Save to List: Dr M. Winter’s Tallinn
A world’s worth of recommended spots from our global community
words – dr m. winter
location – tallinn, estonia
I’ll be honest and say that I knew little of Estonia until just a few months before moving here. I had completed my PhD in Scotland and was keen for a change of scenery, a change of pace – somewhere to rest after years of painstaking study. I took up a research position at a local university in Tallinn on a short-term contract; that was over two years ago and I’m still here. I fell in love with the place.
The city has its obvious charms: a stunningly well preserved medieval Old Town, plentiful green space and natural beauty, a lively arts and cultural scene. But there are also some, less obvious, characteristics of the city that inspire even weekend visitors to want to extend their stay. There is an air of tradition and novelty all at once; here, a long history of various occupations is apparent. Soviet bunkers and brutalist architecture mark the landscape. There is also an exuberance and strength about the city; change is hanging in the ether just above St. Olaf’s Church spire.
As such, I’m excited to share this [non-exhaustive] handpicked selection of experiences, places and events that highlight Tallinn’s natural environment, Estonian culture, art and sustainability efforts.
01_Lahemaa National Park
About 70 kilometres east of Tallinn city centre is Lahemaa National Park. With its designation from the European Union of Protected Areas, the 725 km2 of land provides refuge to migratory birds and is habitat-home for bears, moose, beavers, boars and lynx. The beautiful beaches along the south coast of the Gulf of Finland, coupled with native forests and wetlands, make for varied landscapes and a diverse terrain. I am partial to a slow wander through Viru Bog, where the wooden boardwalk preserves the flora and soil, but also makes for a wheelchair and stroller-accessible adventure. The observation tower provides views across the sprawling bog and surrounding forests.
02_Sauna
In Estonia, the sauna is not only an essential component of a healthy lifestyle but a distinct cultural tradition. The UNESCO List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity includes smoke sauna customs from Võromaa, in southern Estonia. In Tallinn, saunas are plentiful. It is not uncommon to find a sauna in residential settings, within an individual flat, or shared amongst the residents of an apartment building. They also accompany gyms and swimming pools – and of course, there are designated stand-alone spas and saunas, too. There are three centrally located saunas which offer the option to dip into the sea [my preference!] between rounds in the sauna. Iglupark in Noblessner is ‘visitor friendly,’ with a bit of a more upscale atmosphere. Just next door is Lennusulps, where a floating dock extends into the Seaplane Harbour for quick dip access. And finally, further east along the coast is Logi Saun where a more traditional experience can be had. They also have women-only hours.
03_Skiing, Running, Biking and Swimming
Estonians are known for taking fitness seriously. In terms of winter sports, Estonia has had the most Olympic success in cross-country skiing. Ski rentals and lessons are available at Nõmme Lumepark, in south Tallinn, as well as in nearby Pirita. If you’re really keen, you can take part in the Tartu Ski Marathon, one of the oldest and biggest in the world, which takes place there in February. Tallinn also hosts a series of competitive sporting events that serve as an excellent excuse to visit. The Women’s Run, in May, has been ongoing since 1988 and is the biggest sporting event for women in the country. The 7km route can be walked or run at any pace. Then, in August, the city and surrounding areas are transformed to host the Ironman competition, which involves a 3.8km swim in the bay at Stroomi Beach followed by a 180km bike ride loop from the city through the countryside before finishing with a 42.2km run. The summer events culminate with the Tallinn Marathon weekend, usually headquartered in Freedom square, in September. This includes the classic marathon, a relay, half, 10km, youth 5km and 300m kid’s races. It’s a favourite amongst runners because of its picturesque, and relatively flat, route.
04_The Song & Dance Festival [Laulu- ja tantsupidu]
With a lineage reaching back to 1869, the Song & Dance Festival is a steadfast symbol of Estonian identity and pride. Tallinn Song Festival Grounds, the festival venue, is where Estonians gathered to engage in mass peaceful protests during the Singing Revolution in the 1980s, which led in part to Estonia’s independence from the Soviet Union. The festival was placed on the UNESCO List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2003. The festival only takes place every five years; luckily, the next one is set for July 3-6 2025 and is expected to garner a record-breaking crowd of over 100,000.
05_Black Nights Film Festival [Pimedate Ööde filmifestival, PÖFF]
PÖFF has run annually since 1997 and has been accredited as an A-list film festival by the International Federation of Film Producers Associations since 2014. The festival not only brings international films and filmmakers to Tallinn, but it also provides a platform to showcase Estonian film. This year, for example, I saw Moonika Siimets’ ‘Must Auk,’ or ‘The Blackhole,’ an offbeat feminist romantic sci-fi comedy featuring a queer love story. In 2023, Anna Hints’s ‘Smoke Sauna Sisterhood’ was awarded Best Baltic Film at PÖFF, had its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival, then went on to international acclaim – winning Best European Documentary at the European Film Awards. The film is a moving portrayal of intimacy between women as they discuss their relationship to their bodies and other, sometimes traumatic, experiences. PÖFF is also a great opportunity to explore some of the unique cinemas in Tallinn, like Kino Sõprus in Old Town.
06_Shopping
Tallinn was named European Green Capital 2023. The municipality has been working together with local businesses and organizations to make the city more sustainable – and this includes tackling consumption. Options for sustainable shopping in Tallinn are plentiful. There are over fifty second-hand thrift stores in the city. There is also an Estonian-specific online marketplace for preloved goods called Yaga, which utilizes Tallinn’s locker delivery infrastructure to further minimize CO2 in the delivery process. The Kopli 93 Community Centre offers workshops to learn valuable repair skills like sewing and accepts broken goods to be fixed. Biomarket, located at Balti Jaam station, is a leading provider of eco-products in Estonia, and a great place to refill household goods like soap and laundry detergent.
07_Local Makers
There is a long lineage of cultural craft practices in Estonia. In Tallinn today there is a burgeoning craft and handmade ecosystem. The Estonian Academy of the Arts [EKA] brings students together from all over the world to study creative practices. They offer programmes like Glass, Ceramics, Jewellery and Forging; and Fashion, Textile and Accessory Design. Many graduates of EKA, alongside other local artists, have studios or store fronts in the Telliskivi Creative City district or in the up-and-coming Põhjala Tehas area. Amongst my favourites is kata hana atelier, a studio focusing on crafts, ceramics and carriers, whose founders emphasise slowness.
08_Local Builders
If you wander around the city, you will notice considerable preservation efforts: a kind of “keep what’s there” mentality that creates quite a charming architectural atmosphere. Facades of old structures are often, though not always, maintained. Prefab and tiny homes are amongst Estonia’s top exports. Headquartered near Tallinn, Kodasema OÜ is an architecture and engineering firm that creates sustainable living and housing solutions. They consider waste reduction and CO2 emissions at each step of the process and have garnered considerable international attention for their efforts. kuidas.works is an NGO and research-based studio in Tallinn exploring the repurposing of earth and construction waste for site-specific building materials. I attended a seminar by the team at kuidas.works and was really inspired by their commitment to innovative sustainability. If there is an option to attend one of their public events or exhibitions, I highly recommend.
09_Local Innovators
In 2023, Estonia was recorded as having the highest number of startups, unicorns and venture capital investments in Europe per capita. The launch of Skype, the virtual calling technology company, in Tallinn in 2003, provided many Estonian programmers and developers with employment and promoted Estonia internationally. A series of successful companies have since been founded in Estonia, including Wise [formerly TransferWise], Bolt and Pipedrive. Over the last couple of decades an exciting startup ecosystem has developed, bolstered by the Digital Nomad Visa. Now known as a ‘digital nation,’ Estonia is attractive to those who seek a convenient and modern lifestyle where most public services, including taxes and voting, can be done from a smartphone. If you want to mix with the local founders and tech industry folk, you could pop into coworking spaces like Lift99 in Telliskivi or the Tehnopol Startup Incubator in Mustamae.
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