinki. Tallinn is beautiful and there is so much to see. Highly recommend a visit.

Recommendations:

• Old Town
• Raekoja plats
• Guild Hall/Estonian History Museum
• Bastion Tunnels and Fortifications Museum
• Patkuli Viewing Platform
• Danish King’s Garden
• Saint Nicholas Church and Niguliste Museum
• Maritime Museum
• Helleman Tower
• KGB Cells
• Museum of Occupations and Freedom
• Town Hall
• Toompea Castle
• Alexander Nevsky Cathedral

Restaurants

• P11 chicken sandwich