One day in Tallinn: the perfect itinerary for your trip
Tallinn, the capital of Estonia, one of the three Baltic countries, is a fascinating destination for a short break or day trip.
It has an enchanting medieval old town, a maze of cobbled streets that wind around the city, and old city walls with imposing watch towers. It’s an amazingly photogenic city and has a lot to offer.
But If you only have one day in Tallinn, you’ll want to make the most of your time. In this guide, you’ll find information on the top things to do in this great city.
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An itinerary for one day in Tallinn
– Go to Tallinn’s old town via the Viru Gate, one of the old city gates
– Walk to the Town Hall Square via St. Catherine’s Passage
– See the Town Hall with its bell tower, and wander around the market
– Visit Europe’s oldest pharmacy
– Take a look at St. Nicholas’ Church and the St. Alexander Nevsky Cathedral
– Wander to Toompea Hill and Toompea Castle
– Look over Tallinn from the city’s viewing platforms
– Walk part of the city wall
– Climb to the top of St. Olaf’s Church
– Visit a museum
– Stroll around Kadriorg Park and admire Kadriorg Palace
How to get to Tallinn
Flights go to Tallinn from many places across Europe and beyond. Tallinn Airport – Lennart Meri Tallinn Airport – is just four kilometres from the city centre, so it’s a quick and easy journey in. You can catch a bus (number 2 or 15) or take a taxi.
You can also sail to Estonia from Helsinki, the capital of Finland.
A Helsinki to Tallinn day trip
Spending one day in Tallinn is a popular activity for visitors to Helsinki: ferries sailing from Helsinki across the Gulf of Finland to Tallinn are frequent, with several departures each day. So it’s really easy to do a Helsinki to Tallinn day trip.
If you do want to go on a Helsinki to Tallinn day trip, the journey by boat takes about two hours. The ferry terminal in Tallinn is located close to the city centre.
You can book ferry tickets here.
You can also book excursions that will take you from Helsinki to Tallinn and which include a guided tour. This is perfect if you only have one day in Tallinn.
How to get around Tallinn
Tallinn is a compact capital city. This makes it easy to explore the main sights and really walkable. If you can get around on foot, you’re likely to see more, especially in the old town. Even Kadriorg Park – which is recommended as part of this itinerary – can be walked to in about 20 to 30 minutes.
However, if you only have a short time in the city – for example, if you must ensure you’re back at the cruise terminal to catch a specific ferry – then the best way to get around might be to book the hop-on hop-off bus.
This will take you around the main highlights in the city, including Kadriorg Park.
Tallinn walking tours
Although you could follow the itinerary outlined here for one day in Tallinn, there are also plenty of walking tours. These give you the benefit of seeing the city’s main highlights with a local guide who can fill you in on its history.
This medieval walking tour lasts for two hours and takes you around the main parts of the old town and Toompea.
If time is particularly tight, this walking tour is slightly shorter – 1.5 hours. Or you could opt for this 60-minute express walking tour.
There is also this two-hour walking tour, which specialises in food and history. Lasting three hours, it combines a walking tour of the old town with seven food and drink stops along the way. If you fancy trying authentic Estonian food, this might be the one for you.
One day in Tallinn
For your one day in Tallinn, I suggest you focus on three main activities: a tour of the old town, a visit to a museum, and a trip to Kadriorg Palace, which is just a few minutes outside of the main centre. I’ve suggested the best places to see in these areas below.
The Tallinn Card
Several of the places I’ve suggested as part of this Tallinn itinerary are covered if you’ve purchased the Tallinn Card.
This gives you free entry to more than 50 top activities in the city, including several of the museums covered in my itinerary, the viewing platform in St. Olaf’s Church, Tallinn Town Hall and tower, and the town wall.
The card also gives you free unlimited public transport around the city.
You can buy the Tallinn Card here.
Best things to do in one day in Tallinn
Explore Tallinn old town, Vanalinn
Start your day by wandering through Tallinn’s UNESCO World Heritage Site old town. I’m sure you’ll agree it’s beautiful.
There’s an atmospheric main square, a maze of medieval cobblestone streets that wind around the city, and old city walls with imposing watch towers.
Viru Gate
Depending on where you enter the old town, head first to Viru Gate, one of the old remaining entrances to the old town.
It has two distinctive towers with orange turrets flanking the entrance. It’s a bustling part of the old town, and when we were there, there were horse-drawn carriages that you could book for a tour around the centre.
The Town Hall Square
From the Viru Gate, go into the heart of the old town via St. Catherine’s Passage, an old quirky street that runs between medieval buildings.
You can then walk up to the main square, Town Hall Square. This is framed by large medieval houses with bars and restaurants with outdoor terraces where you can sample some Estonian cuisine in a charming setting.
When we were here, there was a small market in the square with market stalls selling various local products.
As you’d expect, the Town Hall is here. This gothic building was completed in the first few years of the 15th century and is said to be northern Europe’s oldest city hall.
If you visit over the summer months, you can climb the 115 steps to its bell tower and look out over the old town (entry is free with the Tallinn Card).
You can also pop into the Town Hall Pharmacy while here. This is another 15th century building and the oldest European pharmacy that has been in continual use. There is a small museum next door where you can learn more.
St. Nicholas’ Church and the St. Alexander Nevsky Cathedral
Walking away from the Town Hall Square and down Harju, you will come to St. Nicholas Church, a 19th century church with an art gallery showcasing religious art (the Niguliste Museum).
A short distance away is St. Alexander Nevsky Cathedral. For me, this is the far more impressive of the two, with its domes and wonderfully decorated outside.
Built at the turn of the 20th century, the cathedral is Russian Orthodox. You can go inside to see the equally beautiful interior.
Toompea Hill and Toompea Castle
Go across Toom-Kooli to Toompea Hill and Toompea Castle. The castle dates from the 18th century and is on the site of an old fortress. The country’s flag flies from the tallest of the castle’s towers – Tall Herman.
You can visit the castle, but as it is home to the Estonian parliament, you need to book a tour in advance. There are free tours that run Monday to Friday.
The viewing platforms
After passing by the castle, walk up to two observation spots – the Patkuli viewing platform and the Kohtuotsa viewing platform. Both have panoramic views of the city.
You can look across to the orange turrets of the towers scattered around the old town and the mottled green spire of St Olaf’s church poking out in between.
Don’t miss a short stop at least one of these.
The city wall
The city wall in Tallinn dates to the 13th century. Over half of it remains, including 26 towers and two gates.
On the Toompea Hill side of the old town, you’ll see the part of the city wall that connects three towers – Nunne, Sauna, and Kuldjala towers (on the other side of the old town, there is another section that connects two other towers, Hellemann Tower and Munkadetagune Tower).
You can pay a small fee to walk along a segment of the wall (this is free if you have the Tallinn Card).
St Olaf’s Church
If you do walk along the city wall on the Toompea side, you’ll find St Olaf’s Church near one end. This is the church with the mottled green spire you’ll see when looking out across the old town from the viewing platforms.
Named after a Norwegian king, the church is the biggest medieval building in the city.
There’s another observation deck here, so if you’re visiting between the beginning of April and the end of October and want more views of Tallinn, you can climb the 232 steps up to this.
It is free to go up to the observation deck with the Tallinn Card.
Visit a museum
After wandering around the different sights of the old town and Toompea Hill, I suggest you visit one of the city’s many varied museums.
Many are small, so you can visit without needing to devote hours out of your one day in Tallinn. Several give you free entry with the Tallinn Card.
The KGB Prison Cells
If you’re interested in history, there are several places where you can learn about the city’s history during Estonia’s Cold War occupation by Soviet forces.
One such place is the KGB Prison Cells on the corner of Pagari and Pikk. Here you can go into the cells where prisoners of state were kept.
We visited, and while it’s hard to say it was ‘enjoyable’, it provided an important insight into some of the country’s more modern-day history and the climate of paranoia and terror experienced in the city during the occupation.
If you’ve visited St. Olaf’s Church, you could pop into this tiny museum, which is just a stone’s throw away.
The Hotel Viru Museum
If you’re interested in Tallinn’s Cold War history, you’re also likely to find the museum in the Hotel Viru fascinating. This is located by the Viru Gate.
Again, this is a small museum, and it is advisable to book in advance as you need to go on a timed guided tour to go inside. During this one-hour tour, you can access the secret KGB rooms on the hotel’s top floor. These were discovered in 1994, three years after Estonia gained independence from the USSR.
The rooms have been reconstructed to demonstrate the KGB’s operations. There are desks, old-style typewriters, telephones with hotlines to the KGB Headquarters, and newspapers with obituaries for Soviet leaders.
There are also examples of surveillance equipment and uniforms on show, as well as some intriguing smaller items, such as purses that could detonate a cloud of coloured dye.
Your guide will give you an insight into life in the city during this time. We heard that the hotel was the only place that ‘foreigners’ were allowed to stay in Tallinn. This was a way of keeping tabs on them, and locals were never allowed to visit. The Finnish workers constructing the hotel were also told to leave holes unplugged, which were then filled with surveillance devices.
I’d recommend a visit to this museum: we weren’t disappointed.
Tallinn art museums
If you prefer to visit an art museum, you’ll find several in the Kadriorg area of the city, which is another place I’d recommend you go to (see below).
The Kumu Art Museum is here. This showcases various styles of the country’s artwork, including Soviet Pop Art, Modernism, and other contemporary art.
There is also an art museum in the Kadriorg Palace. The Kadriorg Art Museum exhibits art from across the centuries, with a permanent exhibition covering the 16th to the 20th century.
In the same area, you can also find the Mikkel Museum. This comprises work from Johannes Mikkel’s own collection, as well as porcelain and ceramics from Europe and China.
The Seaplane Harbour Museum
Another museum you could head to as part of your one day in Tallinn is the Seaplane Harbour Museum, the Estonian Maritime Museum. This is an impressive museum (also free with the Tallinn Card) located in a seaplane hangar.
As you might expect, this is outside of the old town in one of the harbour areas.
You can view a range of exhibits in the museum, including a submarine, a seaplane, an old icebreaker, and part of the country’s oldest ship.
The museum also features interactive exhibits, which are great for kids. There is also an aquarium and a playground outside.
Stroll around Kadriorg Park and see Kadriorg Palace
After exploring the old town and visiting a museum, I’d recommend you take a short jaunt out to Kadriorg Park. You can walk, or take the tram (line 1) to get here. It’s worth visiting this: the tram ride only takes about 10 minutes if you don’t have time to walk.
Alternatively, you can use the hop-on hop-off bus to get to the park.
Kadriorg Park is a gorgeous green space that covers an area of 70 hectares. It dates back to the early 18th century, with different sections reflecting designs across the centuries. It is open every day of the week, year-round.
A lake (Swan Pond), a Japanese Garden, fountains, and beautifully manicured lawns and flower beds are within the park. It’s the perfect place for a peaceful afternoon’s stroll and is large enough to justify spending a while here. It’s a complete contrast to the old town, which can become crowded in places.
Kadriorg Palace is in the park, itself surrounded by beautifully tended gardens. It’s a stunning baroque building, created in the early 18th century by Russian Tsar Peter I to honour his wife.
The Kadriorg Art Museum is based in the palace building (one of several art museums in this area). A short walk away is Tallinn’s Presidential Palace.
Other ideas for short European city breaks and days out
If you’re looking for more inspiration for European city breaks and days out, go to my website.
Recent posts have included an itinerary for one day in Montpellier in the south of France, top things to do in Bergen in Norway, and 10 top romantic cities in Europe.
Written by Emma Marshall
