Tallinn is the most popular city in the Baltics and for a good reason. The Old Town feels like it was frozen somewhere in the Middle Ages, with towers, walls, and cobbled streets everywhere you turn. But what makes it even better is that it’s not just a pretty historic center. Just a stone’s throw away are the modern districts, creative spaces, and a lively café scene that feels very much alive and current.
Two days is the sweet spot for a first visit to Tallinn. It gives you enough time to explore the Old Town properly without rushing, venture slightly outside it to the beautiful Kadriorg Park, and actually sit down and enjoy the city rather than just tick things off a list.
This 2-day Tallinn itinerary is based on how we explored the city. It’s structured to help you move logically through Tallinn without unnecessary backtracking, while still leaving space to slow down, sit in cafés, and just enjoy the atmosphere.
For everything you need to plan your visit, such as where to stay, how to get there, costs, food and practical tips, see my complete Tallinn travel guide.
- Day 1 Itinerary: Old Town Highlights
- Day 2 Itinerary: Exploring Tallinn in More Detail
- Kadriorg Park and Palace: Tallinn Beyond the Old Town
- Tallinn City Walls and Towers
- Great Guild Hall
- Niguliste Museum (St Nicholas Church): Best Accessible Viewpoint in Tallinn
- KGB Museum at Hotel Viru
- What to Do in Tallinn in the Evening: Estonian National Opera
- Practical Tips for Your Tallinn 2-Day Itinerary
Day 1 Itinerary: Old Town Highlights
(Red pins on the map)
Your first day will be spent entirely in the heart of the Old Town, and it’s a full day. You’ll start early at the Toompea for the best viewpoints in the city, Alexander Nevsky Cathedral and the pink baroque castle that now serves as the Estonian Parliament. After that it’s Kiek in de Kök, one of the highlights of Tallinn, with four medieval towers connected by wall passages and creepy underground tunnels beneath Toompea Hill.
After lunch, you will head to the Town Hall Square, climb the medieval tower, visit the oldest continuously operating pharmacy in Europe just across the square, then walk through the Old Town to St Olaf’s Church tower for what should be the best views in the city, I say “should be” because it was closed both times I visited, so I’m still waiting.
For the full step-by-step route with all practical details, opening times and tickets, see my day 1 Tallinn itinerary.
Day 2 Itinerary: Exploring Tallinn in More Detail
(Blue pins on the map)
Day 2 will start at a slightly more relaxed pace. Before heading to Kadriorg, grab coffee and breakfast in or near the Old Town.
See my Tallinn café lists for a number of different options.
Kadriorg Park and Palace: Tallinn Beyond the Old Town
How to get to the Kadriorg Palace from the Old Town: Take tram lines 1 or 3 from the Viru/Opera House area just outside the Old Town. The tram will take about 10 minutes to the Kadriorg stop. If you prefer, you can also walk for half an hour.
Ticket price: Park is free. Kadriorg Art Museum 15 EUR. Included in the Tallinn Card. There are combined tickets, if you are also visiting Mikkel Museum and KUMU Museum.
Discounted tickets available for students and seniors.
Opening times: Park is open daily. Museum is open 10 am-6 pm in summer except Mondays. Longer hours on Wednesday. In winter the hours are shorter.
How long do you need to explore Kadriorg Park and Museum: while you may manage to do it faster, I recommend spending at least 2-3 hours to enjoy the park, as well as marvel at the beautiful palace.
Kadriorg was one of the unexpected highlights of our trip. We knew it would be pretty, but didn’t expect to love it. The whole area has a completely different feel from the Old Town, calmer and more spacious. After an intense day 1 that’s exactly what we needed to wander around and relax a bit.
The park was built by Peter the Great in 1718 as a summer residence. In the palace grounds you will find wide tree-lined paths, formal baroque gardens and a much quieter, relaxing atmosphere.
The Kadriorg park has beautiful gardens, if you are visiting in summer. You will find flowers of all colors here. We wandered around the park, checked out the gardens, the ponds and generally spent a lovely morning before visiting the museum.
The Kadriorg Art Museum is located inside the baroque Kadriorg Palace. The palace was built for Peter the Great who named it after his wife Catherine. Honestly, the building itself is beautiful and I recommend visiting, even if you aren’t an art enthusiast at all. The gilded baroque rooms provide a glimpse into the old palace life. On top of this, the art collection includes works of such big names, as Aivazovsky, Cranach and Jordaens among others.
KUMU Art Museum (Price 16 EUR) is also in the Kadriorg area, a few minutes’ walk from the palace. This is Estonia’s main modern art museum if you’re interested. This is not a short stop though, as it requires a separate ticket and a couple of additional hours on your itinerary. To be honest, I can’t provide you with personal notes on this, as I am by far not a modern art appreciator.
If you want a coffee fix when you are near Kadriorg, we loved the cute Gourmet Coffee Kadriorg.
Getting back to the Old Town: Take tram 1 or 3 back from the Kadriorg stop to the Viru/Opera House area.
Back in the Old Town, head for lunch before continuing your sightseeing. See my Tallinn food guide for details on these and other options in the area.
Tallinn City Walls and Towers
Ticket price: Nun Towers – 5 EUR, Helleman Tower – 4 EUR. Some sections are free. Included in the Tallinn Card.
Opening times: Vary according to towers, about 11 am to 5-6 pm.
How long do you need to explore the City Walls: It depends how extensively you want to cover them. If you want to visit one tower, then half an hour to an hour, otherwise at least a couple of hours to walk around and explore more parts.
Medieval Tallinn had 46 towers and 4 kilometres of walls. Out of these 26 towers and 2 kilometres of wall remain intact. This is one of the best-preserved medieval fortification systems in the world.
Viru Gate is the iconic twin towers at the eastern side of the Old Town, dating from the 14th century. You probably would have noticed it on your first day.
The most rewarding section for actually walking the walls is the Nun towers and walls section on the northern side (Price: 5 EUR). This stretch connects three towers. You can walk along the walkway, which gives a completely different perspective on the Old Town from wall level. The views over the rooftops and towards Toompea are excellent.
The Hellemann Tower (price: 4 EUR) near Viru Gate is also a great viewpoint and a walkway. There’s even a small art gallery inside. I think the walkway is the best part of it, as you can walk a 200-metre section of wall with views in both directions.
Whether you visit the towers or not, just wandering along the walls from the outside also gives a real sense of how formidable this fortification system was. We did this from the inside streets, as well as moved outside to see the impressive views of the stretch of the walls.
In general, you will find far fewer tourists along the walls than either at the Town Hall Square or Toompea. So you can wander relatively freely and enjoy your time slowly.
Great Guild Hall
Walk from Opera House area: 5-10 minutes.
Ticket price: 14 EUR adults. Included in the Tallinn Card.
Opening times: 10 am-6 pm. Closed on Mondays in April-September and Mondays and Tuesdays in October-March.
How long do you need: half an hour to an hour for most visitors should be sufficient. We spent an hour, but you may prefer longer if you want to explore the exhibitions in more detail.
The Great Guild Hall is one of the most distinguished Gothic buildings in Tallinn. For over 500 years it saw various events of the guild life, from hosting banquets to court proceedings to church services. Currently, it houses a branch of the Estonian History Museum.
My main purpose of planning our visit was seeing the centuries’ old building itself rather than the museum. I do believe the building completely justifies the visit. The Gothic facade with its lion-head doorknobs is more interesting than it first appears, and the interior transports you back in time. The wine cellar downstairs operated here from 1437 all the way to WWII, that detail alone makes you want to visit.
For those interested in Estonian history, the exhibitions cover Estonia’s historical time periods from medieval Hanseatic trading city through independence struggles and Soviet occupation to the present.
Niguliste Museum (St Nicholas Church): Best Accessible Viewpoint in Tallinn
Walk from the Guild Hall: about 5 minutes.
Ticket price: 15 EUR. Included in the Tallinn Card. Discounts available for students and seniors.
Opening times: 10 am-6 pm. Outside summer period closed Mondays.
How long do you need to explore St Nicholas Church: 1-1.5 hours including the tower climb.
St Nicholas Church is one of the oldest buildings in Tallinn built in the 13th century by Westphalian merchants. Currently, it’s partly a Lutheran church and partly an art museum. Definitely a strange combination.
The museum houses the famous artwork Bernt Notke’s Dance Macabre. It used to be a 30-metre painting but only a part of it survived. You will also find an extensive collection of medieval ecclesiastical art from altarpieces to sculptures, to gold pieces. It was a quick visit for us however, as our main focus was the tower views.
On Saturday and Sunday afternoons from 4pm there are traditional organ concerts in the church, if you happen to visit at the time.
KGB Museum at Hotel Viru
Walking time from Niguliste: under 10 minutes.
Opening hours: the times vary so double check on their website when booking.
Tour price: 20 EUR. You must book in advance on the hotel website. Tours consistently sell out.
How long do you need to visit the KGB Museum at Hotel Viru: the tour takes about an hour.
If you are fascinated by Soviet history, the KGB Museum is one of Tallinn’s most unusual experiences. The Hotel Viru was built in 1972 specifically to accommodate foreign visitors during the Soviet era. To monitor them, the KGB installed a surveillance system on the secret 23rd floor that officially didn’t exist. That’s where the museum is currently located.
The guided tour will show you the surveillance equipment, listening devices and tell you the stories of Soviet occupation. The views from the top floor over the Old Town and harbor are also great.
I’ll be honest, as someone from a post-Soviet country, this is not the museum I am fascinated by. But for most visitors it is very interesting. For example, hubby loves going to museums related to Soviet past, for him it’s a completely different world from anything he grew up with, and he finds it intriguing.
What to Do in Tallinn in the Evening: Estonian National Opera
Today you can do the evening activity you missed on the previous day.
The Estonian National Opera is about a 10-minute walk from the Old Town and is one of the more affordable and excellent opera experiences in Europe. The Italian and French classics, as well as contemporary Estonian works are usually performed here. For example, when we visited, Swan Lake was being performed.
The building itself is beautiful, the acoustics are excellent and tickets are quite reasonably priced.
You should book tickets in advance at the official website as popular productions sell out.
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Practical Tips for Your Tallinn 2-Day Itinerary
Tallinn Card: Across two days the card covers significant ground: just the Town Hall and Tower (12 EUR), Kiek in de Kök (16 EUR), Kadriorg Art Museum (15 EUR), Great Guild Hall (14 EUR) and Niguliste Museum (15 EUR) sum up to over 70 EUR, before tower climbs and city wall entry. The 48-hour card costs 65 EUR and includes public transport including trams to Kadriorg. So for a 2-day itinerary, it’s absolutely worth getting the card.
See my full breakdown in the Tallinn travel guide.
Day order flexibility: If you’re visiting in winter when the Town Hall Tower and St Olaf’s are closed, day 1 becomes slightly shorter. In this case, consider moving Niguliste to day 1 afternoon rather than day 2.
Kadriorg in winter: The Art Museum is open year-round, but the park is obviously most beautiful in warmer months. Still worth visiting any time of the year, as the palace interiors are gorgeous.
Shoes: The cobblestones across both days can be relentless, particularly around Toompea and the city walls. Comfortable shoes are non-negotiable.
Getting around: You will rarely need transport on either day inside the Old Town itself, as everything is walkable. The one exception is the tram to Kadriorg on day 2, which takes about 10 minutes and costs the same as any other public transport journey.
For accommodation, transport, costs, food recommendations and all the practical details, see my complete Tallinn travel guide.
If you have more than 2 days in Tallinn, consider taking the Tallinn to Helsinki ferry for a memorable day trip.
