A Quick Intro to Estonia

Estonia is a popular stop on many cruises and tours that travel from Helsinki in Finland to St. Petersburg in Russia. I visited the capital of Tallinn to begin my Topdeck Vodka & Caviar Tour, which took us on a whistlestop tour of St. Petersburg, Novgorod and Moscow.

I wasn’t really expecting much of Tallinn since I didn’t know much about it, but I was pleasantly surprised. This charming medieval city has a well-preserved Hanseatic old town with cobblestone streets, a pretty main square and a 13th century wall that you can walk along.

A highlight is visiting the medieval-themed restaurant Olde Hansa, where you can sip on a mug of mead, dine by candlelight and listen to traditional medieval music. For the best views of the city (and the rest of Estonia) head to the observation deck of the Tallinn TV Tower, which is the tallest building in the country.

Estonia sits west of Russia and north of Latvia, bordering the Baltic Sea and the Gulf of Finland. The country actually has many islands and a varied landscape that includes rocky beaches, small hills, scenic lakes and green forests.

If you’re looking for places to visit besides Tallinn, check out the student city of Tartu or visit the seaside town of Pärnu, which is known as Estonia’s summer capital.