"Tallinn - A Great Mixture of the Old and... " a Tallinn Travel Page by BillNJ

In October of 2006, I spent a total of 8 days in the beautiful city of Tallinn, Estonia. My trip was after the busy summer travel season, so there was the advantage of few crowds and lines. The disadvantage was that the weather was unpredictable -- sometimes cold and rainy, and other times pleasant with blue skies or slightly overcast.

The Old Town is a beautifully preserved medieval village where motor vehicle traffic is restricted. If you stay within the walls of the Old Town (and I definitely recommend that you do!), you do not need to rent a car because everything within the Old Town is easily accessible on foot.

Outside the walls of the Old Town, one can see the "real" Tallinn as opposed to the Old Town that caters largely to tourists. With an efficient public transport system of trams and buses, one can explore many parts of the city without the need for a car. All over the city I saw construction cranes -- and I saw much evidence of the city's desire to leave its Soviet past and catch up to the splendor of its fellow northern European neighbors. I'm sure that the Estonians will be successful in their efforts -- and that they will continue to make improvements to their capital city.

I flew into the international airport -- which, while fairly small, is modern and efficient. During my stay, I also took a ferry ride from the port to Helsinki, Finland -- only a 90 minute ride. By air or by sea, the beautiful city of Tallinn has fortunately become a convenient travel destination now that the constraints of Communism no longer exist.