How best to spend a day in Tallinn
May 21st, 2016, 01:53 PM
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How best to spend a day in Tallinn
My wife & I are going on a Baltic cruise in August, & are visiting Tallinn for a day (Saturday, 7 hours). I would very much welcome members views on the best things to see / do for the day. Many thanks John O'
May 21st, 2016, 03:37 PM
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You will likely go directly to the old town from your ship - be aware if there are more than a few cruise ships in port, which is very common, the place will be completely swamped. It is a very compact area, and can be shoulder-to-shoulder with all the tourists from the ships.
We, too, went to Tallinn on a Baltic cruise two years ago, and it was our least favorite place - extremely crowded with tourists, and pretty much just one souvenir shop after another.
We booked a fairly small group tour (not the ship's tour), and there were so many tourists and other tour guides close by all the time, we couldn't even keep track of our tour guide, much less hear anything.
Hopefully, someone else on this forum will have a better impression of Tallinn and some suggestions for you.
(We did like most all the other ports on our Baltic cruise itinerary)
We, too, went to Tallinn on a Baltic cruise two years ago, and it was our least favorite place - extremely crowded with tourists, and pretty much just one souvenir shop after another.
We booked a fairly small group tour (not the ship's tour), and there were so many tourists and other tour guides close by all the time, we couldn't even keep track of our tour guide, much less hear anything.
Hopefully, someone else on this forum will have a better impression of Tallinn and some suggestions for you.
(We did like most all the other ports on our Baltic cruise itinerary)
May 21st, 2016, 06:07 PM
#3
I liked Tallinn but you have to do some homework and know where you are going and what you want to see.
First of all I do not know what time you will be getting off the ship....hopefully it is in the early morning like 7-8 AM.
But 7 hours in Tallinn gives you lots of time to stroll around.
1. You can walk from the ship docking area to the Old Town.
2. Your best entrance into Old Town is through Viru Gates or the Fat Margaret Tower Gate.
3. I would take the Fat Margaret Tower Gate.
4. When you get off the ship just walk towards the Old Town.
You will come to a street named Rannamae tee ( yeah I know the street names are the pits )...
when you come to this street turn RIGHT.
You will cross a few streets before you get here but that is okay, you see the Old Town Walls ahead so just keep walking.
5. As you walk along Rannamae tee street soon ( 2 blocks) you will come to a Fat Round Stone Tower with an archway on the side.
This is Fat Margaret.( Martime Museum is here now )
6. Enter through the Archway...you are now on Pikk street.
Walk straight ahead, soon on your right you will come to the Threes Sisters Hotel ( expensive)m, these are just three house buildings stuck together....
okay next block ahead is St.Olaf Church ( Tallest steeple in Tallinn, once tallest in Europe).
If you are energetic go inside and climb the circular stairway to the top for the best views in Tallinn.
straight ahead another block ( still on your RIGHT) is the former KGB Building.
a few doors down is the famous Blackheads Building.
you cannot miss it is has a fancy red and green door.
Now just keep walking several more block along Pikk street admiring the old buildings.
7.Now Pikk street comes to a junction....most tourist make the mistake and take off at the junction into the Old Town Square,which you can see.
But do not veer off , just take the slight curve to your RIGHT and keep on Pikk street.....ahead Pikk street becomes Pikk Jalg Street ( Long Leg Street)...
you are starting to go uphill a bit , that's okay....soon you will come to a Purple Archway which you have to pass through.
Okay keep walking up along Pikk Jalg street... aha you can now see at the top of the hill the lovely ornate Alexander Nevsky Church ..
You are now at the top of Toompae Hill.
But do not go straight ahead to Nevsky Church or you will miss the two famous lookout points of Tallinn.
You perhaps have seen to red roof pictures of Tallinn on the Internet.....well now I will tell you how to get there"
At the top of the hill you are on Pikk Jalg Street...now turn RIGHT onto Piiskapi street, walk a block and tune RIGHT onto Kohtu street.
Now walk a block and a half straight ahead and turn RIGHT into the famous Kohtutsa Lookout Point...NICE VIEW isn't it.
Okay when you come out of this lookout area, turn RIGHT and you are on Toom Ruuti street...just follow along for a half a block and you HAVE to turn LEFT (or you will hit the wall !!)
as you turn LEFT the street is now called Rahukohtu street
..now go 1/2 a block ahead...see that yellow building, well there is an archway in the building called Patkuli , go through this archway and you will come out onto the Patkuli Viewing Platform.!!! Great Views right !!!
Now from here just double back and to see the Alexander Nevsky Church, but you can also see the Dome Church on your right ....walk to this old Dome Church. go inside...
sit in the pew, pretty low down isn't it, and you feel locked in there.
( Maybe it was because they did not want you to leave until you confessed all your sins
)
Aha okay you are now at the very ornate Nevsky Cathedral.
Of course you will go inside.
The Square in front of the Church is the Lossi Square ( Castle Square because a Castle once stood here.)
Across the Square is a large Pink Building , this is the Parliament , that stone tower is called Hermann's Tower and is a remnent of the old Castle that was once here.
At the back of Nevsky Church is the King's Garden and also the Kiek in de Kok Tower....go inside here, interesting.
( The tower's name means Peep into the Kitchen !!) I can tell you why but you can look it up.
okay from Kiek in de Kok Tower you will go onto Luhike Jalg street ( this means short Leg street)
Remember you came up to Toompae Hill on Long Leg street and now you are going back down on Short leg street !!!
Okay you are at the bottom now.
stop at the corner , look to your RIGHT, that is Niguliste Church, walk over there it is only a half block.
Now come back from the church and back at the corner... and go down Rataskaevu street ( Town Hall Street)... go 1/23 block up and on your RIGHT is a Well, this is the Cat's Well ( they used to throw cats in here.
Turn RIGHT at the Well and you can see the Town Hall Square up ahead.
I just took you on a nice loop up the hill and down the hill and now you are at the Old Town hall Square.
There are lots of outside tables here...time for lunch and a beer !!
At the Old Town Square is an old Pharmacy...go inside, back of this is the Holy spirit Church ( I was there on Sunday and Mass was on ).
Wait !!!, we are not finished yet, you still have lots of time.
You see the Old Town Hall ,well go on the LEFT side and you come to a street called Vene Street.
Turn LEFT.
Walk a block and a half and you come to St. Catherina's Passage.
Turn RIGHT here.
Walk along through St.Catherina's Passage, you can see the Old Town Walls ahead.
Okay now you must turn because you are at Muurihane street.
Turn RIGHT.
See all those red canopies lined up against the Wall. These are shops ..so browse and shop as you walk along.
Okay a block ahead is Viru Street and look LEFT there is Viru Gate.
Viru Gate was the other gate I told you at the beginning that you could go through.
So exit out this Viru Gate, you can see the big Viru Hotel ahead, so turn LEFT on Mera street and off you go back to your ship.!!
We just made one huge great loop up and down and around.
Print This Out.
Have a good Time
First of all I do not know what time you will be getting off the ship....hopefully it is in the early morning like 7-8 AM.
But 7 hours in Tallinn gives you lots of time to stroll around.
1. You can walk from the ship docking area to the Old Town.
2. Your best entrance into Old Town is through Viru Gates or the Fat Margaret Tower Gate.
3. I would take the Fat Margaret Tower Gate.
4. When you get off the ship just walk towards the Old Town.
You will come to a street named Rannamae tee ( yeah I know the street names are the pits )...
when you come to this street turn RIGHT.
You will cross a few streets before you get here but that is okay, you see the Old Town Walls ahead so just keep walking.
5. As you walk along Rannamae tee street soon ( 2 blocks) you will come to a Fat Round Stone Tower with an archway on the side.
This is Fat Margaret.( Martime Museum is here now )
6. Enter through the Archway...you are now on Pikk street.
Walk straight ahead, soon on your right you will come to the Threes Sisters Hotel ( expensive)m, these are just three house buildings stuck together....
okay next block ahead is St.Olaf Church ( Tallest steeple in Tallinn, once tallest in Europe).
If you are energetic go inside and climb the circular stairway to the top for the best views in Tallinn.
straight ahead another block ( still on your RIGHT) is the former KGB Building.
a few doors down is the famous Blackheads Building.
you cannot miss it is has a fancy red and green door.
Now just keep walking several more block along Pikk street admiring the old buildings.
7.Now Pikk street comes to a junction....most tourist make the mistake and take off at the junction into the Old Town Square,which you can see.
But do not veer off , just take the slight curve to your RIGHT and keep on Pikk street.....ahead Pikk street becomes Pikk Jalg Street ( Long Leg Street)...
you are starting to go uphill a bit , that's okay....soon you will come to a Purple Archway which you have to pass through.
Okay keep walking up along Pikk Jalg street... aha you can now see at the top of the hill the lovely ornate Alexander Nevsky Church ..
You are now at the top of Toompae Hill.
But do not go straight ahead to Nevsky Church or you will miss the two famous lookout points of Tallinn.
You perhaps have seen to red roof pictures of Tallinn on the Internet.....well now I will tell you how to get there"
At the top of the hill you are on Pikk Jalg Street...now turn RIGHT onto Piiskapi street, walk a block and tune RIGHT onto Kohtu street.
Now walk a block and a half straight ahead and turn RIGHT into the famous Kohtutsa Lookout Point...NICE VIEW isn't it.
Okay when you come out of this lookout area, turn RIGHT and you are on Toom Ruuti street...just follow along for a half a block and you HAVE to turn LEFT (or you will hit the wall !!)
as you turn LEFT the street is now called Rahukohtu street
..now go 1/2 a block ahead...see that yellow building, well there is an archway in the building called Patkuli , go through this archway and you will come out onto the Patkuli Viewing Platform.!!! Great Views right !!!
Now from here just double back and to see the Alexander Nevsky Church, but you can also see the Dome Church on your right ....walk to this old Dome Church. go inside...
sit in the pew, pretty low down isn't it, and you feel locked in there.
( Maybe it was because they did not want you to leave until you confessed all your sins
)Aha okay you are now at the very ornate Nevsky Cathedral.
Of course you will go inside.
The Square in front of the Church is the Lossi Square ( Castle Square because a Castle once stood here.)
Across the Square is a large Pink Building , this is the Parliament , that stone tower is called Hermann's Tower and is a remnent of the old Castle that was once here.
At the back of Nevsky Church is the King's Garden and also the Kiek in de Kok Tower....go inside here, interesting.
( The tower's name means Peep into the Kitchen !!) I can tell you why but you can look it up.
okay from Kiek in de Kok Tower you will go onto Luhike Jalg street ( this means short Leg street)
Remember you came up to Toompae Hill on Long Leg street and now you are going back down on Short leg street !!!
Okay you are at the bottom now.
stop at the corner , look to your RIGHT, that is Niguliste Church, walk over there it is only a half block.
Now come back from the church and back at the corner... and go down Rataskaevu street ( Town Hall Street)... go 1/23 block up and on your RIGHT is a Well, this is the Cat's Well ( they used to throw cats in here.
Turn RIGHT at the Well and you can see the Town Hall Square up ahead.
I just took you on a nice loop up the hill and down the hill and now you are at the Old Town hall Square.
There are lots of outside tables here...time for lunch and a beer !!
At the Old Town Square is an old Pharmacy...go inside, back of this is the Holy spirit Church ( I was there on Sunday and Mass was on ).
Wait !!!
, we are not finished yet, you still have lots of time.You see the Old Town Hall ,well go on the LEFT side and you come to a street called Vene Street.
Turn LEFT.
Walk a block and a half and you come to St. Catherina's Passage.
Turn RIGHT here.
Walk along through St.Catherina's Passage, you can see the Old Town Walls ahead.
Okay now you must turn because you are at Muurihane street.
Turn RIGHT.
See all those red canopies lined up against the Wall. These are shops ..so browse and shop as you walk along.
Okay a block ahead is Viru Street and look LEFT there is Viru Gate.
Viru Gate was the other gate I told you at the beginning that you could go through.
So exit out this Viru Gate, you can see the big Viru Hotel ahead, so turn LEFT on Mera street and off you go back to your ship.!!
We just made one huge great loop up and down and around.
Print This Out.
Have a good Time
May 21st, 2016, 06:34 PM
#6
Let me just add that if you are off the ship early , like 7AM like I was ,
then I would do this :
Get a taxi at the dock and ask him to take you to Kadriorg Castle; ( it is not really a Castle more like a lovely Palace.
Peter the Great built this for his wife Catherine.
Kadriorg means Catherine's Valley. How nice !!
It is not far away , but it is too early to go into Old Town yet.
Have the taxi driver wait while you walk the Castle grounds and Kadriorg Park.
Facing the castle across the garden is the President's House and just back of that is Peter the Great Museum.
In a straight line from the Castle is the Russalka Memorial Monument on the Baltic Seashore.
This is for the Russian Soldiers who lost their lives at Sea.
Tell the taxi driver to drive you here ( 4 blocks) for a picture op.
Now tell him to take you back and drop you off at the Fat Margaret Tower.
The taxi will not cost more than 20 euroes.
So if you can , get off the ship as earlier as you can and see all you can...try to go here , it is a nice place to kill some time before all the shops open up in Old Town !!!
then I would do this :
Get a taxi at the dock and ask him to take you to Kadriorg Castle; ( it is not really a Castle more like a lovely Palace.
Peter the Great built this for his wife Catherine.
Kadriorg means Catherine's Valley. How nice !!
It is not far away , but it is too early to go into Old Town yet.
Have the taxi driver wait while you walk the Castle grounds and Kadriorg Park.
Facing the castle across the garden is the President's House and just back of that is Peter the Great Museum.
In a straight line from the Castle is the Russalka Memorial Monument on the Baltic Seashore.
This is for the Russian Soldiers who lost their lives at Sea.
Tell the taxi driver to drive you here ( 4 blocks) for a picture op.
Now tell him to take you back and drop you off at the Fat Margaret Tower.
The taxi will not cost more than 20 euroes.
So if you can , get off the ship as earlier as you can and see all you can...try to go here , it is a nice place to kill some time before all the shops open up in Old Town !!!
May 22nd, 2016, 08:48 AM
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This is the website you want to see how many cruise ships will be there - along with yours of course. http://ports.cruisett.com/schedule/E...lin/July_2016/
Very helpful site I use frequently to try to plan to get the hell out of town when there are too many of you guys there. I'm sure you are a very nice person but I wish to hell cruise ships would stick to the ocean and stop ruining places like Tallinn. Small historic cities all over Europe are being over whelmed with thousands of cruise shippers - and it ruins it for you as well since as pointed out above you can't see anything when you are in the middle of a massive crowd.
Very helpful site I use frequently to try to plan to get the hell out of town when there are too many of you guys there. I'm sure you are a very nice person but I wish to hell cruise ships would stick to the ocean and stop ruining places like Tallinn. Small historic cities all over Europe are being over whelmed with thousands of cruise shippers - and it ruins it for you as well since as pointed out above you can't see anything when you are in the middle of a massive crowd.
May 22nd, 2016, 09:07 AM
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We also did a day in Tallin on a Celebrity cruise. Just print out what Percy wrote above and walk around with it. We loved it, especially walking in the upper town and looking down on the city and the water. There are several churches worth visiting and some fun street vendors. A nice relaxing day in a pretty city.
May 22nd, 2016, 12:47 PM
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I am sure happy that I visited 10 years ago before all this tour group krap started. I went on my own on a small ferry from Helsinki. I had the town to myself save for a few Brits, stayed a couple of days, and went to Riga next.
Jun 9th, 2016, 09:33 AM
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Hey Percy...wonderful. My oldest grandson will be on business in Tallinn next week and your stuff will be like a personal guide to him. Timing is perfect.
Hope things in Canada are well for you, old boy. I'm kicking, as ornery as ever.
Best
Stu
Hope things in Canada are well for you, old boy. I'm kicking, as ornery as ever.
Best
Stu
Jun 9th, 2016, 11:31 AM
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I spent a couple of days in Tallinn last week. The old town (really two "towns" - an upper and lower town) is not very big, but it's really lovely and charming. The town was not swamped with cruise ships the one day I spent in Tallinn proper, so I guess I was lucky (though there were still plenty of tourists - it's a very touristy place). Seven hours is plenty of time to do the old town justice at a leisurely pace.
There are some amazing viewpoints down on the town from Toompea Hill in the upper town. As a photographer, taking pictures from up there was essential. Light would be better later in the day than earlier, in general. I was up there past midnight trying to get night shots - with the long days that was a challenge!
If you want to putter around for a while when you get into town and eat an early lunch, you might try to catch the free walking tour at noon in front of the Tourist Information center. I thought the tour was mildly interesting (on a "free" tour, the guide works for tips so is more likely to be a good guide, otherwise they don't make much) and got me to the basic sites and gave me the basic history of the place. Be prepared to be part of a large group, however. Our tour group was about 50 people(!). Normally they would have split up such a big group but they were short of guides that day; even with a group that large the guide was interesting and loud enough to hear.
There are some amazing viewpoints down on the town from Toompea Hill in the upper town. As a photographer, taking pictures from up there was essential. Light would be better later in the day than earlier, in general. I was up there past midnight trying to get night shots - with the long days that was a challenge!
If you want to putter around for a while when you get into town and eat an early lunch, you might try to catch the free walking tour at noon in front of the Tourist Information center. I thought the tour was mildly interesting (on a "free" tour, the guide works for tips so is more likely to be a good guide, otherwise they don't make much) and got me to the basic sites and gave me the basic history of the place. Be prepared to be part of a large group, however. Our tour group was about 50 people(!). Normally they would have split up such a big group but they were short of guides that day; even with a group that large the guide was interesting and loud enough to hear.
Jun 9th, 2016, 11:40 AM
#14
I, too, am extremely glad I visited Tallinn before the cruise ships got there. Not that I was that enthused by the city, I much preferred Riga, but I am an Art Nouveau fan. I second the suggestion for Kadriorg, although I used public transport.
I suggest taking a look at the tours offered by this outfit:
http://estadventures.ee/
I did a National Park tour with them - just me and the guide. Recommended.
I suggest taking a look at the tours offered by this outfit:
http://estadventures.ee/
I did a National Park tour with them - just me and the guide. Recommended.
Jun 9th, 2016, 12:01 PM
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I took the tram out to Kadriorg Park too. If you have a smart phone with data and Google Maps, it's ridiculously easy to navigate public transportation in Tallinn and a lot of other cities. I had a multi-day pass but you can just buy tickets on the tram if you wish. If you have enough people, I guess a taxi may be more cost effective.
Nice basic park. I didn't go inside the "castle" though. I continued on to the Song Festival Grounds, which are basically a Hollywood Bowl-type of outdoor concert venue, not much to see when empty but famous in Estonia as a place where much of the country gathered in the late 1980s near the end of Soviet rule to sing "forbidden" Estonian songs in defiance of Soviet rule.
Nice basic park. I didn't go inside the "castle" though. I continued on to the Song Festival Grounds, which are basically a Hollywood Bowl-type of outdoor concert venue, not much to see when empty but famous in Estonia as a place where much of the country gathered in the late 1980s near the end of Soviet rule to sing "forbidden" Estonian songs in defiance of Soviet rule.
Jun 9th, 2016, 05:36 PM
#16
Hi tower ( Stu ) nice to hear from you.
Glad to know your are as ornery as ever also. ,
Glad to know your are as ornery as ever also. ,
Jul 17th, 2016, 08:38 AM
#20
Thank You jan47ete...you are Welcome !
Pegontheroad.... I review my pictures and notes and Thank goodness my memory is still intact.!
Pegontheroad.... I review my pictures and notes and Thank goodness my memory is still intact.!
