Tallinn

Estonia

Things to do in Tallinn:

View the Gallery Tallinn Parkland

Tallinn Restaurants

Cheap (25)

Monaco

Express lunches are served to busy businessmen. The prices aren't as flash as their suits though - lunch at �8. read more
Affordable (22)

Olde Hansa

Come to the mysterious Old Town and feast in Olde Hansa like Hanseatic merchants in merry, medieval style. read more
Good quality (20)

Museum

This restaurant's delightful d�cor combines red brick, dark wood, brown leather and bright copper. Sit back in stylish surroundings and enjoy European cuisine with some Japanese favourites. read more

Tallinn Nightlife

Chilled (27)

Three Sisters Wine Bar

A swanky low-key, medieval cellar-bar with the longest list of wines by the glass in town. read more
Live Music (16)

Clazz

A classy restaurant and lounge club with a wide variety of performers and music styles performed nightly - think jazz, Latin sounds and everything in between. read more
Clubbing (22)

Marat

Spacious former factory that's now a not-so-formal, not-so-touristy and not-so-teen-infested club, with the main focus on tunes from the 1990s. read more

This Month in Tallinn (March):

By Ain Hinsberg

Shopping: You'll find wonderful demonstrations of handicrafts being made in many a shop in the Old Town: Katariina Guild (12 Vene), Bogapott (9 Pikk jalg), Eesti K�sit�� (22 Pikk) and Mihkli Guild (13-15 Vene).

Sightseeing: Estonian Music Days (EMD) is arranged by the Estonian Composers Union to catch up with the latest developments in the Estonian music, while Tallinn Music Week is the showcase of the local music industry. Listen in on 22-27 March (helilooja.ee and tallinnmusicweek.ee).

Key areas: The main streets of the Old Town as we know it today are Viru and Pikk. While Viru is the present-day main street (and by far the busiest one in Old Tallinn), Pikk used to take centre stage centuries ago. Wander around the two and get a taste of modern and old Tallin.

Day trips: Estonia's second city and the main university town, Tartu lies 185km south-east of Tallinn. The buses and trains will take you there in two-and-a-half hours. Tartu is filled with history, universities and 20 museums, the great Estonian National Museum being one of them (visittartu.com).

Tallinn News & Gossip

Coming Up: Tallinn City Hall

TALLINN

There will be no hiding away from the public for Estonia's civil servants when they take their seats in Tallinn's striking new city hall sometime in 2014. Instead of a traditional frescoed ceiling, a sloping mirror will create literal transparency between the politicians and the populace, who will be able to spy on them from an open market plaza below. Hundreds of thousands of visitors from Estonia and beyond are expected to climb the tower to look out over Tallinn's existing famous spires, including Toomkirik, Kaarli Kirik and the current town hall, and they will also be able to enjoy a rooftop terrace and caf� with panoramic views over the city.

The design from Danish architects BIG beat 81 other proposals for the 35,000m2 site. Project leader Jakob Lange said: "The town hall is not only surrounded by public space - but literally invaded by the citizens in the form of the public service market place beneath the canopy of the public offices, where the citizens of Tallinn will also get to meet the public servants who represent them." www.big.dk

Tallinn Trivia

March: No excuse for not keeping in touch with the folks back home - there are 352 wireless internet - or Wi-Fi - areas in Tallinn.
February: In the sub-zero temperatures of Estonia in February you may want to try the strongest alcohol ever distilled - at a shocking 98% proof, it's sure to warm those cockles!
January: The Estonian language has four more vowels than English, �, �, �, �, which are difficult to master for most visitors: try haua��udused, meaning horrors of the night in the grave!