The old town was built up from the 13th to 16th centuries, when Tallinn – was a thriving member of the Hanseatic trade league. This enclosed neighbourhood of colourful, gabled houses, half-hidden courtyards and grandiose churches is, quite rightly, the city's biggest tourist draw. And the fact that it's all neatly packaged within a mostly-intact city wall and dotted with guard towers gives it an extra dose of fairytale charm.

The emergence and development of Kadriorg was influenced first and foremost by the high society of the tsar’s empire. The streets of Kadriorg are as good as a unique architectural museum, weaving together various centuries and cultures. Noble villas and summer estates, functionalist apartment buildings with stately flats are interspersed with cheaper Estonian rented wooden houses. Kadriorg is one of the more dignified areas even today, and one of the best loved residential regions of Tallinn.

Pirita, located five to seven kilometers from Tallinn's city centre, borrowed its name from the Order of St. Bridget's Virgin Mary Cloisters. In the early 20th century, the seaside town of Pirita began to develop into a destination for Sunday rides and a bathing area.

With its bathing beaches, coastline, pine-forested parks, and picturesque Pirita River valley Pirita is the favorite place for relaxation. The whole area also offers a spectrum of possibilities for active holidays. Tallinn's Botanical Garden has lands on either side of the Pirita River, near the Forest Cemetery and Tallinn's TV Tower, where you can achieve a view from 170 meters high, over the city and its surroundings

Throughout most of Tallinn’s history Kalamaja served as the town’s main fishing harbour. Kalamaja literally means ‘Fish House’ in Estonian, and starting from the 14th century the area was traditionally dominated by fishermen, fishmongers and boatwrights. Everything changed in 1870, however, when Tallinn was connected to St.Petersburg by railroad. Suddenly enormous factories started to sprout up in this part of town, and they brought with them an influx of thousands of new workers.

The wooden houses built to accommodate these workers became Kalamaja’s architectural legacy and are now what gives neighbourhood its unforgettable charm. There are about 500 of these in the city today. Visitors will also notice that some of the Kalamaja’s old industrial infrastructure is still intact and operating. The Estonia Piano Factory on Kungla 41, for example. Many factory buildings, however, have now been converted for other uses, like providing space for the city’s cuttingedge art scene.

Just inside the city limits at the southwestern edge of Tallinn is an area that couldn't be any farther removed from the bustle and glass highrises of the metropolis. Nõmme, a quiet, forested district filled with 1920s- and 30s-era houses, has the feel of a small country town. It boasts its own historic centre complete with a farmers' market, cafés and pubs, and it even has its own castle of sorts, not to mention a number of other attractions.



For future information:

Tallinn City Tourist Office & Convention Bureau

www.tourism.tallinn.ee