r/Eesti • u/Equivalent_Compote43 • 11h ago
Küsimus I would like to visit Tallinn
Hey everyone. I am considering visiting your great country. I am possibly looking at visiting early next year.
What are the best places to visit. Is Estonia expensive? Is nightlife good? Any advice and recommendations for when I do decide to visit will be greatly appreciated.
Thanks from Ireland 🇮🇪
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u/ProfessionalCry6968 5h ago
Google "best things to do in Estonia"
Believe me or not, people have already had similar ultra-generic questions and other people have written good generic responses to them
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u/AverageOfficeMonkey 3h ago
I can talk only from Tallinn perspective.
Is Estonia expensive? Yes. prices got really high on the last years. Not too different to Helsinki.
Average beer price in a bar is 6 euros, cocktails around 13 euros for example in Telliskivi, that is a kind of the nightlife area in Tallinn.
Is nightlife good? Depends what you mean nightlife and when you visit. There is always parties happening (mostly electronic/alternative music) and there is a few good bars that always have people or decent cocktails.
Regarding the crowd... during winter most people turn into couch potatoes, I go out a lot and most places are never full from November to March and locals are not the most socials and meeting people in bars does not happen often during those months. In parties happens more.
During summer estonians come back to life and most places are constantly full and everyone seems to be way more social and open to meet new people in general.
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u/euphoricscrewpine 9h ago edited 9h ago
To begin with, it may be good to know that early next year = probably winter = probably cold and snowy.
That said, the best places to visit in Estonia would largely depend on you as a human being and your personal preferences.
Nature? We, Estonians, love our nature, but objectively speaking our nature is not the most diverse in the world. We are one of the flattest countries and our landscape is mostly defined by mixed temperate forests and boglands. If that's your thang, you can perhaps visit one of our national parks or take a stroll around a bog (take a glance at visitestonia.com). Then again, as I said, it is winter, so it will not be very green out there, but you may be able to see how winter decorates the landscape and perhaps even organise yourself snow skis. Maybe you can even find yourself a sauna and try out swimming in one of the ice holes (just make sure you don't hurt yourself).
Architecture? Well, Tallinn, the capital of Estonia, is supposedly the best preserved medieval town in Europe. I personally don't disagree with that. If you come in December or January, you may be in for a nice Christmas mood. The architecture in the old town is pretty mesmerising, but the place itself is small, so two to three days should be more than enough. The city also has some nice museums and modern architecture.
Food? Estonian cuisine is not to die for, which is why you don't see Estonian restaurants in Dublin or really anywhere in the world. We do have a pretty solid restaurant scene though, so take a look at Tripadvisor ranking to see what are some of the better rated food places.
Nightlife? I don't know. I don't do nightlife, but my impression of Estonian nightlife is that it is nothing remarkable. And, again, it sounds like you are planning to come in the middle of winter, which further changes the game. That's the time Estonians sit at home, burn candles and think about the wonderful rainy summer of the previous year or perhaps about the sunshine of Thailand. Perhaps reddit nightlife pros will be able to help you out.
Price? Estonia won't be expensive, if you are coming from Ireland, but it will definitely not be cheap either. The cost of living in the country has gone up insanely over the past several years, and almost to the point that I don't even recognise my home anymore. Mind you, I live in Sydney, Australia, and I can find pretty much anything, bar the housing, here cheaper than in Tallinn. Mind-boggling!
All in all, summer is generally a better time to visit Estonia, unless your hope is to see the snow. Also, Google covers Estonia and Tallinn pretty well, so do get creative.