Things to Do in Tallinn

The Tallinn Botanic Gardens (Tallinna Botaanikaaed) lie a little over six miles outside of Tallinn’s city center in the quiet and picturesque valley of River Pirita. The gardens cover an area of 123 hectares that face the river and are surrounded by lush woodland.

The gardens boast 8,000 species of plants throughout a series of large modern greenhouses along a 2.5-mile (4-kilometer) trail. You will find displays of tropical, subtropical and desert plants, from Estonia and abroad, in specialized exhibits that change almost every month. One of the highlights is the rose garden, although you should visit in late spring or summer to see it at its best.

Freedom Square (or Vabaduse valjak in Estonian) is at the southern end of Tallinn's Old Town. Throughout history, the square has been called the Straw Market, Peter's Square and Victory Square. Construction and redesigns of the historic area began in 2008, and a year later on Victory Day (June 23) the new Freedom Square was opened. As part of the new features, the Victory Column monument was unveiled as a memorial to the 1918-1920 War of Independence.

Today the square is lined with benches, cafes and two art galleries. It's a popular gathering place and is also a good place to see evidence of the city's 1930s-era building boom. You'll see art-deco and functionalist buildings on two sides of the square. Tallinn's older history can be seen here as well. There is a glass panel in the street on the northwest corner where you can look down and see the foundation and stairs of the Harju Gate tower that stood here in Medieval times.

Estonia’s biggest national park covers 72,500 hectares of wetlands, pine forests and seashore on the Baltic Sea. The crenellated coastline wends its way around horseshoe-shaped bays and finger-like peninsulas, while inland forest, lakes, waterfalls and peat bogs are interspersed with tracts of rocky soil scattered with erratic boulders dumped at the end of the last Ice Age.

Much of Lahemaa has been protected from development as it was classed as military land during Russian occupation of Estonia; there are abandoned Soviet submarine stations still to be seen across the park, slowly falling into dilapidation. Today tourism is king and accommodation in the park varies from campsites to historic manor houses found along the 40 km (25 miles) of cycling and hiking trails. Thanks to the lack of development in the area, Lahemaa is home to many species of birds and several mammals very rarely seen in Europe.

A European Capital of Culture in 2011, Tallinn is increasingly a destination of choice for short weekend getaways or day trips from Helsinki, just a 90-minute ferry ride across the Baltic Sea. The Port of Tallinn is a busy one, welcoming over 300 cruise calls per season, as well as regular ferries from Helsinki, Stockholm and St. Petersburg. With an Old Town dating back over 600 years, Tallinn’s medieval charm is undeniable.

Lucky for you, you’re almost there. Whether you are visiting as part of your Baltic cruise or by ferry, you likely will arrive at one of the passenger terminals in the Old City Harbor, just 1 kilometer from Tallinn’s Great Coast Gate – the medieval entrance to the Old Town area. If you aren’t up for walking, Bus No. 2 departs regularly from Passenger Terminals A and D from 7am until midnight. Taxis are also readily available, as are velo-taxis in the summer months.

Historians visiting Tallinn have several opportunities to catch a glimpse into Estonia’s communist past. The former KGB headquarters on Pikk Street have welcomed visitors for several years now, and the KGB Museum, on the top floor of the Hotel Viru on Viru Valjak, opened early in 2011. The museum, which can only hold 25 people at a time, occupies a hotel room that began to be used by the KGB in the 1970s and had been closed and untouched ever since the Iron Curtain fell. The museum preserves the room exactly how it was left when the organization fled at the end of the Cold War. The equipment used to spy on people remains in place, and informative displays offer insight into Estonia’s time under Soviet rule. You can only visit the museum if accompanied by a local guide. Tours run roughly every hour throughout the week; they should be booked in advance (through the hotel’s website), and cost around seven Euros – guests staying at Hotel Viru are offered a discounted rate.