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Trays of Estonian bakery pastries seen from above: golden croissants, twisted cinnamon kringel-style buns and small jam- and cheese-topped tarts laid out on a bakery counter
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TallinnTravel Guide

Estonia4 stories

Estonia's medieval-walled capital hides a startlingly modern food scene: black rye bread, Baltic fish, centuries-old marzipan and New Nordic kitchens in creative districts.

Is Tallinn right for you?

When to come

Late spring through early autumn

Around 22°C by day in July, -1°C in February — recorded at the local weather station.

What it costs

Mid-range. Comfortable without planning around money, expensive if you stop counting.

What we've planned, and who for

No hour-by-hour route here yet — the guides below cover it by subject instead.

Tallinn is inA proper winterDeepest in Europe
When to go
January: around -1 degrees by day, -5 at night, 56 millimetres of rain, cold, some precipitation.
February: around -1 degrees by day, -6 at night, 40 millimetres of rain, cold, some precipitation.
March: around 3 degrees by day, -4 at night, 37 millimetres of rain, cold, some precipitation.
April: around 10 degrees by day, 1 at night, 35 millimetres of rain, some rain.
May: around 15 degrees by day, 5 at night, 37 millimetres of rain, some rain. We recommend this month.
June: around 19 degrees by day, 10 at night, 68 millimetres of rain, some rain. We recommend this month.
July: around 22 degrees by day, 13 at night, 82 millimetres of rain, wet. We recommend this month.
August: around 21 degrees by day, 12 at night, 85 millimetres of rain, wet. We recommend this month.
September: around 16 degrees by day, 8 at night, 58 millimetres of rain, some rain. We recommend this month.
October: around 10 degrees by day, 4 at night, 78 millimetres of rain, some rain.
November: around 4 degrees by day, 0 at night, 66 millimetres of rain, some rain.
December: around 1 degrees by day, -3 at night, 59 millimetres of rain, cold, some precipitation.
Cold to hot, by dayDry to wetWhen we would go

Late spring through early autumn

Average daily highs, recorded at Tallinn, 1991-2020 normals.

Where this comes from

Estonian Weather Service; NOAA/NCEI

Budget level

Mid-range

Typical cost profile for visitors

Combine it with
Plan itWhere to stay in Tallinnad · Booking.comTours and tickets
On the map

Finding Tallinn

Open in Google Maps Larger map
The stories

Reading Tallinn

A cobbled lane on Tallinn's Toompea hill running between whitewashed old walls toward the black onion domes of Alexander Nevsky Cathedral.
01
Food

What to Eat in Tallinn: Rye, Sprats and New Nordic Nerve

Behind the medieval walls, Tallinn eats brilliantly — a dish-led guide to black rye bread, spiced sprats, marzipan with a 200-year backstory and the market halls of the creative city.

Estonia · 2 min
Round limestone towers with red conical roofs along Tallinn's medieval city wall, with the green spire of St Olaf's Church rising behind them.
02
The List

Tallinn for Culture Lovers: The Art and History Worth Your Time

Behind the fairy-tale spires, Tallinn runs surprisingly deep — Hanseatic merchant halls, tsarist palaces and one of the Baltics' best modern art museums. Here is the shortlist, ranked.

Estonia · 2 min
Tallinn's Town Hall Square in late afternoon light, its cobbles crossed by a few people in front of pastel gabled merchant houses and the Town Hall's stone arcade.
03
Hidden Gems

Tallinn Out of Season: The Months That Keep the City to Themselves

When the summer ferries stop disgorging day-trippers, Tallinn becomes a different — arguably better — city. Here is the case for its quiet months.

Estonia · 2 min
Tallinn's medieval Old Town skyline with St Olaf's church spire and stone defence towers
04
Stays

Where to Sleep in Tallinn: Districts to Book, Districts to Skip

A district-by-district guide to sleeping in Tallinn: which base suits two nights and which suits five, what a room costs by season, and where the old advice about the port has stopped being true.

Estonia · 11 min
In pictures

Tallinn, framed

Tallinn's red roofs and church spire from a viewpoint, the city's name painted on the wall in front
Photo: Marek Lumi / Unsplash
The spires and tiled roofs of Tallinn's old town under a pink evening sky
Photo: Alexander Van Steenberge / Unsplash
December to early January, Tallinn
Photo: Zaur Ibrahimov / Unsplash
New Nordic, Tallinn
Photo: Margo Evardson / Unsplash
Our picks

What we'd do in Tallinn

See and do

Eat and drink

Before you go

Practical essentials for Estonia

Money

Euro (EUR)

Language

Estonian; English is spoken confidently in Tallinn, and Russian is widely understood

Power

Type C/F, 230V 50Hz

Getting around

Tallinn's trams, buses and trolleybuses take a €3 Ühiskaart travel card or a tap of a contactless bank card, each tap buying an hour's travel.

Tipping

Not mandatory — about 10% in a restaurant when no service charge appears on the bill.

Tap water

Tap water is safe to drink and among the cleanest in Europe.

Driving

Right-hand side; a licence written in the Latin alphabet is accepted on its own, so no International Driving Permit is needed.

Emergency

112 (single number for police, fire and ambulance)

Country-level guidance, checked against official sources. Currency, fares and entry rules change — confirm anything time-critical before you travel.

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