Tallinn

This impressive 13th-century church houses a museum dedicated to church art, displaying medieval burial stones, exquisite altarpieces and Tallinn’s most famous painting, 15th-century artist Bernt Notke’s eerie composition, Dance with Death. The building's acoustics also make it a prime concert venue, with organ or choir performances held here most weekends.

The viewing platform on the north side of Toompea hill sits visibly on the limestone cliff. On the right you'll see the Town Wall with its defensive towers. On the left lies Kalamaja and Pelgulinn areas with Railway Station as landmark. Winding series of steps, built in 1903, lead down the cliff face to Nunne Street and Shnelli park below.

This spectacular, onion-domed structure perched atop Toompea Hill is Estonia's main Russian Orthodox cathedral. Built in 1900, when Estonia was part of the tsarist Russian empire, the cathedral was originally intended as a symbol of the empire's dominance. The church towers hold Tallinn's most powerful bell ensemble, consisting of 11 bells, including the largest in Tallinn.

Once upon a time, from 1549 to 1625 to be precise, this 14th century Gothic church was considered to be the tallest building in the World. But it’s gigantic, 159-metre spire, meant as a signpost for approaching ships, also turned out to be a very effective lightning rod. Throughout the church's history lightning hit the spire repeatedly, completely burning down the structure three times.

The Estonian Museum of Natural History tells stories about the nature of Estonia and helps you to make sense of its secrets. The museum offers a fascinating look at the creatures and habitats of Estonia, as well as wildlife from around the world. There are several seasonal, temporary themed exhibitions every year from alive spiders, edible and poisonous mushrooms to minerals.

This beautiful, Renaissance-style guild hall is truly a star among the Old Town's architectural treasures. This was the historic home of the Brotherhood of Black Heads, a medieval guild made up of young, single merchants and foreigners.

See nearly 200 intricate, marzipan figurines and watch Tallinn's favourite sweet being made in this historic shop-museum-café. In the Kalev Marzipan Museum Room, you'll learn all about Tallinn’s love affair with marzipan. Here you'll find dozens of amazing marzipan creations as well as a marzipan forms belonging to Georg Stude, who founded the shop over a century ago. Children and adults can watch how marzipan figures are hand painted or try their own hand in this craft at a workshop.

Explore this sturdy, 14th-century tower, sip coffee in its swank café or walk along the Town Wall for some amazing views. Maiden's Tower, one of the most famous of Tallinn's medieval defence towers, was recently renovated and reopened a museum, complete with an exhibition hall in its vaulted cellar. Its famous café, a big hit in the 1980s, has also been restored to its past glory. Meghede torne, as it was originally called, was built in 1370-1373 along with the wall that runs through the Danish King’s Garden.

In 1931–33, the square was turned into a communal park. Now the square boasts playgrounds for children and fitness areas, and has become known for the Tallinn International Flower Festival, which takes place here every summer. With nearly 2 km of its original city wall still standing, Tallinn boasts one of Europe’s best preserved Medieval fortifications. In fact, a large part of what gives Old Town its fairy tale charm is the system of walls and towers that surrounds it.

This pair of picturesque, ivy-covered towers at the entrance to Viru Street is often the first glimpse visitors get of Old Town. Anyone passing between them couldn't be blamed for thinking they've left the 21st century behind and landed smack in the middle of the 18th. The towers are actually only the foregates of what was a much more complex gate system built in the 14th century. It included a large, square tower that stood farther back along the street, close to where the city wall can be seen.

From the last days of the Tsars and through Estonia's first period of independence, this open area at the edge of Old Town had been a place of national symbolism and civic pride, as well as a favourite public gathering spot. The Monument to the War of Independence is commemorating Estonia's hard-fought struggle in 1918–1920 to free itself of foreign rule.

Those intrigued by the city's secret history can take the guided tour of the KGB Museum on the 23rd floor of Sokos Hotel Viru. In Soviet times it was rumoured that the KGB had files on everyone and that they operated in the Viru Hotel. The latter rumour turned out to be true, as you will see on this fascinating tour. Not only will you get an inkling of what the operatives were up to, you'll also get some great insights into the history of the hotel, which was designated exclusively for foreign guests visiting the USSR. To continue the 1980s throwback theme, you can pay a visit to the hotel's second floor Currency Bar.

The bright yellow, neo-Gothic Lutheran church that dominates the Freedom Square is a true survivor among the city's churches. Despite two attempts to tear it down in the last century, it has persevered and is likely to be around for a long time to come. The idea for St John's church first came about in the mid-19th century when the city's growing population of ethnic Estonians made the Holy Spirit Church too small for its congregation. A new church, which at the pastor's suggestion was named for St John the Evangelist, was founded. Construction lasted from 1862 to 1867, and was carried out under the supervision of the church's designer, Tallinn-born architect Christoph August Gabler. Building on this spot was no easy task. The area here outside the old city wall had earlier been the site of the town moat, so the land was too soft to hold up the structure's foundation. The solution was to ram dozens of thick oak trunks into the ground for extra support. By the 1930s, a new crop of art deco and functionalist buildings had appeared around Freedom Square, leaving the church's neo-Gothic appearance dramatically out of step with its surroundings. However, the city's plans to pull down the church and reconstruct the square were never realised due to the war and subsequent occupation of Estonia. Likewise, avant-guard architects had similar ideas in the 1950s, but fortunately, these were never followed through.

With over 130 interactive, hands-on exhibits, this museum is a mad scientist's dream come true. The family-oriented centre, housed in a unique industrial heritage site, focuses mainly on natural, technical and physical sciences. The main hall with its "island of lightning" is devoted to everything related to electricity, while the planetarium with its 10-metre dome introduces astronomy and space projects created by Estonia's own scientists. Another exhibition allows visitors to see and feel the sounds. With over 3,000 square metres of space, the centre has seven permanent exhibitions in fields such as energy, classical physics, sound and optics, as well as temporary exhibitions. It also has a birthday room, a teachers’ room, a physics classroom and a seminar area.

The architect of this 1928 grand Neoclassical sauna complex with Art Deco elements is Aleksander Vladovski. The wood heated city sauna offers men's, women's and hourly charged saunas for groups.

Telliskivi Creative City is a new, artist-friendly complex that has become a popular hangout for shoppers and restaurant-goers. Located in a reclaimed factory area not far from the Old Town, it is Estonia's biggest creative economic enterprise centre, bringing together a diverse range of activities and businesses. For example, there is a 160-seat eatery, a childcare centre, a printing shop, a furniture shop, a theatre and an antique book store. Dance evenings are held on Tuesday evenings, Saturdays bring a flea market. More than anything, the hub is a bohemian place for relaxation and business that encourages people with similar interests to get together.

Pirita beach is by far the largest and most popular in Tallinn. In the summer it can attract up to 30,000 visitors a day. The 2-km-long beach has a magnificent view of the Old Town and the busy sea traffic on the Gulf of Finland. Here you'll find ball courts, playgrounds for children, lockers, chaise lounges and water sport equipment rental. The beach has been awarded The Blue Flag eco-label, which means that in addition to clean water and necessary communications, the beach also provides environmentally friendly and educational activities.