How we spent three days in Tallinn
After spending a weekend in Warsaw in January, I was inspired to explore more of eastern Europe. So in mid-July, we headed to Tallinn for three days, followed by a road trip down to Riga, Latvia. Tallinn is the capital of Estonia and the country’s busiest city. But despite this, the historic old town feels peaceful and sleepy.
How to get to Tallinn
While there are direct flights to Tallinn from London, it turned out to be cheaper for me to get a connecting flight via Helsinki. The flight from Helsinki is a 20-minute hop across the Gulf of Finland, which only reaches 3 km elevation and offers amazing views of the archipelago
There are also options via Amsterdam and some other European cities. These flights run more frequently – at the time of booking, I could only get a direct flight to Tallinn from London that would get me there around 7pm, which was too late in the day for such a short trip. Direct flights from London do not run every day, and if you are flying from outside of London, you will need to make a stopover.
Where to stay in Tallinn?
We stayed on Pikk, a street just off Town Hall Square which dates back to the 15th Century. It was about £120 per person (for four people) across two nights – so not super cheap. But we wanted a central apartment with enough space and a good kitchen, so we were willing to pay a little more. We also found that accommodation booked up quickly. So if you want to find a bargain place to stay in Tallinn, book well in advance and look at hotels rather than Airbnbs.
How long should I spend in Tallinn?
We spent three days in Tallinn, which turned out to be perfect. The town is fairly small so you can easily see the main sights in a weekend.
Is Tallinn cheap?
Tallinn was not as cheap as I had expected – but it wasn’t too expensive either. On average, alcoholic drinks were about €9 and a main course at dinner was €15-22. Coming from London, this didn’t seem too bad. But if you’re looking for a cheap European getaway, there are more affordable places you could go. However, a lot of the activities in Tallinn – like the Old Town and churches – are free to explore.
Is Tallinn safe?
We found Tallinn to be very safe, even at night. We stayed in an area that had a number of late night bars, and didn’t find it to be threatening or dangerous at any point. Of course, when you travel in any city you should be aware of the risk of crime, even if it is low. But as far as European capitals go, I found Tallinn to be very safe for women travelling alone or in small groups.
The best things to do in Tallinn
We were in Tallinn for three days in mid-July, and found that this was plenty of time to fit in all of the main sights. Our highlights were:
Exploring the Old Town
The Tallinn open top bus tour
Kohtuotsa viewing platform
Balti Jaama Turg
Alexander Nevsky Cathedral
Fotografiska
A day trip to Parnu or Rummu
Eating out (find out where here)
For more information on what we did in Tallinn, check out our blog.
What to pack for a weekend in Tallinn
The weather in Tallinn in mid-July was around 20-22ºC in the day and didn’t go below 15ºC at night. But the weather can be changeable – there were quick showers and even a thunderstorm while we were there. So the key to packing for a holiday in Tallinn is to bring layers and prepare for any weather. We were also travelling down to Riga for a further three days – so I packed a bit more to account for a longer holiday.
This is what I packed for a three days in Tallinn in July:
One light jacket
One shirt
One t-shirt
One knitted vest
Two cami tops
One pair of jeans
One pair of light trousers
A pair of shorts
A day-to-night dress
Sunglasses
A pair of Converse
A pair of sandals
Regular daily toiletries, including SPF.