I have been in Tallinn since Sunday, this is my second time in Tallinn and let me just say that 4.5 days here is plenty. The town itself, obviously the capital of Estonia, is pretty boring to be honest. The old town is nice with a lot of cool old buildings and a lovely main square but it’s one of those places that if you’ve not traveled much around the Baltics or Eastern Europe in general perhaps you would appreciate it more than me as I am a bit jaded. I never like to make a place sound undesirable but as this is my second time here and this time it’s not exactly for fun, I can plainly say I am very much looking forward to flying to Sweden tonight.
Again the city itself, especially the old town is very pleasant but there is very little to do in terms of entertainment, restaurants and the town is just very small. My only real recommendation is the Peppersack Restaurant right off the main square which has excellent food and is a popular tourist place. Tallinn is a very nice place to pop in for a day but 4.5 days here is too much.
This is probably my shortest ever entry and makes Tallinn sound really lame but I am just over it. See me from Stockholm soon.
LOL, agreed about Tallinn…nice town square but boring!
Pity you didn’t like Tallinn. It is a lovely city with a rich history. I understand you probably like more action but you must appreciate the Old Town. It is a world heritage place from the UNESCO.
4.5 days is a killer long time there for sure, I had a hard time surviving for 2 full days and nights in Luxembourg City, which in my opinion is the most painfully boring city on Earth, I can only imagine Tallinn being twice that long, oh well by the time you read this you will be sinking a cold one in Stockholm.
After just re-reading this post, i think it was a little cruel but I wrote it at a time when I was in a bad mood which is always a bad idea. Tallinn, like I said is a very nice place-it really is but at the same time 4.5 days is too much. It’s a great place for a daytrip from Helsinki or passing through from Latvia on the way to St. Petersburg or up to Helsinki or Stockholm.
The problem is it’s just so small and the things to see and do are all in one tight little old town area that you can literally cover in an hour. So keep that in mind and definitely do check out Tallinn; just don’t bank your trip around it or spend too much time because in all directions in the region there are better places to spend more time.
Did you make it out to Kadriorg park? Where was that pic taken, that is a gorgeous view of town. Too bad that I missed meeting you in Tallinn!
Well…I have born and lived in Tallinn for my entire life so it is quite sad to hear that you did not liked it here but I can also understand where your coming from. Seeing the whole world (literally), there are no doubt places much more interesting and amazing than Tallinn which is still in my point of view beautiful and unique in its own way (especially in winter).
I’m just sad that you spent 4.5 days (and it was already your second time) just in one town where you could a have, for an example, taken a half an hour trip to Lahemaa National Park. There are so many beautiful places – the coastline, islands, small villages, mansions etc and you saw only the shops, bars and restaurants which are all the same where ever you go (I guess)
I just hope that when you for some reason are thinking of coming to Estonia again you take the time to explore a little more then only the capital. I would be happy to show you around myself and then hear if you think the same 🙂
I’ve found that Tallinn is actually my favorite city in all of Europe, but I have my reasons. I grew up in Seattle and New Orleans, Seattle I still love but I could go the rest of my life without ever going back to New Orleans and be perfectly happy. Seattle, though BEAUTIFUL and vibrant, is a very pretentious and expensive city, and New Orleans is a very loud and wild city. Most of the capitols in Europe are a mix of both these things, but Tallinn is not. It’s a small city to be sure, but that makes it feel more like a real close knit community. You can walk anywhere you want if you have the time, and I love that. It’s also not a pretentious city, the people are very real and down to earth. There’s no aggrandizement here. It’s also relatively calm and peaceful, and after living in the French Quarter for so long calm and peaceful was something I forget exsisted. The city is also VERY affordable in terms of housing, food, entertainment….everything really. Other European cities like Amsterdam are famous for their massively overpriced hotels, food, and museums. This is a city where you can easily get by on $100 a day including your hotel room. There are plenty of excellent museums, beautiful parks, art galleries, nice movie theaters, diverse shopping centers, and all kinds of delicious restaurants to keep oneself entertained. If your into photography this city is very photogenic from its gothic Old Town charms to the new modern developments in the Rottermani Quarter and city center. Public transit here is also very accessible and covers most of the city. Some of my friends found the older soviet architecture to be a bit bleak and depressing, and maybe it is, but after growing up in America it was a totally new style for me and I have to say I’ve enjoyed photographing it all. There’s a lot of really great food around, you just have to look around for the hidden gems but they are there I promise. He was very correct about the Peppersack Restraunt, EXCELLENT FOOD! I go once a week for a nice ribeye steak, baked potato, and their delicious beef stew 🙂 The food at the grocery stores is also VERY affordable here, surprisingly affordable. I can usually get a few days worth of healthy food and drinks for two fully grown men for about €20!
If you get really bored you can hop the ferry to Helsinki, Finland for a day trip or long weekend, two hours each way on the boat. You could also catch the bus or train down to Riga, Latvia (about 4 hours each way)
For someone that’s been to every country in the world I can understand how this city would seem boring, but for me I’ve only seen America, North Africa, and Europe and it just turned out to be the perfect place for me. It’s safe, affordable, creative, hospitable, walkable, mellow, modern, and authentic. It feels like Europe but also feels like it’s distictly it’s own country. It’s also very gay friendly (with a healthy sized gay community and a few good bars), while some places in Europe are becoming less tolerant of people like me these days (I’m looking at you Paris). All in all I think it’s the best city in the Baltic States. It has a little bit of everything with none of the chaos or stress. They also have some of the best internet in the world here! Speeds you wouldn’t believe and the free wifi in restanunts is fast enough to download an HD movie off iTunes to your iPad in ten minutes flat, you won’t find connection speeds like that even in most 5 star hotels in America. Estonia is a gen of Europe! I recommend everyone come and see it at least once! It’s a very unique city and has something for everyone as long as you have the patience to do a little research into what’s around! Happy travels everyone!