Tallinn’s UNESCO-world heritage listed Old Town, with its complete 2.5km / 1.5mile medieval defensive wall and various hidden bars and restaurants, is a pretty European Old Town. When combined with a short ferry ride over to Helsinki, it makes for quite a fun European getaway for a long weekend, even in the winter.
The winter weather didn’t spoil things from a Tallinn perspective. If anything it made the Old Town prettier with all the snow and cosy when you go from the freezing dark outside to the warm interiors of the bars and restaurants serving the hot spiced cider. Helsinki, however, felt very cold because the buildings were more spread out and the harbourside was very exposed to the wind. It was still worth heading over from Tallinn as part of the round trip, but I wouldn’t suggest Helsinki in winter on its own.
5 high level Travel Tips:
1. Stay in the Tallinn Old Town rather than further outside. It may be a little more expensive, but it represents the key atmosphere you want to experience for the trip.
2. Be sure to give the local fish breakfasts a good go. We were amazed by just how good they were with the combination of fish, cheese and breads.
3. Be sure to try to hot spiced cider. Its an acquired taste but, if you like it, its a gorgeous drink to have when you come in from the cold.
4. Getting to Helsinki is super easy. At time of writing, there were 9 daily options to take and take only around 2.5hours.
5. Wrap up warmly – it regularly drops to minus 10 Celsius / 50 Fahrenheit.