What you can do on an overnight trip to Tallinn, Estonia from Helsinki, Finland

One thing you should do if you find yourself in Helsinki, Finland, is visit Tallinn, Estonia. Not only will you get to cross another country off your list, but you will also experience a beautiful city. Here’s what you can do on an overnight trip to Tallinn.

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Day 1

Getting There

We took the 10:30 AM Silja Ferry called MyStar from Helsinki to Tallinn. The ride took about 2 hours and we booked an office cabin. The ferry is more like a cruise ship. Also, while booking a cabin is not necessary, I liked having a secure spot to store my bags to wander around the ship. I also liked having a private bathroom, and area to rest, including taking a nap. If you don’t book a cabin, there are ample seats all throughout the ship. You can also book lounge access. Here is a tour of the office cabin we had:

There is wifi onboard and the cabins also had TVs. The food choices however, were not great. Here is a look at what we had for breakfast.

On the return to Helsinki the next day, I had a gyro which was mediocre. The ship also had a huge store which was more like a multi-level department store. Pretty impressive for a ferry.

Where to Stay

If you are only there for a night, I recommend staying in the old town. Its very walkable. We stayed at the Hotel Telegraaf.

There is also a newer part of the city which we only saw glimpses of, but on a subsequent trip, I would stay outside the old town to explore the city further.

Things to do

You should definitely walk around the old town. While Helsinki feels modern, it lacks that old world European charm feeling. The old town of Tallinn is the complete opposite. You will definitely feel like you are in old world Europe.

The first thing you should check out is the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral. The Russian architecture and interior are gorgeous.

Another spot you should explore is St. Mary’s Cathedral and definitely climb the bell tower. Here you will get a view of the old town and also, the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral.

As you continue to wander the old town, make your way to the Komandandi Park for some nice castle walls.

The last stop will be the main town square where you can see the old town hall and there are many cafes you can relax and enjoy the city.

The above should take the whole afternoon, and then you can go back to the hotel to enjoy the sauna before dinner. Estonians, like the Finnish, are big on saunas and the hotel Telegraaf had a nice pool, hot tub, steam room, and sauna.

Dinner

For dinner, I had previously reviewed Noa at Chef’s Hall. You can read about it here.

After dinner, I would recommend walking around the old town to visit the spots above, but at night for a different perspective while the buildings are lit up.

Day 2

The next day we woke up and had breakfast at the hotel, before meeting our driver for a tour of some of the sights outside of the old town which I had booked through the hotel. I think we met our driver around 10AM, got back to the hotel around noon, and then he dropped us at the ferry for our 1:30PM departure back to Helsinki.

The first stop was the Pirita Convent Ruins. This was a monastary from 1407 to 1575, and then was abandoned. The scale and grand nature of the structure is awe inspiring. A bonus of going early is we were the only ones there that morning.

The next thing you will see as you head to the next destination, the Maarjamae Communism Memorial (which I believe is to honor victims of communism) is the beautiful Tallinn waterfront, and skyline.

The memorial itself is very unique and impressive.

Its a long black walled corridor that has names of victims on each side. At the top, you can get a glimpse of the skyline and water also.

The next stop was fascinating more because of what happens here every 5 years rather than the structure itself. Every 5 years, on the Tallinn Song Festival Grounds, up to 30,000 Estonians gather and sing to an audience of up to 80,000. This tradition started in the 1800s, and some sources online indicate that in 1988, Estonians gathered to sing which led to the overthrow of Soviet rule in what is now referred to as the “singing revolution”. The next one is schedule for 2025. You should check it out on Youtube for more info and to witness the spectacular event.

Our second last stop was Kadriorg Palace which also houses a museum. You should also check out the beautiful gardens.

The last stop on our tour was the presidential palace:

This was a great first trip and introduction to Estonia. I would definitely want to return to check out more of Tallinn and the rest of the country. The people were super friendly and the service everywhere was great. I’ll be back!

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