Tallinn

Begin your holiday in Tallinn with discounted car rental from Online Car Hire.

We offer secure online booking providing discounted car rental at Tallinn airport.

All of our vehicle hire suppliers employ dedicated staff at the end of the telephone for any further queries that may come up before or after completing your car hire reservation.

Incidentally the airport at Tallinn is approximately 4 km from the centre of the city, so if you're on a weekend break then a hire car isn't really needed. However if you have a few days to spend then a rental car will let you see so much more of the fascinating country of Estonia.

 

An ancient Hanseatic city and capital of Estonia, Tallinn is one of the most complete and well maintained medieval cities in Europe. On the UNESCO World Heritage list, Tallinn draws advancing numbers of visitors as word gets around how wonderfully romantic and intriguing it is. The city having managed to escape bombardment and destruction throughout the years owes its preservation to its effective fortifications. Expect to encounter the medieval Town Hall, Town Wall and St Catherine’s passage all completely untouched by the hand of time and wars!

A busy port and a location where trading routes crossed, Tallinn grew in prosperity over the years playing a major role in Northern European trading. In the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries Tallinn entered its Golden Age as it had governed the trade routes over the Baltic Sea.

As well as displaying its well-preserved ancient origins, Tallinn is a forward thinking city with its feet well and truly placed in the twenty first century. Expect the public transport system to be efficient, many modern attractions and a wide variety of restaurants and cafes. The city’s nightlife is not as you might expect of a medieval destination with a number of clubs for all tastes and styles swinging into the small hours.

The Town Hall square in the heart of the city has long been a prominent location for the locals of Tallinn to come together over the centuries. Once the scene for public executions, the town square has much more to offer than its macabre beginnings with its thirteenth century Town Hall building. Toompea Hill and the Old Town are ideally explored on foot taking in all the old churches such as the thirteenth century St Olav’s and the crafts folk’s studios along St Catherine’s Passage.

With many places of interest it is difficult to decide where to begin so kick off your sightseeing holiday with a visit to the local tourist board to find out how to save yourself some money! Tallinn City Tourist Board offers the Tallinn Card scheme where visitors can save money touring the city and exploring the sights. For 90-350 EEK (GBP 4 –15) you will be entitled to free admission to all museums and main attractions in the city. In addition, the Tallinn Card provides free sightseeing tours and free rides on public transport as well as discounts in local restaurants and shops. The Tallinn Card can be purchased for a variety of durations depending on the length of stay. Choose between purchasing a card for six, twenty-four, forty-eight and seventy-two hour entitlements.

The Tallinn City Museum offering a comprehensive history lesson in the development of the city is the perfect place to begin your sightseeing itinerary. Tallinn Zoo is popular with tourists for a great family day out and the Botanical Gardens provide a peaceful respite from all the sightseeing. Covering 110 hectares, there is plenty to enjoy from desert flora to that of the rainforest. Kadriorg Park and Palace, situated at Tallinn’s seaside suburb is currently used as a venue for concerts and shows as well as housing a large collection of Western European and Russian art. The thirteenth century Toompea Castle casts a dramatic shadow over Tallinn and is worth the climb to enjoy its impressive views. Here at the castle currently resides the Estonian Parliament. Mosaics are an attractive feature of the towers of the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral. Dating back to the nineteenth century, the cathedral’s design was influenced by the origins of its ruler, a Russian Tzar. On the outskirts of Tallinn, on Kopli Bay, the Estonian Open Air Museum is based. It is here that another great way to learn of the Estonian way of life through the ages is provided amidst stunning surroundings.

Tallinn is conveniently located for exploring the assets of its neighbouring towns. The seaport town of Parnu is a two hours drive away and has miles of sandy beach on offer in addition to its thirteenth century origins. Drive out to Narva and marvel at Estonia’s oldest town and enjoy its oldest monumental feature, Herman Castle.

Tallinn experiences a temperate climate of harsh winters and warm summers. The average temperatures are 21 degrees in the summer and a regrettable –8 degrees in the winter. Between the months of December and March, expect a constant layer of snow on the ground despite few occasions of snowfall while the summer brings plenty of showers.

Tallinn Airport

Lennujaam International Airport, Tallinn is four kilometres south east of Tallinn city centre. The airport has one passenger terminal. To transfer to the city, take the number 2 bus from the airport to the city centre. The bus stop is in front of the departure hall at the airport, and in front of the Tallink Hotel in the city. Taxis are available at a rank outside the arrivals hall and take about 10 minutes to the city centre. The cost is about 70 EEK (GBP 3). To drive into the city centre, follow the road called Tartu maante. The journey takes ten minutes.

Operating between the airport and the city centre is the line 2 bus. The bus stop can be found outside the departure area of the passenger terminal. The ticket costs 15 EEK (GBP 0.65). Tickets are purchased onboard from the bus driver. Depending on the time of day buses leave two to three times an hour. The return trip to the airport commences from the Estonian Art University bus stop.