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Don't miss the tall, stout Kiek-in-de-Kök in the Toompea neighbourhood. Its name is Low German for 'peep into the kitchen'. From the upper floors medieval voyeurs could see into the houses of the Lower Town. Built in about 1475, Kiek-in-de-Kök now houses a museum with several floors of maps, weapons and models of old Tallinn.
Komandandi 2
Toompea
www.linnamuuseum.ee/kok tel info 644 6686
| full | Kroon 25.00 |
| child | Kroon 8.00 |
Naissaar, at 44 sq km, has a lively history, thick forests (covering 85% of the island), and even a boulder with a circumference of nearly 27m! There's a 19th-century cemetery for English sailors from the Crimean and Russo-Swedish wars, which attests to the island's military history.
In fact, Naissaar has been a bulwark for defending the capital since the Great Northern War. A railway was even built before WWI for a speedier build-up of armaments. Curiously, from 1917 to 1918, tsarist troops took the island and tried to form their own government. Soviet military traces remain (the island was closed until 1995), with an old army village, gun batteries, empty mines and deep-sea mine anchors. There are dreamy stretches of unblemished beach and two nature trails: south takes you to historical sights, such as memorials, military ruins, a wooden church from 1856, a cemetery for English sailors from the Crimean (1854-55) and Russo-Swedish (1808-09) wars; north leads through forests, mires and past large 'erratic' boulders. Just up the hill from the dock is the Nature Park Centre where you can get lots of info, a warming coffee and a meal.
There are several affordable accommodation options on the island during summer months.
To get there, MS Monika departs from Tallinn's Linnahall Terminal, twice daily on Saturdays and Sundays only during summertime. If you're day-tripping, you'll have five hours on the island.
(14km NW of Tallinn)
www.naissaar.ee tel info 5657 7021
ferry from Tallinn
| concession | Kroon 120.00 |
| full | Kroon 180.00 |
Saarnaki, Hanikatsi, Vareslaid and other islets off southeastern Hiiumaa form the Hiiumaa Islets Landscape Reserve. This is a breeding place for some 110 bird species including avocets, eider ducks and goosanders, as well as a migration halt for swans, barnacle geese and other species. Over 600 plant species - more than half of Estonia's total - occur here.
It's possible to spend a night on deserted and peaceful Saarnaki or Hanikatsi provided permission is sought first from the reserve centre at Salinõmme on Hiiumaa.
(E of Hiiumaa)
www.hiiuloodus.ee tel info 462 2100
boat to Saarnaki or Hanikatsi
There are few places in Europe where the aura of the 14th and 15th centuries survives intact as it does in Tallinn's Old Town, a jumble of medieval walls and turrets, needling spires and winding, cobbled streets. Nevertheless, Estonia's capital is so modern it's been dubbed 'a suburb of Helsinki'.
Tallinn's Toompea district is home to a bevy of fascinating sights including the 19th century Russian Orthodox Alexander Nevsky Cathedral; Toomkirik, the Lutheran cathedral founded in 1233; the Estonian Art Museum; and the kookily named Kiek-in-de-Kök, a tall, stout tower built around 1475.
East of Tallinn's Old Town, in Kadriorg, is a pleasant park which is wooded with oak, lilac and horse chestnut trees. The baroque Kadriorg Palace was built between 1718 and 1736 for Peter the Great.
Tallinn has a good selection of accommodation, but it's important to book ahead in summer, even at hostels. Raekoja plats (Town Hall Square) in the Old Town, is the hub of Tallinn's dining and cafe scene. In summer, the entire length and breadth of Raekoja plats buzzes with temporary open-air cafes and bars, all of which sell light snacks, traditional kotlett (cutlet) and lots of Saku beer. The Old Town is also where you'll find Tallinn's booming nightclub scene.
Estonia's biggest island has always had an independent streak and was usually the last part of the country to fall to invaders. Just a few kilometres south of Hiiumaa, Saaremaa is a thinly populated place of unspoiled rural landscapes. Farmsteads nestle among forests that cover half the island.
Kuressaare, Saaremaa's capital, is the site of a 13th-century castle founded as the Bishop of Ösel-Wiek's island base. Viidumäe, west of Kuressaare, is a botanical reserve, where the favourable climate and conditions make it home to rare plant species such as the blunt-flowered rush.
In recent times, Saaremaa has become a popular budget tourist destination for Finns, so book accommodation in advance.
