Wednesday, April 25, 2012

Can anyone sell me Tallinn??

Hi guys,





Never been to Estonia before and looking to try somewhere different. Like the sound of Tallinn but just need an nudge in the right direction. Not a first time traveller at all so like to be independent and find my own way around but any hints/tips on how long i should stay, must see%26#39;s would be great. WIll be travelling with a 1 year old too so any help on family-friendly hotels/restaurants would be more than welcome.





Also, price comparison wise, how does it compare to other Eastern European countries such as Prague or Bratislava?





Thanks in advance.




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Just go. Stunning, stunning, stunning Old Town. Really overwhelming. Lots of cobbled streets in the Old Town so a buggy might be hard work getting around if your one year old needs one. In that case i would opt for a Hotel outside of the Old Town.





You can see all of the Old Town in a day, but i personnaly found it friendly and very atmospheric and i happily stayed three days and just hung out there and relaxed.





Similar prices to Prague and BA, possibly a little bit more expensive but by no means excessively. The old town square will be more expensive, just as it is in Prague.




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Dear Jimbo 16,





Tallinn %26amp; Estonian is very beautiful.





When where you planning to travel? Tallinn, Prague %26amp; Bratislava weather starts to drop from december onwards.





I can see that you our from the UK. In December, January, February %26amp; March. tempertures can dramatical drop. I would recommend you buying a whole new WINTER wardrobe for your young child.





If travelling with a young child would recommend either an old town hotel or one of the larger hotels in the business area of Tallinn.





Places to visit:





Old Town Tallinn



Kadriog Park, Muesuem etc



Toompea hill + churches



Open air mueseum





Average stay in Tallinn is 3days.





Very beautiful in December especailly as christmas market is in old town.
















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Guys thats fantastic, just the sort of tanswers i was looking for.





Looking at february when probably it will be at its coldest! But your right, we will dress our child appropriately, i know how cold it can get for us, i think layers is the best option - plus its not as if she%26#39;ll be able to tell us she%26#39;s too cold/hot either. Do you think we should wait till spring time?





I%26#39;m very interested in the architecture so no doubt i%26#39;ll have my head towards the sky mostly! Food wise - i%26#39;m presuming alot of the local cuisine is potato/meat based such as in Prague? We prefer to eat from local traditional restaurants as opposed to chains or international brands - any suggestions there?





We have a good buggy so the cobbled streets won%26#39;t be an issue - we all love walking and investigating things by ourselves and it seems that the city is fairly compact.




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Jimbo





Food is similar to much of eastern Europe or much more so to Germany - so yes, Meat, Potatoes and heavy breads. Also common as throughout countries bordering the Baltic is the ubiquitous Herring.





One bit of advise i had before i went was not to get into the habit of comparing Estonia to elsewhere in eastern Europe - you probably know this but the Estonian people are closely related to the Finns with whom they are an entirely seperate ethno-linguistic group to either Slavic, Anglo-Saxon or indeed even to Balt (Latvian and Lithuanian) peoples. I mention this in case you%26#39;re dining out a lot - as one faux pas i found was offering to buy Estonian men drinks, as you would do here and many other countries. They would reply with %26#39;we have our own money%26#39; and seemed mildly insulted. Russian-Estonian men though may be very glad of a drink!!!




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Thats why i find this site so useful. Its little snippets of information like that which are invaluable to travellers. Good call.





Its really hard not to compare places, especially if its a place you have never been to before. I found it hard not to do this in Bratislava as i have a real soft spot for Prague, but in no way did it detract from my enjoyment of Slovakia.




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I know what you mean - i went to Prague and Bratislava then onto Budapest in the same trip. I soon got told off for comparing the Hungary to other places as the Hungarians aren%26#39;t Slavic either and there were some serious faux pas there that you would do anywhere else too.





I heard that the Estonian President called Estonia the %26#39;only post-Communist Nordic country%26#39; inferring closer ties to Finland and Scandanavia than elsewhere. I also drew scorn on myself for using the term %26#39;western%26#39; and in doing so excluding Estonia - and realised this is a very redundant term now, especially given their EU and NATO memberships.





Anyway, Tallinn blew me away - have a great time!




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Last summer we were in Helsinki, Tallinn and Riga and hotels cost the same in all 3 ie not particularly cheap; in fact I think Helsinki hotel was even a bit cheaper for same standard. Eating out was cheaper in Tallinn and Riga than Helsinki though.



In Tallinn you could sometimes pay with euros (markets, some shops; in Riga only lats). I mention Riga because know you%26#39;ve posted that forum too. As I said there Tallinn Old Town is beautiful but I found it a bit Disneyfied (few if any shops not dedicated to tourists); Riga feels more authentic/grittier.



Long time since I was in Prague (2000) so can%26#39;t compare prices there. In Ljubljana in 2005 we got great deal for hotel, and meals were cheap too. And it is WONDERFUL with stunning architecture (next year maybe?!)




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