Four of these six sights lie inside the Old Town and fit into one long day. Kadriorg and the Seaplane Harbour sit on opposite sides of the centre, so give each its own half day. The Tallinn Card gets you into Kiek in de Kök, Kadriorg Palace, Kumu, the Seaplane Harbour and, in its summer season, the Town Hall. Three paid sights in one day, such as Kiek in de Kök, the Seaplane Harbour and the TV Tower, already cost more than the 24-hour card at €45.
1Town Hall Square and the Gothic Town Hall
Photo: Margo Evardson / Pexels, Pexels License
The square at the heart of the lower town has been Tallinn's marketplace since the Middle Ages. Along its south side stands the Town Hall, which took its present Gothic form in 1404; Visit Tallinn describes it as the oldest town hall in northern Europe. Old Thomas, the watchman on top of the spire, is a copy of the 1530 original, and the Town Hall Pharmacy on the corner of the square was first recorded in 1422. Tallinn traces its Christmas tree on this square back to 1441, and from late November into early January the tree and the Christmas market fill the cobbles again. In summer café terraces take over much of the square.
Time
30 min to 1 h for the square and the Town Hall
Setting
Both
Best time
Early morning in summer, after dark in December
Getting there
Through the Viru Gate from the Viru tram and bus stops
Tip: The Town Hall and its tower open to visitors only from June to August. The rest of the year, enjoy the square from outside and look into the old pharmacy instead.
Town Hall, 1 June to 31 August: Monday to Thursday 11 am–6 pm, Friday to Sunday 11 am–4 pm; closed 23 and 24 June and 20 August. Adults €7. Tower in the same season daily 11 am–6 pm, €6.
Toompea rises abruptly above the lower town. On its summit Toompea Castle, where the Estonian flag flies from the Tall Hermann tower, faces Alexander Nevsky Cathedral, built between 1894 and 1900 when Estonia belonged to the Russian Empire; its onion domes still mark that era on the skyline. A few lanes away stands the older Lutheran Cathedral of St Mary, the church that gave the hill its name. From the Kohtuotsa and Patkuli platforms on the northern edge the view drops over the roofs of the lower town to the port.
Time
45 min to 1 h 30 min with the viewing platforms
Setting
Both
Best time
A clear day; the platforms are calmest early in the morning
Getting there
On foot from Town Hall Square, up Pikk jalg or Lühike jalg
Tip: Alexander Nevsky is a working Orthodox cathedral, so cover your shoulders, take off your hat and keep your voice down during services. Climb Pikk jalg, the "long leg", and come back down the stepped Lühike jalg, the "short leg", to see both of the old routes between the two towns.
Long stretches of Tallinn's medieval wall still stand, and its round towers with red conical roofs are the image most people take home. Kiek in de Kök, a massive 15th-century artillery tower on the slope of Toompea, owes its name to Low German for "peep into the kitchen": from its upper floors the guards could see into the houses below. Today it is the core of a fortifications museum that also takes in the Maiden Tower, a section of wall walk, the Carved Stone Museum and the tunnels dug under the Swedish-era bastions.
Time
1 to 2 h for the towers and tunnels
Setting
Both
Best time
Any season; most of the visit is indoors
Getting there
Komandandi tee 2, below Toompea near Freedom Square
Tip: Choose the ticket by what interests you: the four towers alone, or the tunnels with the Carved Stone Museum, cost less than the whole museum. On International Museum Day, 18 May, entry is free.
Whole museum (towers, Maiden Tower, wall walk, bastion tunnels) €16; four towers €12; bastion tunnels with the Carved Stone Museum €10. October to April Tuesday to Sunday, May to September daily, 11 am–6 pm.
At 123.7 metres, the spire of St Olaf's is the landmark you will keep steering by, visible from almost every corner of the Old Town. The church is named after the Norwegian king Olaf II and stands at the northern end of the lower town, close to the old sea gate. From April to October you can climb 258 steps inside the tower to an open platform about 60 metres up, with the whole Old Town, Toompea and the harbour laid out below.
Time
30 to 45 min for the climb and the view
Setting
Both
Best time
A clear, calm day between April and October
Getting there
Lai 50, a few minutes' walk north of Town Hall Square
Tip: The stairs are long, narrow and steep, so think twice with small children or a fear of heights. Opening hours and the ticket price are on the church's own page.
Peter the Great began Kadriorg Palace in 1718 as a summer residence for his wife Catherine, and the name, Estonian for "Catherine's valley", still honours her. The Baroque palace now holds the Kadriorg Art Museum, with Western European and Russian painting from the 16th to the 20th century. Around it lies a park of about 70 hectares with ponds, a flower garden and a Japanese garden, free and open at all hours; the office of the Estonian president stands beside the palace. At the far end of the park, Kumu, the main building of the Art Museum of Estonia, tells the story of Estonian art from the 18th century through the Soviet decades.
Time
2 to 4 h for the park and one or both museums
Setting
Both
Best time
Late spring to early autumn for the park; the museums in any season
Getting there
Tram T1 to the Kadriorg terminus
Tip: Do not plan Kadriorg for a Monday, when both museums are closed. On the last Wednesday of every month, admission to any branch of the Art Museum of Estonia, the palace and Kumu included, is €3.
Kadriorg Palace: adults €15; Tuesday and Thursday to Sunday 10 am–6 pm, Wednesday until 8 pm. Kumu: adults €16; Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday to Sunday 10 am–6 pm, Thursday until 8 pm. Both closed on Mondays.
The three concrete domes of the seaplane hangars went up in 1916 and 1917, when Tallinn was a naval base of the Russian Empire. Since 2012 they have housed the largest exhibition of the Estonian Maritime Museum. Under the domes you can walk through the submarine Lembit, built in Britain for the Estonian navy in the 1930s, and look up at a replica of a British seaplane hanging from the roof. Outside at the quay lie the steam icebreaker Suur Tõll, built in 1914, and the ship Valvas.
Time
2 to 3 h with the ships
Setting
Both
Best time
A wet or windy day, or any day with children
Getting there
Bus 73 from Viru, or a walk through Kalamaja
Tip: Children aged 8 and under get in free, which makes this a good choice for families. If you only want the ships, the museum-ship ticket covers Suur Tõll and Valvas without the hangar.
Combined adult ticket (hangar, Suur Tõll and Valvas) €22; museum ships only €12. October to April Tuesday to Sunday 10 am–6 pm, May to September daily 10 am–7 pm.
