11 best tips for visiting Tallinn
Last updated on January 29th, 2026.
It was a wonderfully sunny day with clear blue skies when we landed in Tallinn.
Visiting Tallinn in spring turned out to be a good idea, especially when seeing the old town from the plane.
It’s a city that’s shaken off its former past, and instead embraced progress, innovation and technology to its fullest.
If you're also traveling to Tallinn for the first time, this travel guide outlines 11 essential traveler tips and advice.
The following’s based on our observations, so bear in mind that some things may have since changed.
First-time tips for visiting Tallinn
The capital city of Estonia is an ideal destination for a city break, or a long weekend. It's also a destination that caters to all travelers.
The below are some helpful Tallinn travel tips for first-time visitors.
- Flights to and from Tallinn are frequent and the city’s international airport beats many I’ve visited further afield.
- Many people in Tallinn speak good English and you shouldn’t have any problems in communicating with the locals.
- The weather in Tallinn also matches the seasons meaning there are no shock surprises when you visit. However, given its location in the Baltic region, it can feel cooler even in the sunshine.
11 top tips for visiting Tallinn
1. Wait for the green man before crossing
I’ve never been to a capital city where its citizens are as disciplined as they’re in Tallinn.
When crossing roads with traffic lights and signals, always wait for the green man to appear.
I'd first read about this tip in the Tallinn information leaflet when we arrived at the airport.
Follow the locals
We didn’t think people actually followed this at first, but we were quickly proven wrong. Even with no oncoming traffic in sight, people in Tallinn wait for the green man. And you should too.
It’s not normal for me, living in a city where people have a ‘go when you can’ mindset when crossing the road. Still, it’s always good to respect the rules of a new destination and this is one of them.
Map: tips to know for visiting Tallinn
2. How to use the trams in Tallinn
When visiting Tallinn, be sure to take the tram while here. It’s cheap, clean and it runs regularly too.
During our visit, it cost €2 ($2; £1.77)* per person for 1 ride. If you buy your tickets in advance, it costs €1 ($1; £0.88)*. All public transportation is free for Estonians, and they show their respects by treating it well.
Look for the tram stop
There are physical tram stops in Tallinn as well as some that stop in the middle of the road. For the latter, you typically wait at a bus stop for the tram that you want.
Once you see it arriving, you signal for the driver to stop like you do a bus and board with fellow passengers.
Some tram stops involve crossing a busy road to get to. But, the traffic comes to a disciplined stop — just like everything in Tallinn.
Extra Tallinn transport tip: You can take the no. 4 tram from the airport to the city center. Uber is also available in Tallinn and is very reasonable in price too.
3. Some restaurants close early
Maybe it was the restaurants we chose, but we found that some places in Tallinn Old Town closed quite early. For dinner one night, we went to Farm, a popular local restaurant in the center.
Different from the website
We arrived at 8.30pm, only to be told the kitchen was closing at 9pm, and therefore wasn’t possible.
It was strange given the many empty tables we saw plus the website also stating 11pm as closing time. The hostess explained that the restaurant closed at 11pm but the kitchen closed earlier.
She asked us to book for the next evening and to arrive earlier to secure a table. Lesson learnt.
That said, I advise making dinner reservations especially at the more popular restaurants. You can take your chances and just turn up, but you may be left feeling disappointed and hungry too.
4. Breakfast places open later
While Tallinn be may a city of great progress we also found some contradictions.
For example, there are many listed places offering breakfast, but some don’t open till around 10.30am or 11am. We stayed near the old town expecting to find many cafes for breakfast. We were wrong.
Not as planned
There was one place in particular I really wanted to try for their pancakes. Unfortunately, we found out they opened at 11am and my stomach just couldn’t wait that long.
We did eventually find a good breakfast place in Tallinn Old Town called Rukis. This intimate cafe’s actually part of the Farm restaurant group with a heavenly smell that draws you right in.
The menu’s varied with a good mixture of continental and Estonian items. I took the oatmeal with berry compote, and though big in portion size, it was delicious.
5. Booking a ferry to Helsinki from Tallinn
Taking a day trip from Tallinn is a must, and very easy to do too. A popular trip from Tallinn is traveling to Helsinki by ferry — with or without a car.
If you’re planning to make this ferry trip, I recommend booking ferry tickets in advance. Like most forms of transportation, prices can skyrocket the longer you leave it to book.
Different from the locals
As the locals regularly travel back and forth from Helsinki, they receive generous discounts for the ferry. That said, unless you know a local that can book it for you, get your tickets ahead of travel.
6. Where to find the best viewing points in Tallinn Old Town
As you meander around the streets of the old town, be sure to explore every turn you come across. Not only do you get to explore the city, but you’ll also come across several viewing points.
The viewing points are some of the best things to do in Tallinn, so add it to your list. The following places actually have ‘viewing platforms in its name’, so type this into your GPS when in Tallinn.
Patkuli Viewing Platform
Patkuli Viewing Platform is the first one we came by. From here, you get to admire the colorful rooftops and church spires of Tallinn Old Town.
There’s also a souvenir shop just before the observation deck in case you need to find your bearings.
Piiskopi viewing platform
A second viewing point in Tallinn is Piiskopi viewing platform. The name’s a bit misleading, as it’s not actually a platform, but more the end of a path.
Depending on the time, and time of year, you visit, the number of people can vary from few to packed.
From Piiskopi Viewing Platform, you get to see an uninterrupted birds-eye view of Tallinn. Fortunately, there are no viewing binoculars — like the ones we found in Marseille — meaning more space to take photographs.
During our visit, we’d arrived just as a group of tourists were going, leaving us plenty of ‘Insta-worthy’ photo opportunities.
Kohtuotsa Viewing Platform
Unlike the other two viewing platforms, the one at Kohtuotsa has two viewing binoculars. The space here resembles more of a courtyard than the others and is slightly bigger.
We found this to be the busiest viewing platform in Tallinn Old Town. Also, the positioning of the viewing binoculars made it tricky to get good photos making this my least favorite.
7. Be careful where you park
While the locals may be able to speak English, the same doesn’t apply when it comes to their written signs.
If you plan to visit places — and you should — outside Tallinn, hiring a car is necessary. However, one thing they don’t tell you as you drive off into the Tallinn sun, is about the parking meters.
A downer to the day
In some areas we visited, and parked, such as Telliskivi, the meters were in clear sight. In other places, like Pirita, we couldn’t find any in sight, and parked unknowingly in a quiet road.
After an incredible dinner at Tuljak restaurant, and a glorious sunset to match, we came back to find a ticket. Hiding inconspicuously beneath the windscreen wiper was a plastic envelope with a ticket inside.
Needless to say, it put a downer on the entire evening.
8. Black rye bread is everywhere
You can’t visit Tallinn without trying the traditional black rye bread.
It’s a staple in Estonia and you’ll find it everywhere. Some restaurants, like Farm, serve it with home-churned butter and sea salt.
The black rye bread's also healthier compared to its white counterpart and keeps you fuller for longer. There’s no room for guilt when you're eating this bread. It's packed with tons of nutrients, giving you the green light to eat as much as you want.
We enjoyed it so much that we ended up taking two loaves from the airport shop before our departure.
9. Experience medieval dining
Of all the dining experiences we had in Tallinn, nothing was like our meal at Olde Hansa.
A restaurant — and menu — straight from the Middle Ages, it’s the only place in Tallinn where you can eat medieval.
Everything from the menu follows the same recipes from the medieval period. Saying that, Olde Hansa isn’t the place to visit if you’re craving a burger and fries.
From the outside, the building’s exterior instantly pulls you into another era — a feeling that’s reinforced as you enter. Staff dressed in traditional dress hover around diners, bringing over clay mugs filled with home-brewed beer.
What to eat at Olde Hansa
For a restaurant focusing on all things medieval, Olde Hansa’s menu should keep everyone happy. Meat eaters can choose from a steak, leg of pork or Himalayan duck.
There were no potatoes in this period, so most meals come with vegetables and some sort of grain.
Vegetarians may enjoy the forest mushroom soup, golden lentil pot or oven baked herb and juniper cheese. Olde Hansa also has smaller plates and some interesting desserts too, such as rose pudding, and apple and honey pastries.
10. Christian denomination churches in Tallinn Old Town
As you wander around Tallinn Old Town, you can’t help but notice the amount of churches.
While it may not sound unusual, once you enter the buildings, you’ll see a difference in each layout.
Different denomination, different styles
Each of the churches follow a different Christian denomination, and the choice is vast.
Many of the churches in Tallinn follow the Lutheran faith, such as the Church of the Holy Spirit. However, you’ll also find those that follow Russian Orthodox (Alexander Nevsky Cathedral) and Baptist (St. Olaf’s Church).
Whether you’re religious yourself doesn’t matter. Simply seeing the differences between the churches’ architectural styles and faiths is interesting enough.
11. Tap water is safe to drink
Are you the kind of traveler that stocks up on bottled water when you travel? If the answer's yes, you’ll be happy to read that you don’t need to do this in Tallinn.
Tap water here is clean and is also safe to drink.
It’s a tip that may not be the most important but one that I’m keen to share. Drinking tap water means you get to support sustainable travel by refilling your bottle every time you need it.
What's more, you save money on buying bottled water at the store, and can put it towards something more enjoyable.
What are your thoughts on this travel guide on travel tips for visiting Tallinn? Are there other travel tips I forgot to mention? Let me know in the comments below.
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I have not been to Tallinn yet - but I would like to see this beautiful town personally. I also exeprienced the diffiuclties with eating hours in different countries. While I am fine with early dinners - late breakfasts are a no-go. Funny, that they open their breakfast places between 10 - 11 am! The black rhy bread looks delicious - I bet it went quite well with a glass of red wine.
I know! I love breakfast and really can't function properly until I've eaten 😀 The rye bread was really good!
Thank you, I liked your blog. For a novice traveler, this is very useful information. Great photos. I really want to visit Tallinn.
Thanks Tori! I'm glad you found it useful; Tallinn is a charming city 🙂
This looks like a great getaway spot! I’d love to visit someday.
You must, it's a wonderful city to explore
These is something about the European cities I love about. The rooftop view of these cities make me travel immediately. What a picturesque city is Tallinn. Its such a great thing to know that everyone follows traffic light. A day trip to Helsinki on a cruise is a great idea. I would definitely loved to have black rye bread whenever I am there.
It's really delicious, especially when freshly baked with butter! I hope you get to visit one day 🙂
I haven't heard much about Tallinn before. Looks like an incredible city to explore. I love your photography, especially the zoomed in green man! We have those rules in India too. Nice compact guide for a city-break in Tallinn.
Thanks Sinjana! It's a great place to photograph!
To be honest, this is the first time hearing of a place called Tullinan. Talk bout being educated. I love the architecture, it's beautiful.
Thank you, Tallinn is very pretty!
wow its so interesting here! Tallinn sounds like my kind of place to explore on vacation
It's really beautiful, and really worth visiting!
I must say never thought of visiting Tallinn for some reason but reading your post surely puts this on my list of city breaks going forward. Seems to be decent connection to the city being the capital from London and the weather is no surprise as you say. A good place to take a ferry over if you want to discover a few other places around like Helsinki. The capital city of Estonia is an ideal destination for a city break, long weekend and caters to all travellers. Seems like might be a struggle with the discipline specially with those green traffic lights being from London but good to know about the locals and the habbits. Thanks for sharing
I'm glad you're thinking of visiting, it's a fun city!
The pictures are absolutely awesome. It is pretty obvious you had an awesome time with your trip. I am quite jealous actually.
Lol that wasn't my intention! I hope you get to visit one day
It is indeed a lovely place to explore, Such great captures I must say that and your description is lovely
Thank you! I wanted to share everything we'd saw in Tallinn
Tallinn looks like such a beautiful city I can't wait to visit! I definitely want to take great photos so really appreciate your tips on the best viewing points.
You're welcome Patti! It's a really great city to photograph 🙂
Really helpful tips! I love that you even cover drinking water from the tap in Tallinn, because those are the things that are so helpful to know before you go. And I love that they have tram transportation. It's so convenient for us travelers!
I think so too! It's a small tip but one that makes a difference
This was great info for me since we are planning to visit Tallinn this summer while we are in Helsinki. It has been a while, and I'm sure a lot has changed there, but I look forward to explore the Old Town and eat well. I will have to bookmark all these Tallinn posts so I can read them again before our trip.
Aw that'll be nice! I'm sure it's prettier in summer too. Enjoy your time there
I've never visited Tallinn, no - but it is definitely somewhere I'd like to. These are very handy tips for anybody travelling to Tallinn in the future.
Thank you, and I hope you get to visit one day 🙂
So many great tips in here. I had no idea that a lot of people spoke English and the green light thing is good to know. Interesting that breakfast isn't served so early in the morning. We came across this same instance when we were in Cuba. I'm so used to getting my breakfast so early 🙂
Lol you're not the only one! It was so random with breakfast places, that if you found one open, you'd just take your chances 😀
Useful tips I wish has had when I visited Tallinn. Our visit was short, I would love to return again someday and these tips will definitely come in handy. Especially the tip about car rental to explore beyond Tallinn. Good shout about making sure to check the parking restrictions. I have had my share of parking tickets but the ones when you are traveling always seem to sting a bit more than when you get one back home.
I know what you mean! It put a real dampner on the evening, hence me sharing this cautionary tale in this post!
This place looks so pretty to visit. I would love to get out there someday!
You must, it's such a pretty city!
Food and strolling down those streets made this post the best of the day! Love the blue of the sky, I was in Croatia and kind of reminded me of it.
Where in Croatia, there's definitely similarities there 🙂
This is really helpful especially to first-time travelers and not just for Tallinn but in other destinations as well. I also see to it that I read information leaflets at the airport. Plus, there are times that tourist discount coupons are included.
That's a good point and helpful too
This is a great article full of top tips for Tallin first timers like me, it's somewhere I really want to visit. Tallinn Old Town looks like a great place to explore, the churches look very impressive.
It's gorgeous Vanessa, and really surprising, but in a good way 😀
This is one of the perks about being a blogger: learning about places I never knew existed! The beautiful photos and descriptions you gave of Tallinn has really educated me.
I'm so happy to read that! It's a beautiful city, with plenty to see and do 🙂
This is a very helpful list of tips and Tallinn is a place I'd love to get to one day. I'd have been very annoyed to have been told the kitchen closes at 9 pm when the place shuts at 11 pm. In fact, I would have hated going back the next day and rewarding them for their stupidity - but that fish dish looks amazing, so I guess I would have to just swallow my pride. And that delicious looking food.
Trust me, we too were annoyed, especially seeing how empty it was at 8.30! Still, it's all part of learning about a new city and the way they do things there. Plus, the food and service was really good!
Looks like Tallin is a lovely place. I'm amazed how disciplined the people were in following the traffic rules. I wish all people all over the world have their kind of discipline.
So do I! It was quite odd to begin with, but after I quite liked it 😀
Thank you for these tips!! I appreciate the tips about parking and arriving early for the restaurants!
You're welcome! It makes a big difference!
What a neat city to explore. It looks like there is so much to see and do! I would love to visit some day.
I hope you do too, it's such a pretty city!
Your pictures are absolutely beautiful! Makes me want to go there on a visit soon. <3 This guide is incredibly helpful and takes most of the fuss away from stressful planning while on a destination.
Aw thanks Wren, that's so kind of you to write. I always like to share our observations with others 🙂
Gorgeous city! It almost looks fake! I love how there's a lot to do there and thank you for the tips. Europe is always a great travel destination so I definitely need to check this place out!
Tallinn really is! It's a pretty city, and we've plenty of other great destinations here in Europe too!
Ok now I really want to visit Estonia! The pictures look stunning and the food sounds delicious! I love your comment at the end about drinking the local water to aid in sustainable travel. I always travel with a reusable water bottle and try to do that as much as possible. It's great to know the tap water in Estonia is drinkable!
Thank you Hailey, I'm glad you took note of that. It's such a basic tip, but one I thought important to share. I hope you get to visit one day x
What a timely post, I'm heading to Tallinn in August! Thanks for sharing the best spot for viewing the city. I'm also excited to try all the yummy food you mentioned!
There's some really delicious food in Tallinn. Enjoy your trip!
This is very insightful! I've always wanted to go to Estonia!
You're welcome, I hope you get to visit one day!
To be honest - I've never really considered Estonia as a destination on my bucket list! But after reading your blog post and seeing the pictures - the city looks absolutely amazing ! I am looking forward to visiting one day!
You really must, we'd never thought about visiting, but really enjoyed it 🙂
I've never been to Estonia but Tallinn looks like somewhere to put on the list. What a beautiful place and some really helpful tips to make the most of a visit.
Thanks Fiona, I'm glad you enjoyed it. It's really a beautiful city, and family friendly too
Eastern European countries are my passion and slowly my dream is to be able to visit them all !!! What an unexpectedly beautiful place Estonia is!
Tallinn is very beautiful, and from what I've seen of Estonia, so are many parts of the country 🙂
Haven't read much about Tallinn before, but it's great to know how disciplined the country is. Your tips are really useful for any one visiting Tallinn for the first time. I would love to check out Estonia surely.
It's an awesome country to visit and a city with incredible potential!
Tallin has been so high on our bucket list. Great tips here - especially about transport tickets and booking in advance. How nice is it to see a city that provides free transport for its people. We would have to definitely get used to opening times for breakfast and closing times for dinner. We love the fact that you can drink the water - we are all into reducing the amount of plastic we use.
Public transport is free in Estonia 😀 It's an excellent initiative and one that clearly works for the people. We couldn't get our heads around the restaurant timings!
Before I lived in Germany I was warned about not crossing the street when the green man wasn't lit up. It's seriously NO JOKE! I had a friend living in Estonia for about a year and he would always talk about how it was a real-life fairytale land. At first, it was hard to believe it, but your pictures put me in my place! I'd love to be able to check out a medieval restaurant. So awesome!
Lol I know, it's very straight, and weird too at first! Olde Hansa was such a fun experience
I experienced the same thing with crossing the street in Germany. At home, I just cross when there aren't any cars coming, regardless if the walk sign is on, but whenever I do that in Germany (outside of the super touristy areas), I can actually feel the locals glaring at me and judging.
That's amazing that public transportation is free for Estonians. I'd save so much money if I could get around the city for free at home!
Ha, my partner wanted to cross when there were no cars, but I had to hold him back! It was really interesting I have to say!
What an informative post! Taillinn isn't somewhere I'd automatically think of visiting but it does look an interesting place. Not sure I could wait until 11am for breakfast either though and the parking sounds a little challenging.
Yes, we found that out the hard way unfortunately! I hope you consider visiting one day 🙂
I'm not particularly familiar with Tallinn, or Estonia at all, as a matter of fact. But this seems like such a gorgeous town to visit! The colors are simply wonderful and it has such a peaceful atmosphere 🙂 I'm not sure if I'm able to wait for breakfast till 11 either though, haha!
Lol trust me, I couldn't wait either! Maybe it was just our luck, but I wanted to share this point with other breakfast-searching travelers!
Tallinn wasn't somewhere I'd thought to visit before, but think it needs adding to the list! The picture from the viewpoint of the churches and all the coloured roofs is just stunning!
Thanks Ben, glad you enjoyed it! We had an excellent time too, and it's really worth seeing for yourself
Excellent post to help the first time traveller to Tallin. I was there years ago on a cruise and really liked it. Of course, we were not there long enough to learn about early dinners and late breakfasts! I love that you can take a ferry to Helsinki. How cool is that?
It's super cool, and I'm a little saddened we didn't do it. However, next time I'll be sure to book the tickets in advance
Interesting to learn more about Tallinn, I knew very little about the city. It's helpful to know that most people speak English and about waiting for "the green man". It's funny how cities differ in their culture of when they cross the street. Also love that the tap is safe to drink.....that makes me so happy these days, haha!
Lol yes, it's a small detail but it makes a big difference, to the environment and the pocket too!
Oh yes Takkinn sounds a really interesting place to visit, thanks so much for the tips. I will consider it for future trips now. Mich x
You're welcome, I hope you visit too
Great post with fabulous pics. I always turn to blogs before booking travel for great tips like these
Thanks Katrina, that means a lot! I really hope you get to visit one day, Tallinn's a fun city to explore
This is so helpful to anyone looking to visit, great tip about checking food times with restaurants.
Thank you for your feedback; I'm glad you found it useful!