Tallinn, Estonia was our third port on our MSC Musica Baltic cruise, we spent a few hours on a Wednesday in the city. This is a hidden gem of a city and we fell in love with it! It’s very quaint and charming and you can entertain yourself cheaply walking around this fantastic city. We hit a few fun stops and splurged on lunch here. I recommend visiting this city! You can read about the cruise experience HERE
You don’t need to use the cruise shuttle or even a taxi here as the port is only a 10-15 min walk into the city! It was a super easy walk we did it both into the city and then back out to the cruise port after our city visit. It’s super convenient and Free! If you really want you can cough up the big bucks for the cruise shuttle or get a taxi, although I think it’s really not needed. There are also some great shops/vendors set up just outside the port terminal so make time to hit them as you head back to the ship!
We walked the 10 mins into the city to Fat Margaret, which was the start of Rick Steve’s self guided walking tour, as y’all know we use his books almost everywhere! 😉 I love how easy it is to follow and the great info it provides, which makes for less research on my part.
We followed the tour but made quick pit stop at the marzipan store so that the kids could make a sculpture from marzipan. It was only €4 per person and they had 30 mins to make their creations. They were also given a sturdy plastic box to hold the sculpture in so they held up for our tour of the city as well. They really enjoyed this!
We ordered drinks (cappuccinos & sodas) and sat in the seating area while the kids happily created away.
There is also a marzipan museum downstairs where you can see some neat sculptures & creations, this is free if you just want to pop in and go look at the small museum too.
We stopped in several gifts shops along the way to check out all the fun souvenirs, if you like amber it’s cheap to buy here, way cheaper than Stockholm & Copenhagen. We know the ‘thing’ to buy here were the wooden utensils and butter knives so we grabbed one of those.
We also stopped this bakery that’s been around for many years and had a tasty treat, Yum!
Next we headed off to the square to explore the market there were lots of vendors pack into the square, it was also here that we dropped big $ and had lunch, it was $70 for 3 meals. So if your wanting cheaper eats stay off the main streets & main square. Rick Steve’s has some cheaper suggestions in his book as well.
There is also a pharmacy that has been around since 1422! It has a small museum with things from the past, and it’s still a working pharmacy and my friend was able to get some meds for her cold there during our stop. Interesting and practical, win win! 🙂
The painted ceilings and walls were amazing and gave it so much character! While it doesn’t look like something amazing from the outside, it’s so worth a visit and it’s free!
While walking up some of the funky narrow streets it seemed like there were a lot of people there but once you were back out in the open it was actually really laid back and relaxed, not overcrowded at all.
We did pay to visit the towers, we did the combo ticket to visit the Maiden tower (pretty unimpressive) but it had some good views, but the second tour Kiek in de Kok was worth the entrance fee. It was €7 for the combo ticket so €28 for my family of 4. If your not paying to visit the towers there is a bathroom here for €1, but with a paid ticket it’s free to use.
View of the courtyard area from Kiek in de Kok.
Lots to see in this tower and it has many floors both up and down to explore!
We ended the tour back in the square, ate lunch then hit a grocery store for some snacks as we walked back to the cruise port.
We really enjoyed this neat little city and are so glad we got the chance to visit it! I really think it’s one of those hidden gems that many people don’t realize is worth taking the time to visit! I’d even go back again some day…so that says a lot in itself, LOL!