During our trip to Helsinki we decided to spend one day in Tallinn. I hadn’t realised it was just 56 miles or 2 hours across the Baltic Sea and we booked a day trip on the Megastar ferry with Tallink Silja. It turned out to be one of the nicest ferries I have been on with great food choices and comfortable seats.
To make the most of our time in Tallinn, it was recommended that we take a taxi to the old town and work our way down the hill and back to the ferry. This proved to be an excellent idea.
Our taxi dropped us off at the Orthodox Cathedral of Alexander Nevsky, which was very beautiful but not very welcoming. It was quite a culture shock.
We then explored the City Walls and meandered through the narrow streets to the Niguliste Church and the Town Hall Square.
Tallinn’s Old Town really is stunning and has many medieval buildings and reminders of the guilds that made Tallinn a wealthy trading port and you can wander around its cobbled streets for hours browsing in the shops and soaking up the atmosphere.
We wandered down Pikk Street, one of Tallinn’s most picturesque streets and managed to fit in a quick visit to the old KGB prison cells. The stories and cells were predictably grim and made for uncomfortable viewing, particularly being so close to the Town Hall Square and its lovely bars and restaurants.
We also saw the House of the Blackheads, linked to the guilds and Fat Margaret ( a cannon tower built in 1530). Such amazing names!
It was soon time to return to the ferry and the 21st century. There is so much more to Tallinn than we managed to see in one day so a return visit may be in order.
