It's a beautiful city. Apparently it became very profitable, as a member of the Hanseatic League, trading in Medieval times. By Victorian times, when every one else was pulling down their medieval walls, Tallinn was poorer and couldn't afford to pull them down. As a result Tallinn has more medieval wall than most - which adds to its charm!
There's plenty of places for good food lovers, like Vertigo Gourmet:
which is a deli and café:
where we'd go for cakes:
and cider!
Also famous for its cakes is the Café Maiasmokk:
In case you're wondering, Maiasmokk means "Sweet Tooth"! It's the oldest operational cafe in Tallinn with beautiful cakes:
When on holiday I like to try the local food, our Estonian guide recommended Kuldse Notsu Korts:
for authentic Estonian cuisine. Here I enjoyed a homemade Sea Buckthorn Berry shot served with Marinated Pumpkin and Smoked Cheese
and a sausage selection:
Põrgu, which apparently means Hell in Estonian, had a great selection of beers and very reasonably priced food including this delicious bowl of borscht:
Prices were even more reasonable when you went away from the tourist areas and went to where the locals shopped. I always like to go to the local markets, this is Jaama Market:
There's quite a few shops selling marzipan, but we decided to avoid the marzipan chickens:
It's worth a visit to Kadriorg Palace, a Baroque palace of Catherine I of Russia:
Nearby is the Art Museum of Estonia, which has a nice café, where I had Cummin roasted beetroot and herring:
Also worth a visit is the Estonian Open Air Museum:
to get an idea of village life in old Estonian. We dined in the village pub:
where I tried to eat like the locals!
At the other end of the gastronomic scale was Ribe Restaurant where we had one of the best meals ever. I enjoyed this chicken liver ice-cream, gorgonzola cream, praline, celery and potato crumble:
We're not normally big fans of rye bread, but their ryebread was so delicious we had to ask for an extra helping!
I'd thoroughly recommend a visit to Tallinn, it's a beautiful city and friendly people.
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