Estonia Attractions

A load of old bull?

Advantages: An alternative view of Estonia, interesting sights, enough to fill a day
Disadvantages: Not enough for some people to do

It's not often that I visit somewhere I haven't previously heard of but I have to admit that before I went to Estonia earlier this year the only town I could say I knew with any certainty was the capital Tallinn. The Lonely Planet guide to Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania describes Rakvere as "set with a magnificent castle - and very large bull sculpture". That's good enough for me. Those were not the only factors in choosing to visit Rakvere. I was ...
...and, with it raining sporadically, somewhere with something to do indoors. There is a regular bus service between Tallinn and Rakvere with the journey taking just under two hours; its not an especially scenic journey, unless miles and miles of monotonous forest floats your boat. I was pleased to read that this part of Estonia is not much visited and that Estonians from the rest of the country look upon the inhabitants of this area with not inconsiderable ...

fizzytom 29.05.2008 · Read full review
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Review of Rakvere, Estonia

Dive in

Advantages: Great location, viewing platform on top of museum, cheap to get in
Disadvantages: Not much is translated into English

...in most guidebooks for the Estonian capital, you'd be forgiven for walking right past without giving it a second glance. Whereas is many other cities, museums vie with one another to catch passing tourists, the maritime museum here does not really go in for much in the way of advertising! Added to that are the curious opening times of the museum: it's closed on Mondays, Tuesdays and public holidays, so you've got to time your visit right - that ...
...commemorating the gratitude of the Estonian nation to the servicemen of the Royal Navy who had given their lives fighting for the cause of Estonian independence during the war of 1918-20. That intrigued me enough to want to take a closer look, and I wasn't put off by the extremely reasonable entrance fee of 40 Estonian krooni (about 2.50EUR / 2 GBP). Inside, the artefacts are displayed on four floors - the tower was originally built in the 16th century, ...

JVL 30.04.2008 · Read full review
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Review of Estonian Maritime Museum

not prague but gorgeous still

Advantages: easy to walk around and reasonable priced cafes
Disadvantages: too small to occupy a whole day

...most remarkable feature about Tallinn Old Town is that the fortifications and gates are still intact....but that aside you can still enjoy cobbled streets,mighty spires and chocolate box houses.In my opinion the most attractive street is Lai street because it embodies all these qualities. But the best thing to do is to walk up from the Viru Keskus centre through the main gate into the town.As the street slopes up the hill towards the main square ...
...that dot the edge of the old town.Besides that you can go to one of the coffee shops that dot the town....personally I like the chic "double coffee" and reflect on the Estonian sense of humour.There is not much to see here but it is pleasant enough for a weekend. ...

sambo999 06.04.2007 · Read full review
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Review of Old Town, Tallinn

what it was like back in the day

Advantages: beautiful setting and authentic food
Disadvantages: inconvienient to get to

The Soviet Union was responsible for the destruction of much of the old buildings in Estonia.Luckily this collection of old wooden buidings has been retained so that we can know what it was like for Estonians when it still had an agricultural society.To me this makes it a worthwhile trip but as the buildings are well spread out you can go on a sunny day and happily cycle or walk around the enclosure.Particularly striking was the three windmills on ...
...to eat there is a "tavern" which serves up the infamous pork and potatoes.Entertainment wise there was on my visit a group of people dressed in traditional costume singing and dancing which was quite amusing and a shop selling ye olde wares such as honey and wine. You get to the museum by bus from outside the train station asit is about 10km outside town which means that it is a little bit time consuming but overall a must see in a small town between ...

sambo999 06.04.2007 · Read full review
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Review of Rocca-al-Mare Open Air Museum, Tallinn