How to get there
HOW TO GET THERE
By Air
The Airports Council International (ACI) recognised Tallinn Airport with the Best European Airport 2018 award. The high award was received in a competition of airports with up to 5 million passengers, overtaking the airports of Cork, London City, Torino, Kosovo and Chisnau.
Located just 4 km from the Tallinn City centre, the modern Lennart Meri Tallinn Airport provides excellent facilities and a wide variety of services to meet the demands of all its customers.
Lennart Meri Tallinn Airport
Phone +372 605 8888
www.tallinn-airport.ee
Airport bus and tram stops are located at the city side of the passenger terminal. Single journey tickets can be bought from the driver and cost 2 €. The journey to the city centre takes approximately 15-17 minutes.
A Taxi stand is also just outside the departure hall. The fare from the airport to the city centre is about €5 to €10. Google Maps is handy helper when needed, UBER and Taxify are also available.
A taxi stand can be found just outside the arrivals hall. The fare from the airport to the city centre is about €5 to €10. Read more about Tallinn’s taxis here.
By Sea
Ships from Helsinki bring thousands of travellers to Tallinn’s busy passenger port each day. There is an overnight ferry link with Stockholm and a weekly cruise ship connection to St Petersburg. Large cruise ships stop in Tallinn from spring until autumn.
Ferries cross the Gulf of Finland between Tallinn and Helsinki several times a day, covering the distance in roughly 2 to 3 hours. Ferries between Tallinn and Stockholm depart every evening, with the trip taking approximately 15 hours.
Passenger terminals are located within walking distance of the medieval Old Town.
Passenger Information at the Harbour
Phone +372 631 8550
www.portoftallinn.com
For information on arriving by bus, car or train see further details here.
VENUE
Hilton Tallinn Park
Fr. R. Kreutzwaldi 23, 10147 Tallinn, Estonia
Located in the city centre, just steps away from the peaceful Politseiaed Park, Hilton Tallinn Park is near Tallinn’s main business area, the harbour and the Medieval Old Town. Walking distance away is Kadriorg Park – the most outstanding palatial and urban park in Estonia. Tallinn Airport is ten minutes’ drive away.
CITY OF TALLINN
Geographic indicators
Total area 159,2 km2 (Estonia 45 227 km2)
Coastline 46 km
Green areas 40 km2
Population of Tallinn 453 328 (01.10.2018)
Nationalities living in Tallinn
Estonian 53.2%, Russian 38%, Ukrainian 3.4%, other 5,3%
Tallinn is the capital city of Estonia and an ideal holiday destination as well as a conference place.
It is situated on the northern coast of the country, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, 80 km south of Helsinki, east of Stockholm and west of Saint Petersburg.
Tallinn is ranked as a global city and has been listed among the top 10 digital cities in the world.
With half a million citizens (about 30 percent of the Estonia’s 1.34 million residents live here), Tallinn is hardly a world metropolis.
However, short distances and low traffic are advantages to cherish. Whether you have only a few hours or a few days, you get to experience a lot.
Medieval Tallinn Old Town, which is on the list of the UNESCO World Heritage Sites, is one of the best-preserved Hanseatic town centres in the world. It is just a short walk away from the city’s business centre with its skyscrapers, modern hotels, restaurants and shopping malls.
For more information about Tallinn, please visit:
http://www.visitestonia.com/en/holiday-destinations/city-guides/tallinn-the-capital
http://www.tourism.tallinn.ee/eng
For more information about Estonia, please see
https://estonia.ee/
TALLINN HISTORY
Tallinn’s earliest mention in historical records dates to 1154 when Arab cartographer al-Idrisi marked it on his world map. Locals had been using this spot as a market and fishing port, but little else is known about life here during that time.
The Danish conquest of Estonia in 1219 marks the beginning of Tallinn’s history as a town. Legend holds that the national flag of Denmark originated in the pivotal battle to take Toompea hill, on the spot now called the Danish King’s Garden. The shapes and colours of Tallinn’s coat of arms, as well as the three lions symbol of Estonia, are derived from the period of Danish power. While the Danish crown held the land, the majority of Tallinn’s early settlers were actually ethnic Germans, who called the town Reval.
From the 13th to 16th century, Tallinn flourished as a member of the Hanseatic League, a medieval trade network. Salt was the main commodity that boosted the wealth of the local German merchants, who in turn left their mark in Tallinn’s grand architectural legacy by building remarkable structures such as the Three Sisters and the Great Guild Hall.
From the mid-16th to the early 18th century, Estonia was under Swedish rule. It was the Swedes who drastically improved the town’s defences, adding ramparts and tunnel systems.
The time of the Russian imperial rule in Tallinn lasts from 1710 until 1918.The city’s beloved Kadriorg palace and Park were established by Peter the Great ant the beginning of this period. The first railway connection in the 1870s brought industrialisation and a population influx, giving rise to wooden-house neighbourhoods such as Kalamaja and Pelgulinn.
By the 1930s, Tallinn was a fast-developing European capital, an international melting pot with a thriving café and cabaret culture. Building was again booming.
During the period of Soviet occupation, Tallinn gained the position of the cultural metropolis that was envied throughout the USSR. Hosting the yachting events of the 1980 Summer Olympics brought Tallinn extra investment including Old Town renovation and the addition of Tallinn TV Tower.
A wave of peaceful protests known as the Singing Revolution led to the re-establishment of Estonia’s independence in 1991. While reforming and focusing on the future, the city never forgot its rich past. In 1997, Old Town was added to UNESCO’s World Heritage List as “an exceptionally complete and well preserved, medieval northern European trading city”.
Modern Tallinn is a rapidly developing, high-tech capital. To see where the city is heading in the 21st century, take a stroll through the Rotermann Quarter, the formerly factory complex between Old Town and the Passenger Port. The area’s biggest project, the Rotermann Centre, is a trendy and dining zone.
PRACTICAL INFORMATION
Time
Estonia is in the Eastern European Time Zone: GMT + 2 hours.
Weather in May
May is when it really starts becoming comfortable in Tallinn. The average temperature in May is 11°C. The night-time average temperature of 5°C means that, while frost may occasionally still occur, the freezing cold nights are now well in the past. The afternoons are quite comfortable, with an average high temperature of 17°C. The sea temperature, however, isn’t anywhere near a level that could be considered comfortable. It averages 7°C. Swimming in Tallinn is really only pleasant in the peak summer months of July and August.
Medical services & police
In case of an accident or sudden illness, call for an ambulance or the police free-of-charge from any phone: 112.
Pharmacies are usually open from 10:00-19:00 (9:00-21:00 pharmacies in shopping centres).
Two of them stay open all night: Südameapteek – Tõnismägi 5, ph: +372 644 2282 and Vikerlase 19, ph: +372 638 4338.
Power supply
The electrical current is 220 volts AC, 50 Hz, European-style 2-pin plugs are in use.
Internet
Tallinn has become famous for its abundance of free, public Wi-Fi, which is available in nearly every café, restaurant, hotel and hostel, as well in open spaces such as city squares and parks. Free Wi-Fi is available at the Conference hotel.
Best restaurants in Tallinn in 2019
If you wish to experience the best food in Tallinn, you should choose your next restaurant from the culinary master book White Guide Nordic. The guide divides restaurants into five categories: Global Masters Level, Masters Level, Very Fine Level, Fine Level and Good Level restaurants.
Out of White Guide’s TOP 30 Baltic restaurants, 20 are in Estonia and 15 of them in Tallinn.
See all Tallinn listed restaurants by Level here.