What else to do in Tallinn other than Old Town?

I'm on a Baltic cruise, and there's so much to do in each port city that there doesn't seem enough time despite how long the ship will be docked at the port.

Tallinn, however, seems to be the exception. My ship will be docked in Tallinn from 9 in the morning to 5:30 in the afternoon. But, what else is there to do in Tallinn beside its Old Town?

That's 7 and a half hours, but that seems more than enough time to see Old Town. How long does it take to see and do Old Town? And, what did you do in Tallinn after Old Town?

I'm on a Baltic cruise, and there's so much to do in each port city that there doesn't seem enough time despite how long the ship will be docked at the port.

 

Tallinn, however, seems to be the exception. My ship will be docked in Tallinn from 9 in the morning to 5:30 in the afternoon. But, what else is there to do in Tallinn beside its Old Town?

 

That's 7 and a half hours, but that seems more than enough time to see Old Town. How long does it take to see and do Old Town? And, what did you do in Tallinn after Old Town?

For me, as you are suggesting, exploring Old Town can indeed take less than a full day such as you have. I had similar timing (we may have arrived at 8am, but I'm not certain). I had explored pretty much the entire Old Town on foot by 1pm. I'm not much of a shopper and I don't typically look for local dining all that much. If you did either of those, you could certainly add a couple hours to the time. Around 1pm, I sat in the main square for a while and people watched while I ate an ice cream cone. I finally went back to the ship around 3pm and hung out by the pool.

Don't get me wrong, I thoroughly enjoyed Old Town. But I'm a fast sightseer and was traveling solo, so I walked at the pace I wanted and saw what I wanted. I covered both the lower town and the upper town and went inside several of the major buildings.

Could you take longer? Sure. But not everyone will. I chose to not consider exploring the New Town area.

Depending upon your likes and dislikes, you could spend an entire day in the Old city. If you get the wonderful walking tour that many people here have used, and went thru the tour step by step, you probably would see what there is to see in 4 hours or so. But that is not the way we went about it. There are so many side streets that we wandered thru. We love to explore a bit,. find some out of the way shop and chat with the locals. We also stopped for some lunch, sat in the main square to enjoy an ice cream and just relax and take in where we are.

On the way back to the ship, there are many vendors selling local things so we stopped to browse around and found a couple of very unique pieces that we bought.

It is all in how you want to see any place. You can rush thru it, say you saw it, or you can take it slow and easy and enjoy what you are seeing and doing.

Cheers

Len

Check what is offered as a ship excursion and on sites like shoretrips.com. Not necessarily to book, but to see what is available.

We actually enjoy days like this on a busier port itinerary. To sleep in a little longer, have a big breakfast and spend a leisurely day doing whatever hits while out and about is very welcome. Sometimes we head back to the ship early for relax time. Other times we just plunk on a bench and people watch. Just never know. I'm already feeling relaxed.:D

Have lunch at Old Hansa. We loved it. With all the running in SPB you will be happy for a relaxing day

The Old Town of Tallinn is quite lovely, and we would have been happy if we had only visited there.

We also greatly enjoyed our visit to the Lennusadam SeaPlane Harbor Museum in Tallinn.

( http://www.lennusadam.eu/et/ ) . The sea plane name is a bit of a misnomer, since it is more of a general military museum with a lot of fascinating hands on exhibits, including a submarine you can explore and a flight simulator inside of a plane (my 3 year old really loved making the plane crash into the trees). There is also an icebreaker ship outside that you can explore, and a submarine inside. It was a really interesting museum, and a highly enjoyable way to conclude your day in Tallinn for both adults and children. If there is rain predicted for part of your stay, you might want to spend that time indoors at the museum; otherwise I'd explore the Old Town first, and come here if you have any extra time prior to returning to your ship.

Other options to consider: you can get a short (20 minute) or longer tour of the Old Town on a pedicab, which was quite pleasant.

We ate a delicious lunch at Gloria ( http://www.gloria.ee) , a charming historic restaurant with excellent duck and fish.

Probably not for everyone but I certainly plan on visiting the old prison while there in June.

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We visited the Occupations Museum which describes life in Estonia between 1939 and 1991. Very moving and informative. The statues of former Estonian leaders during the Soviet era are now kept in the basement corridor near the washrooms. Don't remember the exact location but we saw it on the way back from Old Town to the cruise terminal and not really out of the way.

http://www.okupatsioon.ee/en

We visited the Occupations Museum which describes life in Estonia between 1939 and 1991. Very moving and informative. The statues of former Estonian leaders during the Soviet era are now kept in the basement corridor near the washrooms. Don't remember the exact location but we saw it on the way back from Old Town to the cruise terminal and not really out of the way.

http://www.okupatsioon.ee/en

Very interesting. When I clicked on link, some of it wasn't in English. Are the write ups in English in the museum? thanks.

What is the accepted currency in Estonia?

We would like to visit the Maritime Museum and spend the remaining time in old town city center. Looking for available options to get us from port to Maritime Museum and then to city center and back to ship. Is it possible to walk it all? Thanks!

What is the accepted currency in Estonia?

Since 2011, the Euro is the accepted currency

Cheers

Len

Very interesting. When I clicked on link, some of it wasn't in English. Are the write ups in English in the museum? thanks.

My husband and I think there was English but are not 100% sure.

As others have wisely noted, there is much more to Tallinn than just an "Old Town". If you start up at the top of the big hill with a couple of the famous churches and their government buildings, there is lots to see and enjoy. PLUS, shopping can be wonderful and very interesting in Tallinn. Need proof? Here is some of my photo evidence to help verify our experiences. Loved Tallinn so much!! Enjoyed lunch on their main square with lots of people watching to love and do. A very pleasant surprise and treat in the Baltics.

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

Enjoyed a 14-day, Jan. 20-Feb. 3, 2014, Sydney to Auckland adventure, getting a big sampling for the wonders of "down under” before and after this cruise. Go to:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1974139

for more info and many pictures of these amazing sights in this great part of the world. Now at 107,454 views for this posting.

Here are outside and inside views of Tallinn’s Alexander Nevsky Cathedral built in the Orthodox style 1894–1900. This church crowns the hill of Toompea. The church has been meticulously restored since Estonia regained independence from the Soviet Union in 1991.:

At the top of Tallinn’s Toompea hill, this shows part of the Estonia Parliament building in the historic Pink Baroque Palace and the old Pikk Hermann watchtower with their flag on top:

Inside of Tallinn’s historic St. Mary's Cathedral Lutheran church with parts of the building dating back to the 12th Century. The main church was built in the 14th Century:

Shopping is great in Tallinn. Here we are inside a nice linen shop near the City Hall.:

Here is a Tallinn street-shop vendor with various woolen items at her stall near the famous Viru Gate as you entered the lower walled area. This area is commonly called the “Sweater Wall”. Very charming and interesting. Good values and buys.:

Kadriorg is in a walking distance from the port area, you can take a taxi one way and walk back.It is a beautiful area.

Kadriorg is a subdistrict (Estonian: asum) in the district of Kesklinn (Midtown), Tallinn, the capital of Estonia. It has a population of 4,303 (As of 1 January 2014).[1] Kadriorg means "Catherine's Valley" in Estonian, this derives from the Catherinethal, a Baroque palace of Catherine I of Russia. It is one of the wealthiest regions in Estonia. [2]

Kadriog is known for the Kadriorg palace and the surrounding park, commissioned by the Russian Czar Peter the Great. Nowadays the park is a location of several museums including the Kadriorg art Museum (in Kadriorg palace), KUMU, Mikkel, Peter the Great and Eduard Vilde museums. Nearby is the Russalka Memorial which commemorates the loss of a Russian warship in 1893.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Kadriorg.

The official Presidential Palace of the President of Estonia is situated next to Kadriorg Palace in the park.

In some very old posts, I read that the Russian nesting dolls are also sold in Tallin. Can anyone confirm if this is still the case?

Thank you!

In some very old posts, I read that the Russian nesting dolls are also sold in Tallin. Can anyone confirm if this is still the case?

 

Thank you!

When I was there one could find them.

We were just there a couple of weeks ago and did a bicycle tour with a great guide. Got further out into the old Doviet industrial side, visited the prison, a great beach, and a cool Russian market. And still had plenty of time to do old town. Found some beutig garden areas outside the walls just around the presidential palace. Learned the pres is a 30 something year old with a pop star girlfriend (and a child together.) found the company via Trip Advisor, guides are college students with interesting info and fresh perspective.

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Did you book the bicycle tour when you got to Tallinn or before you left on your cruise?

We were just there a couple of weeks ago and did a bicycle tour with a great guide. Found the company via Trip Advisor, guides are college students

Hello,

Thanks for this info. Do you remember if this tour/bike company was City Bike?

It's in the old town, yes?

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We picked up the bikes at City Bike but tour guide was through Tallin Travelers, guide was Karoline. Booked before we left with small down payment. Guide met us at ship as promised. They have other bike tour options, we picked the "funky one." It was just us two so we had lots of flexibility. She also helped with after ride suggestions.

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We will be in Tallinn in August and have been considering a bicycle tour - it sounds like this will be worthwhile.

Can you please confirm the company you used and an approx. cost?

We picked up the bikes at City Bike but tour guide was through Tallin Travelers, guide was Karoline. Booked before we left with small down payment. Guide met us at ship as promised. They have other bike tour options, we picked the "funky one." It was just us two so we had lots of flexibility. She also helped with after ride suggestions.

 

 

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Great! Thank you so much for sharing.

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Have lunch at Old Hansa. We loved it. With all the running in SPB you will be happy for a relaxing day

YES! THIS!

We had SO MUCH FUN at Olde Hansa! It feels touristy, but the staff it totally into it and they sell their draft beers by the liter. Our server also kept bring us the free shots of the schnapps they make on site :)

If you're an adventurous eater (or just want to tell your friends you ate bear meat) this is a definite stop for you. They also have delicious basics, like the mushroom soup, for those less excited about the wild game :)

Porgu is a good place for lunch. It's a gastro pub that's a cool funky place. We loved the old town and could have spent more time there. We took an hour away to see the "kgb museum" in the hotel in the downtown area. It's not worth your time. Please avoid that as "something else" to do.