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Offering Tallinn Advice


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Amyellabella -- thanks so much for sharing all this info with us. It's one stop shopping here for everything we want to know about Tallinn!

 

I have a few questions.

 

1) Am thinking of getting the Tallinn card. I can either pick it up at the hotel I'm staying at (not applicable since I'm on a cruise) or at the Tourist Information Centre in the Tallinn Old Town at Niguliste 2 / Kullassepa 4. How hard is that to get to from the port?

 

2) Are there any walking tours or audio tours you can recommend?

 

3) I heard something about a sweater wall. Whereabouts is it?

 

Thanks again!

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You can definitely see the Old Town in 6 hours, we're just a small city and you can see most things within the old walls in just a couple of hours if you are able to walk for a bit. There are only a few places where you can actually go up on the old medieval walls, but if you try to get to most of them around the perimeter of the city you'll see a lot just that way including a lot of the old big fortifications like Fat Margaret and Kiek in de Kök as well as some really lovely bits of wall and towers that are less crowded. Definitely go up Toompea, the hill in the middle of Old Town to see the viewing platforms (there are signs pointing to them and you can probably just follow the tour groups) and the churches (including an impressive Russian Orthodox cathedral, go inside, it's worth a look) and castle. Castle is probably a generous term as it now houses the parliament and only looks like a castle from one side but nevertheless, it's called Toompea Loss (Loss means castle) and you can see a great view of a large tower called Pikk Hermann (Tall Herman) from the park beside the castle. It would be best to have a guidebook to explain some of the history of what you're seeing, Estonia's history is fascinating!

 

Take a stroll down Pikk street from Toompea and go into the Town Hall square, it's lovely, but with a couple of exceptions, don't eat there. From there you can do some shopping down either Viru St or St Katherine's passage (one of the most photographed streets in Tallinn and full of artisan workshops).

 

Tallinn really does have a lot to offer, but it's small so you can see a lot of the highlights in just a few hours. Hope that's helpful!

 

Don't forget to try the 'honey beer' it is delicious.

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  • 3 weeks later...

Hello Amyellabella,

 

We are eagerly looking forward to our trip to Tallinn in a month's time. One thing that we would like to try is some Russian food while we are in town, would you be able to recommend a restaurant that we could have lunch at.

 

Thank you..

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Hi Amyellabella -

 

Do you have any sense of how widely accepted American Express is in Tallinn? I'm thinking of getting prepaid AmEx and/or Visa cards for the trip, and am trying to figure out how much to put on each. We were just going to go with one card, but I understand American Express is not widely used in Russia, and I wasn't sure if the same held true for Estonia.

 

Thank you so much for your help in this thread!

 

Laurie

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Hi Amyellabella -

 

Do you have any sense of how widely accepted American Express is in Tallinn? I'm thinking of getting prepaid AmEx and/or Visa cards for the trip, and am trying to figure out how much to put on each. We were just going to go with one card, but I understand American Express is not widely used in Russia, and I wasn't sure if the same held true for Estonia.

 

Thank you so much for your help in this thread!

 

Laurie

 

Read the fine print on those pre-paid cards carefully or talk to your bank before you buy them. We thought of doing that for my step daughter when she went to school in England but most of them were not for international use. Wish they were because it would be a great way to go.

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Hello,

 

My husband and I live in Tallinn, we're ex-pats (he's British, I'm American) but have been here a couple of years and absolutely love it. I just wanted to offer if anyone wants advice about Tallinn, I'd be more than happy to help. We also know some other cities in the region pretty well such as Stockholm, Helsinki, and St Petersburg if you'd like any tips. We've never cruised this region (other than the ferries that take you between cities!), but see our city filled with cruise ship passengers almost every day in the summer (usually either being directed on a tour or standing and looking at a map with a confused expression) and can offer some city advice for those of you coming to our beautiful part of the world!

Hi, I'd be very happy to hear any advice you may have for our Baltic cruise.

We leave soon and are so excited! Thank you, Karen

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Every time I'm going to Tallin I always find the time to visit the http://www.solaris.ee/en/ , a big and very special center in the middle of the town.

 

In the basement you find a nice store which sells gourmet food and a lot of to drink that you perhapes haven't seen before.

 

In Solaris you can find me favorite places to eat.

 

The first is Lido. http://www.lido.lv/eng/companies/lido_tallinn/ Hard to describe, you have to see for you self. Looks like an austrian Tyroler-haus and serves food from the countryside. You can just point ut want you want to eat, and it is not a typical bufet, but more like ten kitchens side by side. Here you can find anything from spyd, meat on meat, to potatocakes and svineskank, pig-legs that tasts better than an beef.

 

In Solaris you can also find the http://www.solaris.ee/en/food-court/vapiano/

 

The Vapiano is a "german" idea, growing bigger. It is part fastfood, part bar, part pizzeria and part gourmet. Freshmade in front of your eyes. Everything from pizza to other italian food to carpazzio, and one of the best tiramisu in europe. The pizza is huge, and you can evrything you want on top of that. You get a card when you enter and pays out the same card when you live.

 

http://www.oldehansa.ee/?id=10842

The Olde Hansa is most for tourists, but there are one good reason to eat there, and that are the bear-beef. Or as the selv says; Bear Marinated in rare spices and cooked over a fire in honour of Waldemar II, the King of Denmark. It tast "strong" and nothing like you find on any cruise-ship....

 

Are you thirsty in Tallin and looking for f ex wine to take back to ship?

Then visit http://nc.keskused.ee/?lang=en

Norde Centrum is a funny little center, but perfect if you are looking for small or big bottles of wine or Birkenstock "sandaler". Price on alcohol here is very low, and on front of this center you also find another market.

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  • 3 weeks later...

Amyellabella: wonderful reading through your posts and the great advice. We're actually starting a land tour in Tallinn next month (arriving Sept 10) a few days early just to meander around and take in this beautiful city. No real planned agenda but do plan on doing the free walking tour for sure and going down to the seaplane harbour museum (looked really neat) and just strolling around. Couple of questions:

 

1. For German food any thoughts on Schnitzelhaus?

 

2. Outside of the old city, any 'must see' sites that we could grab a bus to?

 

3. Weather sites put avg lows/highs around 45 - 57 degrees Fahrenheit. We like cooler weather and don't mind rain, but wondering about wind. Being on the Baltic should we expect a lot of wind?

 

Friend just came back from a baltic cruise and brought us a couple of tourist maps so the excitement builds.

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  • 2 weeks later...

I've posted my photos (well, about half of them - I took SO many) here: http://www.pbase.com/roothy123 if anyone wants to check them out.

 

There are actually 2 separate galleries. The ones from Tallinn are about halfway through each gallery.

 

I had less than 5 hours there, but had a wonderful time. Just wish I could remember the names of the churches I photographed! Hate to post stuff without proper identification!

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I've posted my photos (well, about half of them - I took SO many) here: www.pbase.com/roothy123 if anyone wants to check them out.

 

There are actually 2 separate galleries. The ones from Tallinn are about halfway through each gallery.

 

I had less than 5 hours there, but had a wonderful time. Just wish I could remember the names of the churches I photographed! Hate to post stuff without proper identification!

 

 

Wonderful photos! Thank you for sharing. I can't wait for our trip next August.

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I've posted my photos (well, about half of them - I took SO many) here: http://www.pbase.com/roothy123 if anyone wants to check them out.

 

There are actually 2 separate galleries. The ones from Tallinn are about halfway through each gallery.

 

I had less than 5 hours there, but had a wonderful time. Just wish I could remember the names of the churches I photographed! Hate to post stuff without proper identification!

Super photos--thanks! We will also be on the Alla comfort tour --did you buy "stuff" on that tour and if so how did you carry it around?

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  • 2 weeks later...
Hello,

 

My husband and I live in Tallinn, we're ex-pats (he's British, I'm American) but have been here a couple of years and absolutely love it. I just wanted to offer if anyone wants advice about Tallinn, I'd be more than happy to help. We also know some other cities in the region pretty well such as Stockholm, Helsinki, and St Petersburg if you'd like any tips. We've never cruised this region (other than the ferries that take you between cities!), but see our city filled with cruise ship passengers almost every day in the summer (usually either being directed on a tour or standing and looking at a map with a confused expression) and can offer some city advice for those of you coming to our beautiful part of the world!

Could you recommend a tour company/guide who could give an interesting and entertaining 2 1/2- 3 hour tour for about 10 people of the Old City of Tallinn?

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  • 2 months later...
Hello,

 

My husband and I live in Tallinn, we're ex-pats (he's British, I'm American) but have been here a couple of years and absolutely love it. I just wanted to offer if anyone wants advice about Tallinn, I'd be more than happy to help. We also know some other cities in the region pretty well such as Stockholm, Helsinki, and St Petersburg if you'd like any tips. We've never cruised this region (other than the ferries that take you between cities!), but see our city filled with cruise ship passengers almost every day in the summer (usually either being directed on a tour or standing and looking at a map with a confused expression) and can offer some city advice for those of you coming to our beautiful part of the world!

 

 

I just realized that our ship makes port in Tallinn on Victory Day Estonia (June 23), a Sunday and a public day. I was curious what impact this should have on our day. Will the shops be closed? Will there be any special celebrations?

 

Thanks!

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So glad to find this thread. We will be in Tallinn in August 2013 on our Baltic cruise. My husband and I are planning to hit Top Gun when we dock for a 3 hour shooting experience and then I am thinking of going to Old Town.

 

Since our day will be half over by the time we hit Old Town where would you suggest we ask to be dropped off so we can see the most of old town? I was interested in the Depesche Mode bar. Is that near anything?

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I just realized that our ship makes port in Tallinn on Victory Day Estonia (June 23), a Sunday and a public day. I was curious what impact this should have on our day. Will the shops be closed? Will there be any special celebrations?

 

Thanks!

 

If you arrive in on 23 June you may find Tallinn fairly deserted! Most of the city will be empty of natives who usually go out to the country for 23/24 June and take part in all kinds of celebrations that generally involve a lot of vodka and a big bonfire. Usually a boar or two that someone has shot as well. The 24th of June is Jaanipäev (midsummer's day, the sun doesn't really set between 23 and 24 June) here and is basically as big a deal as Christmas to most Estonians, so you will find the city centre a bit dead. There will definitely be a lot of shops that are closed but most of the main tourist drag should be open, but may be operating at reduced hours. We're usually not in town those days either so I really can't tell you for sure what will and won't be open! I know a couple of years ago we wanted to buy some groceries to take away with us early on the 23rd and we only found one open store. The malls and anything outside of the main city centre will probably be closed. If you can find a celebration to go to they are a lot of fun, as I mentioned- vodka, bonfire jumping, traditional Eestonian food and music. Lots of fun! Maybe your cruise line organises something special for that day? It is celebrated all over the region so hopefully the cruise line will take that into account.

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If you arrive in on 23 June you may find Tallinn fairly deserted! Most of the city will be empty of natives who usually go out to the country for 23/24 June and take part in all kinds of celebrations that generally involve a lot of vodka and a big bonfire. Usually a boar or two that someone has shot as well. The 24th of June is Jaanipäev (midsummer's day, the sun doesn't really set between 23 and 24 June) here and is basically as big a deal as Christmas to most Estonians, so you will find the city centre a bit dead. There will definitely be a lot of shops that are closed but most of the main tourist drag should be open, but may be operating at reduced hours. We're usually not in town those days either so I really can't tell you for sure what will and won't be open! I know a couple of years ago we wanted to buy some groceries to take away with us early on the 23rd and we only found one open store. The malls and anything outside of the main city centre will probably be closed. If you can find a celebration to go to they are a lot of fun, as I mentioned- vodka, bonfire jumping, traditional Eestonian food and music. Lots of fun! Maybe your cruise line organises something special for that day? It is celebrated all over the region so hopefully the cruise line will take that into account.

 

That is very helpful. Thanks!

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If you arrive in on 23 June you may find Tallinn fairly deserted! Most of the city will be empty of natives who usually go out to the country for 23/24 June and take part in all kinds of celebrations that generally involve a lot of vodka and a big bonfire. Usually a boar or two that someone has shot as well. The 24th of June is Jaanipäev (midsummer's day, the sun doesn't really set between 23 and 24 June) here and is basically as big a deal as Christmas to most Estonians, so you will find the city centre a bit dead. There will definitely be a lot of shops that are closed but most of the main tourist drag should be open, but may be operating at reduced hours. We're usually not in town those days either so I really can't tell you for sure what will and won't be open! I know a couple of years ago we wanted to buy some groceries to take away with us early on the 23rd and we only found one open store. The malls and anything outside of the main city centre will probably be closed. If you can find a celebration to go to they are a lot of fun, as I mentioned- vodka, bonfire jumping, traditional Eestonian food and music. Lots of fun! Maybe your cruise line organises something special for that day? It is celebrated all over the region so hopefully the cruise line will take that into account.

 

It occurred to me after I posted that I know the Estonian Open Air Museum (http://www.evm.ee/keel/eng/) hosts a midsummer celebration with the customary bonfires and all. Even without the celebration the museum is worth a visit if you want to get out of the city centre and see just a little bit of what country living is like now and would have been like for Estonians hundreds of years ago. It's about fifteen minutes drive from the old town and several buses (including the hop on, hop off tourist bus) will take you there.

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So glad to find this thread. We will be in Tallinn in August 2013 on our Baltic cruise. My husband and I are planning to hit Top Gun when we dock for a 3 hour shooting experience and then I am thinking of going to Old Town.

 

Since our day will be half over by the time we hit Old Town where would you suggest we ask to be dropped off so we can see the most of old town? I was interested in the Depesche Mode bar. Is that near anything?

 

You should definitely see some of the city after your shooting experience. I've done the shooting experience, not arranged through Top Gun so I don't know what they're like, but they use the same range as an Estonian company. The shooting is fun (though I must admit it scared me a little!) and they have all kinds of different guns you can try- I thought shooting Soviet area rifles was the best bit but my husband felt like Rambo using the shotgun and the fully automatic machine gun. It is a good and different kind of day out, but the range is kind of out of the way and you won't see any of what makes Tallinn so charming if you don't head to the Old Town afterwards.

 

The Old Town is really very small and you could ask to be dropped off at any number of places that will still allow you to walk across the city with plenty of time. I'd suggest being dropped off at either Fat Margaret or Viru Gate, they are both picturesque entrances to the Old Town and you can easily start a walk of the city to see the sights from either location.

 

Now, for the world famous Depeche Mode Baar! If you're a fan of the band, it's pretty much a must. Whenever I've been in there are always a few people who you can tell are super fans and are clearly loving it. If you're not a big fan, it's really just a bar with a repetitive soundtrack and themed cocktails. It is located right on the main town hall square, about a thirty second walk from the west side of the square up a street called Voorimehe. So it is very close to everything and you can easily pop in and see it or have a Personal Jesus cocktail or two and still be able to see other bits of the city as well.

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