View from Toompea over the Old City and surrounding parks
Alexander Nevsky Cathedral
Medieval Old Town. Excellently preserved, built in the 15-17th centuries. This compact area is best explored on foot. �
Viru Gate, (Entrance to Viru Street). This section of town is known as All-Linn or "Lower Town", as it's where the merchants and artisans of old Tallinn lived. Today, Viru is still Tallinn's trendiest shopping street and the entire All-Linn is the busiest (and most touristy) bit of Tallinn. �
Raekoja Plats. The square in the heart of the Old City, ringed with cafes and restaurants. �
Raekoda (Town Hall), . Built in 1371, this heavy stone structure dominates the square. It now houses the Tallinn City Museum. �
Toompea Hill. According to myth, the hill was built on top of the grave of legendary Estonian king Kalev, but more historically, it's solid limestone and the site of the Danish castle that founded the city in 1219. Toompea was the home of the Danish aristocracy and relations between the toffs and the plebs were often inflamed, which is why it's surrounded by thick walls and there's a gate tower (1380) guarding the entrance. Check out the viewpoints, some of which give great views over the city. There's also a cluster of amber (merevaik) shops around here. �
Alexander Nevsky Cathedral. a classic onion-domed 19th-century Russian Orthodox church that has become a touristy symbol of the city, much to the annoyance of nationalist types who regard it as a symbol of oppression. It was almost demolished in 1924 during Estonia's first brief spell of independence, but the Soviets left it to moulder and it has been restored to its former glory. �
Riigikogu, . Estonia's Parliament, pretty in pink. �
St Mary's Cathedral - Toomkirik. The oldest church in Tallinn, originally built as a Catholic church in 1229 but renovated and expanded many times since then, becoming a Lutheran church in 1561. �
Museum of Occupations, Toompea str. 8, corner of Toompea St. and Kaarli Blvd, . Describes the life conditions under Soviet and Nazi regimes. �
City Wall. A section of the City Wall can be climbed from the corner of Suur-Kloostri and Väike-Kloostri, with entry into three towers possible. Quite frankly, the views from up on Toompea are better, and the spiral staircases are steep and somewhat claustrophobic.Admission: €1.25. �
Ex-KGB Headquarters, Pikk 61. Now the Interior Ministry and not generally open to the public, this is where the KGB detained and tortured suspected dissidents. A Soviet-era joke says that this was the tallest building in Estonia: even from the basement, you could see Siberia. Interrogations were indeed conducted in the basement and you can see even today how the windows were crudely bricked up with concrete to mute the sound. �
The Most Frequently Asked Travel Questions about Tallinn
Where To Stay & Best Hotels in Tallinn - updated Apr 2024
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Tallinn Travel Guide from Wikitravel. Many thanks to all Wikitravel contributors. Text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0, images are available under various licenses, see each image for details.
