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We stayed at Radisson Blu Seaside Hotel in Helsinki which is near to the ferry terminal (West Harbour T2) to Tallinn - 10 minutes by tram or 20 minutes by foot. Unfortunately we found out that there isn't any ticket machine at the tram stop nearest to us so we walked to the ferry terminal. The point of the story is - not all tram stop has a ticket machine.
This is afterall international border crossing from Finland to Estonia, so best to carry along the necessary documents like passport, though we have not been asked to show our passports.
Getting to Tallinn
The cheapest ferry ticket we found is via Eckerö Line at the time of our travel. Single Helsinki - Tallinn return adult ticket cost €19. Ferry departed Helsinki at 09:00, arriving Tallinn at 11:15. Return ferry departed Tallinn at 18:30, arriving back in Helsinki at 21:00.
We bought our ticket online on arrival in Helsinki, the evening just a day prior. Latest boarding time was 30 minutes before departure. The process was simple, just needed to scan the electronic ticket, pass the turnstill, get into the ferry and find a seat to your preference.
We saw some comfy seats at one of the many cafes which turned out to be one that hosted bingo games midway. Participation was optional.
Arriving in Tallinn
The ferry docked at Vanasadam Old City Harbour. There were buses to the Tallinn Old Town but most people walked. We followed the rest of the visitors on foot, it was an easy stroll of about 20 minutes.
Tallinn Old Town (Tallinna vanalinn)
The Old Town of Tallinn is one of the best-preserved medieval towns in Europe and is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Tallinn's Old Town is divided into 2 parts - "Lower town" and "Upper Town (Toompea).
Even before stepping inside the Old Town, St. Olaf Church (Oleviste kirik) is the first thing you'll see on coming up to the Old Town. The church was the tallest building in the world back in 1549 to 1625.
Old Town Walls
Rounding Tallinn's Old Town are the medieval town walls. These walls also divide the Upper Town and Lower Town. Parts of the wall's near Hellemann Tower conncting to Munkadetagune Tower is open to visitors to go up and walk along for a fee. The other prominent landmark of the Old Town Walls is the round tower - Fat Margaret Tower.
In the middle ages when ships were the main mode of transportation, Great Coastal gate were the main entrance to the city. A tower of build near to the gate to protect the town from attaack and has a diameter of 25 metres and height of 20 metres. This tower was nicknamed Fat Margaret and currently house the Maritime Museum of Tallinn and an observation deck at the top.
Walking from the ferry terminal will bring one to the Tallinn Old Town will bring one to enter the via the Great Coastal Gate (Suur Rannavärav).
As you entered the gate into Tallinn's Old Town, the Lower town features quaint, meadering cobblestone streets and gabled houses.
Town Hall Square
Tallinn's Town Hall Square is the center of this old town since the Middle ages. In winter it houses Tallinn's Christmas market and we were very lucky that in during our visit, this Christmas market runs end of November till early January. It is one of the few Christmas markets that are run passed actual Christmas day.
Just behind the beautiful Christmas tree is the Town Hall building, built between 1402 and 1404. At the end of the square is the Raeapteek, the oldest pharmacist in Tallinn and one of the oldest in Europe.
St. Nicholas Church (Niguliste kirik)
Other noticable towers emerging from the rest of the city's rooftops is the spire of St. Nicholas Church. This church from the 13th centur was almost completely destroyed during World War II. It was restored and now is the home of the Niguliste Museum. It was the prominent spire that prompted the photo below as well. We didn't enter the church itself.
Upper Town - Toompea
Tallinn's Upper Town is perched upon a hill and acessible via Pikk Jalg, or through a gap in the town halls past Kiek in de Kök Tower. Pikk Jalg appears to be translated to Long Boot is a narrowish cobblestone walkway.
Alexander Nevsky Cathedral
One of Tallinn's most iconic landmarks, the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral marked your arrival to Toompea as this church was completed in 1900 sits on top of the Toompea Hill. This Russian Orthodox church dates back to the old Russian empire and comprises 11 bells including Tallinn's largest bell weighing 15 tonnes.
Kiek in de Kök
Kiek in de Kök Fortification Museum forms a museum complex over 500 metres long that includes four towers - Kiek in de Kök, Maiden's Tower, Tallitorn Tower, and the Gate Tower of the Short Leg (Lühikese jala väravatorn). The fortification museum also includes access to underground bastion passages and exhibition on overview of past warfare. Tickets allows access to go up to the towers and the walk between them.
In front of this museum complex is the Danish King's Garden. Found this page that provides some info to as why it is named Danish King's Garden.
There are also a couple of viewing platforms to check out - Kohtuotsa viewing platform and Patkuli viewing platform.
We packed breakfast and ate them onboard ferry to Tallinn and stopped for lunch in Tallinn. Sis listed down a pancake bar to try in Tallinn - Kompressor but were not feeling pancakes and wanted more hot food. We saw a Ukrainian restaurant - Odessa nearby to where we were then and popped in for lunch. Not in picture was Ukrainian red borsch with sour cream and buns "pampushka", and somewhat in photo - glögg. Food was very delicious and hearty.
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| Vareniki stuffed with flounder with parsley, €11.50 |
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| Chicken kyiv with baked potatoes and cracklings, €17.50 |
We were not organised enough to have also packed dinner, so we got sandwiches to share onboard and slept most of the trip back. Most people stocked up on alcohol from Tallinn to bring back to Helsinki though. It finally snowed when we arrived back to Helsinki.
Side note: Other charming small street is St Catherine's Passage (Katariina käik)
This trip happened last December / January, naturally the main reason of this trip was Aurora Borealis. Spoiler alert - the lights were amazing, and it was cold. We did contemplate of driving but are not experience and confident in driving during snow so it was buses, trains, ferry and flights. More days were allocated further north because we wanted to increase the odds of seeing the Northern Lights. While I know it is not a guarantee sighting but I also know I would be very disappointed if I didn't see the lights.
Here's the itinerary for about 3 weeks covering Sweden, Finland and Norway with a day trip to Talinn.
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| M: Morning, A: Afternoon, E: Evening, N: Night |
24/12, Day 00: On flight, transit in Qatar.
25/12, Day 01: Arrive in Stockholm* (Castle House Inn)
26/12, Day 02: Stockholm*
27/12, Day 03: Stockholm*
28/12, Day 04: Stockholm. Fly to Helsinki* (Radisson Blu Seaside Hotel)
29/12, Day 05: Helsinki*, day trip to Talinn
30/12, Day 06: Helsinki, overnight train* to Rovaniemi
31/12, Day 07: Rovaniemi* (Airbnb)
01/01, Day 08: Rovaniemi*
02/01, Day 09: Rovaniemi* (Santa's Igloos Arctic Circle)
03/01, Day 10: Departed Rovaniemi to Kiruna*, transfer in Pello (STF Malmfältens Folkhögskola)
04/01, Day 11: Departed Kiruna to Abisko* (Abisko Guesthouse & Activities)
05/01, Day 12: Abisko*
06/01, Day 13: Abisko*
07/01, Day 14: Abisko*
08/01, Day 15: Departed Abisko to Tromso*, transfer in Narvik (Airbnb)
09/01, Day 16: Tromso*
10/01, Day 17: Tromso*
11/01, Day 18: Tromso, flight to Oslo* (Citybox Oslo)
12/01, Day 19: Oslo*
13/01, Day 20: Departed Oslo, transit in Qatar
14/01, Day 21: Arrived Melbourne
*referring to overnight stay
Side note: Looks like I'm behind by 6 months.. hehe