Harju County · Estonia
Where to stay in Tallinn
Tallinn is a city in Harju County, Estonia, home to about 458,000 people. This guide covers 4 apartment buildings and 3 hotels in Tallinn, with about 691 rooms between them.
- Places to stay in this guide
- 7
- Best months
- June and July
- Nearest airport
- TLL6 km · Lennart Meri Tallinn Airport
- Currency
- EUReuro
- Time zone
- Europe/Tallinn
- Language
- Estonian
About
About Tallinn
Tallinn is the capital and largest city of Estonia. Located on a bay in northern Estonia, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea, it has a population of 452,563 as of 2026, making it the third most-populous city in the Baltics.
On the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is a city of over 450,000 inhabitants (2023). It is home to a third of the country's population, and is also the capital of Harju County in Northern Estonia. In a striking contrast to its Old Town, its immediate outskirts are filled with a cluster of modern office towers, with intermittent architectural monuments to the Soviet era. Further out, you will find a bewildering variety of historic and modern neighbourhoods, religious, civic, industrial and maritime heritage.
Wikipedia and Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.
Things to do
What to see and do in Tallinn
See
The Tenet tour is a showcase of sets of the 2020 film Tenet. The Tallinn history tour is a walk through the city's long history. According to myth, the hill was built on top of the grave of legendary Estonian king Kalev, but more historically, its solid limestone and the site of the Danish castle that founded the city in 1219. Toompea was the home of the Danish and later Baltic German aristocracy and relations between the toffs and the plebs were often inflamed, which is why it's surrounded by thick walls and there's a gate tower (1380) guarding the entrance. Check out the viewpoints, some of which give great views over the city.
- Toompea Castle
- Alexander Nevsky Cathedral
- St. Mary's Cathedral
- Stenbock House
- Estonian Knighthood House
- Viru Gate
- Town Hall Square
- Town Hall
- St. Olaf's church
- St. Nicholas church
- Vabamu
- City Wall
Do
- Medieval Days
- Kultuurikatel (creative hub)
- Energy Discovery Centre
- PROTO Invention Factory
- Kalev Spa
- Atlantis H2O Aquapark
- Vembu-Tembumaa
- Pirita Beach
- Stroomi Beach
- Lake Harku
- Kakumäe beach
- Pikakari Beach
Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.
Where to stay
Places to stay in Tallinn
7 places to stay from the chains this guide covers, each linked to its own website.
| Place to stay | Rooms |
|---|---|
| Bob W Tallinn City Centre - Ambassador apartment building | 46 |
| Bob W Tallinn City Centre - Avangard apartment building | 66 |
| Bob W Tallinn Kesklinn apartment building | 45 |
| Bob W Tallinn Telliskivi apartment building | 45 |
| Tallink City Hotel hotel | 324 |
| Tallink Express Hotel hotel | 165 |
| Tallink Spa & Conference Hotel hotel |
Schematic: the city centre in orange, each place to stay as a dot, distance rings in kilometres.
Where to stay
Which part of Tallinn to stay in
Tallinn is made up of 8 administrative districts (linnaosa), which are further divided into numerous quarters (asum). Most of the points of interest to tourists are located in the seaside districts.
Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.
When to go
The best time to visit Tallinn
The most comfortable months for a city stay in Tallinn are June and July. July is the warmest month, with average highs of 22 °C; August is the wettest, with about 80 mm of rain.
Comfortable means average daytime high between 18 °C and 29 °C and under 80 mm of rain in the month. Averages for 1991–2020 over the surrounding area, a grid square about 50 km across, so a coast or a nearby mountain can make the town itself warmer or cooler. Data: CRU TS v4.10, Climatic Research Unit, University of East Anglia (Open Database License).
Getting there
Getting to Tallinn: airports and arrival
The nearest airport with scheduled flights is Lennart Meri Tallinn Airport (TLL), about 5.6 km from the city centre in a straight line; Helsinki Vantaa Airport (HEL, 99 km) and Pärnu Airport (EPU, 114 km) are also within reach.
Getting in
All ferries dock at Reisisadam port, to the north of the centre. Tallink uses Terminal D at the south-eastern side of the bay and Eckerö and Viking the Terminal A/B at the northwestern side. Walking between the two terminals takes about 5 minutes over a pedestrian bridge crossing the marina. At Terminal A/B you can grab a useful free city map just before exiting the terminal. From there, tram 2 operates to the city centre (A. Laikmaa stop) and the intercity bus station (Bussijaam) in one direction, and to the train and regional bus station (Balti jaam stop) in the other direction.
Getting around
The Old Town is best navigated on foot, not that you have much choice. A network of buses, trams and trolleybuses covers the rest of the city. There is an abundance of relatively cheap taxis. Before you jump in a random taxi car make sure you check the price on the window of the car. In Tallinn there are more than 20 taxi companies and some can be a rip-off. TLT operates frequent bus, trolley and tram services daily 06:00-23:59. Timetables and maps are available in English.
Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.
TLL · Lennart Meri Tallinn Airport
HEL · Helsinki Vantaa Airport
EPU · Pärnu Airport
Local knowledge
Eating, drinking and staying safe in Tallinn
Eat
The Old Town is packed with restaurants claiming to offer authentic Estonian food, particularly on and around Raekoja plats. Prices at restaurants near the Raekoja Plats are generally more expensive, yet offer the same quality of food, as restaurants off this main square. Prices are steep by Estonian standards, but still much cheaper than neighbouring Helsinki, which explains why on weekends they're always packed with day tripping Finns.
Stay safe
Tallinn is easily among Europe's safest capitals, with violent crime being rare and petty crime being negligible compared to other cities. However, various governments warn against the risk of being pickpocketed, particularly in the Old Town. Watch your valuables closely, especially on public transport and at Viru Street. The stigmatized neighbourhoods of Kopli and Lasnamäe – both predominantly Russian-speaking areas known as hotbeds for the notorious "Gopnik" culture – are probably best to be avoided after dark, although they are a lot safer than the "bad neighbourhoods" in Western European or North American cities. In suburbs of the city it is always best to avoid heavily drunk people.
Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.
Good to know
Accessibility, parking and families in Tallinn
How many places to stay in this guide offer each, in their operators' own words.
of 7 places
of 7 places
of 7 places
of 7 places
of 7 places
of 7 places
Questions
Tallinn: questions travellers ask
When is the best time to visit Tallinn?
The most comfortable months for a city stay in Tallinn are June and July. July is the warmest month, with average highs of 22 °C; August is the wettest, with about 80 mm of rain.
Which airport is closest to Tallinn?
The nearest airport with scheduled flights is Lennart Meri Tallinn Airport (TLL), about 5.6 km from the city centre in a straight line; Helsinki Vantaa Airport (HEL, 99 km) and Pärnu Airport (EPU, 114 km) are also within reach.
What currency is used in Tallinn?
euro (EUR).
Nearby
Destinations near Tallinn
Sources: city facts from Wikidata and Wikipedia; airports from OurAirports; climate from CRU TS v4.10 (University of East Anglia Climatic Research Unit), 1991–2020 monthly means, 0.5° grid; places to stay, guest scores and amenities from each operator's own public pages. How this guide is made.