Medieval charm
Earlier this year my sister and I spent a weekend in the Estonian capital, hoping for beautiful snowy views and warm drinks in cosy cafes. We were not disappointed and its romantic, medieval charm made us wish we could stay for longer.
We flew to Tallinn direct from London Stansted with flights I found on Skyscanner for around £50 return and stayed for two nights in comfortable Hotel Bern.
Two days in Tallinn is enough time to get a feel for the city, whether you plan on seeing Tallinn as part of an extended trip around Europe or just as a weekend away. It’s a city in which you can make of it what you wish: there are plenty of museums to visit, as well as parks and cool urban districts – we decided to ditch the map and just explore at our own pace, wandering the Old Town and Telliskivi districts at leisure. We also found some great vegan cafes and restaurants which I wrote about in this post!
Here are highlights from to spend two days in Tallinn in Winter.
Wander the Old Town
We arrived in Tallinn at around lunchtime on our first day in Tallinn and spent the afternoon exploring the main attraction of the city: the fairytale like Old Town!
This area of the city is by far the most romantic, and luckily for us the Christmas Tree was still standing tall in the Square. This is the best place to leave the map behind and simply stroll around, stumbling upon hidden gems. The buildings in this area are beautiful, with spires and wonky roofs jutting out here, there and everywhere.
Spend at least half a day exploring the little streets, stopping to browse in the shops or for a bite to eat in one of the many cafes or restaurants. Be sure to come back in the evening as when the lights are on this area of the city seems simply wonderful!
The Old Town Square
The centre of the action is the square, in which the most beautiful Christmas Tree was stood on our visit! A Christmas market takes place over the festive period (unfortunately by mid-January we had missed it). The Square is also home to the Old Town Hall, which has stood tall in the Square for over 600 years.
Alexander Nevsky Cathedral
An impressive structure built in 1900, this Russian Orthodox Church is simply mesmerising to look at and sits atop Toompea Hill proudly. The inside is home to impressive mosaics and 11 church bells, the largest weighing 15 tonnes.
St Olaf’s Church
This church is the city’s biggest medieval structure and lightening has been known to strike it ten times – it’s burnt to the ground on three occasions! There are impressive views from the tower apparently – however the viewing platform was closed for Winter when we visited so we weren’t able to go up.
Old Town Wall
Tallinn’s defensive walls date back to the 1200s, when they were erected to protect the city from invaders. There are towers at various sections of the wall, two of which are at the Viru Square (pictured above) and many of which are still in near perfect condition today. In fact, this is one of Europe’s best-preserved fortifications. Parts of the Wall are open to the public.
Find the best views of Tallinn in Winter
I’m a sucker for a skyline photo when I visit a new city, so my sister and I made it a priority to try to find the best views in Tallinn while we were there.
Unfortunately, due to visiting in Winter, many of the city’s towers were closed to the public for safety reasons – with the snow and high winds, there’s a chance of injury if you’re walking up uncovered, rickety staircases outdoors. However, we managed to find beautiful views at the places listed below, all of which can be found easily on Google Maps.
Patkuli Viewing Platform
This square offers a beautiful view of the Old Town featuring the Old Wall and St Olaf’s Church.
Kohtuotsa Viewing Platform
Passing the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral, you reach this viewing platform offers a beautiful vista of the Old Town, with its many church spires and rooftops jutting out into the sky.
Estonian Maritime museum
Atop this museum you can see views of the more industrial side of the city. The objects inside the museum are worth a look too!
Lounge 24 Bar
Great cocktails and a stunning view of the city’s skyline – that’s where the cover photo for this blog post was taken! I recommend visiting at sunset.
Other sites you can visit for amazing views are:
- Tallinn TV Tower – The TV Tower is situated a little out of the city; we didn’t visit, however it promises great views of Tallinn
- The Old Town Hall Viewing Tower – This was closed when we visited in January but offers some of the best views of the city
- St Olaf’s Church and Viewing Tower – Again, this was closed when we visited, but promises beautiful views of the Old Town.
Visit the Telliskivi District and Creative City
Before visiting Tallinn, we had no knowledge of this place but visited because the friendly receptionist at Hotel Bern recommended it to us!
Telliskivi is an urban district close to the train station which is like a miniature city in itself. The buildings are clad in wood and look like something from the Wild West! It’s a pleasant neighbourhood to wander simply to take photos.
The Creative City is a must on your visit to Tallinn. It’s an initiative where if you can think it, you can do it: there’s a graffiti wall by the train tracks, street art covering the buildings and cafés, and restaurants and small businesses are built into shipping containers and even an old plane!
It was a shame that some of the businesses were closed due to the time of year; I imagine Telliskivi’s Creative City is hugely popular in the summer months. Still, it was a cool place to spend a morning in Tallinn and I would recommend it in Winter too – if only for the street art!
Where to stay in Tallinn
My sister and I stayed at Hotel Bern for our two days in Tallinn. It was a the perfect retreat from the cold, being located in the city centre. Read my review of it in this post, and you can book through booking.com here. Otherwise, browse the options in the widget below, or why not try AirBnB?
With only two days in Tallinn (which was actually only really 1.5 days as it was split over a weekend), we struggled to pack loads into our visit. However, Tallinn is an easily walkable city so you can cover a lot of ground in a short time. If you’re in Tallinn for longer, consider visiting the Toompea Castle, one of the many museums in the city, or why not take a day trip to Helsinki?
Did you enjoy my post on spending two days in Tallinn? How did you visit the city? Did you go in Winter?
Thanks for reading and happy travels!
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2 comments
Hi Abbi! Thank you for your wonderful blog. I plan on being in Tallin end of December. What kind of boots do you recommend?
Anything that can deal with the snow! I wore timbalands which were fine. Any sort of hiking/ snow boot would be fine, I don’t recommend like Chelsea boots etc cos they won’t be waterproof enough! Have a fabulous time ?