When we were planning last month’s day trip to Tallinn, we knew it was going to be a quick one. After all, our whole vacation was less than a week! But we also recognized this was an opportunity to visit Estonia that we might never get again, and we had to jump on it.
Ultimately, we decided that we could make it work, and we framed the adventure as if it were a day at a cruise port. So on our second day in Finland, we got up early to board the 7:30am Tallink Megastar. The two-hour ferry ride – which was quite lovely by the way, definitely a nicer boat than I had expected for a “quick trip” – brought us to the ferry terminal in Tallinn. With only seven hours in the city, we hit the ground running…
First up, we had to stop for sustenance. RØST Bakery was on our way to Old Town, and it was the perfect place for pastries and coffee. We then made our way to the Viru Gate, which has some beautiful flower vendors outside of it – should you want to pick up a bouquet on your way into the Old Town.
From there, we hit up a lot of the major sites: Katariina käik (a beautiful alleyway) and the town hall were two of our early ones. We had a quick snack at Kohvik Must Puudel, which was a super cute cafe with a wide menu selection. We then visited the Danish King’s Garden – I imagine it’s nicer in warmer weather, but we did see the “dementor” statues – and Alexander Nevsky Cathedral. There was truly some lovely architecture to enjoy, and the whole visit reminded me a lot of our time in Dubrovnik during our honeymoon.
We then did a quick round of gift shopping. Cafe Maiasmokk is the oldest cafe in Estonia and gave us some great chocolates to bring home. We also searched several cute shops before finding the perfect nesting doll for our kiddo at Ehted, Kalliskivid, Kellad, Kullassepp in the Old Town. (Side note: that nesting doll did not make the trip home, but that is a story for another day.)
After that, we were off! We boarded our 4:30pm Tallink Megastar ride back to Helsinki, enjoyed the onboard playroom with our son, and definitely made dinner out of the on-site Burger King. We try to eat at local restaurants, but it doesn’t always work! We were totally beat upon our arrival back in Helsinki at 6:30, and we promptly headed back to the hotel to call it a night.
Was it a long day? Oh, yes. Was it worth it? Definitely.