Estonia

Overview

Estonia ( Estonian : Eesti ) is a Baltic gem offering visitors the chance to see a tiny dynamic land on the shores of the sea. The northernmost and smallest of the Baltic states, Estonia has charming old towns and heritage back to the Hanseatic League . Tallinn 's old town was built in the Middle Ages , but is in magnificent condition, with the city walls and towers almost completely intact, and it rates as one of Europe's best medieval old towns.

Visitors can also experience an ex- Soviet republic that is now part of the European Union . Traces of the Soviet era are still there to be seen, e.g. Paldiski , a deserted Soviet army base that was once off-limits to Estonians themselves, can easily be visited on a day trip from the capital, Tallinn. Estonia is renowned for its bucolic islands and extensive bogs that are now national parks with easy access for tourists. Glorious beaches pepper the extensive coastline, although the swimming season is short — after all, the Baltics are not renowned for warm weather.

Some visitors tend to see the Baltic states as being similar countries with regional differences. They share a common recent history: the three countries declared independence in 1918 at the collapse of the Russian Empire, were occupied by the Soviet Union in 1940, by Nazi Germany in 1941, and again by the Soviet Union from 1944 until independence was restored in 1991. However, there are differences between the countries' languages (Estonians speak a Finnic language unlike Latvia or Lithuania) and religion (Estonians are irreligious, Latvians are mostly Lutherans, and Lithuanians are Catholics). Also, Estonia is more oriented towards Northern Europe, while Lithuania is oriented towards Central Europe.

Places to explore

Estonia is divided into 15 counties ( maakond ). To bring out the unique characteristics of Estonia, this guide uses four regions. As the country is small, most destinations can be reached within a couple of hours from Tallinn.

Estonians have a special love for nature, and many will tell you that they would rather sit under a tree in an empty forest or hike in a national park than almost anything else. Estonia's tranquil, laidback and unspoiled Baltic Sea islands provide a splendid getaway to nature.

Sights and landscapes

The Old Town of Tallinn is the most intact and best protected medieval city in Europe, and is Estonia's première attraction. Its unique value is its well-preserved (intact) medieval milieu and structure, which has been lost in most of the capitals of northern Europe. Since 1997, the Old Town has been on UNESCO's World Heritage list.

Living under the rule of Scandinavian kings, Russian empire and Teutonic Knights has left Estonia with unique and rich blend of historic landmarks. Over one thousand manors were built across Estonia from the 13th century onwards. Some of the manors have perished or fallen into ruins but a lot have been reconstructed and are favourite attractions with tourists. There are about 200 manor houses under state protection as architectural monuments and 100 in active use.

Estonia has over 1,500 islands . The nature is essentially untouched and offers quite a different beach experience with their remoter rustic feel. Most of the public beaches are sandy and the average water temperature is 18°C in summer. Inland waters and some shallow bays' waters are even warmer.

The largest island is Saaremaa with an intact and well-restored medieval castle in its only city, Kuressaare . Stone fences, thatched roofs, working windmills and home-made beer are all distinctive to Saaremaa. Hiiumaa , on the other hand, is well known for its lighthouses, unspoilt nature, the Hill of Crosses and the sense of humour of its inhabitants. Both islands have an airport and so can be quickly reached from Tallinn.

Other important islands include Kihnu , Ruhnu (with its "singing sand" beach), Muhu and Vormsi , each with its own unique characteristics. Most of the other tiny Estonian islands don't carry much cultural significance, but can be appealing for bird watching, canoeing, sailing or fishing etc.

Culture and food

The closest thing to a national dish is verivorst pig's blood sausage, similar to English black pudding and Finnish mustamakkara , a common winter dish particularly popular around Christmas. It's always accompanied by lingonberry jam and often served with mulgikapsad , which is basically sauerkraut stew.

Many types of food are similar to Russian dishes and have their equivalents almost exclusively in the former USSR, such as hapukoor , (lit. "sour cream", smetana in Russian), a sour 20%-fat milk dressing for salads, especially kartulisalat potato salad.

As Estonia used to be a food mass-production powerhouse in the times of the USSR, some of its foods, unknown to Westerners, are still well-recognized in the former Soviet Union. This is also true the other way around; in Estonian grocery stores products from countries of the former Soviet Union like Georgian mineral water are widely available.

For those with a sweet tooth, the national chocolate manufacturer is Kalev , with many specialist stores around the country as well as supermarkets retailing the product. The more adventurous may want to try kohuke , a flavoured milk-curd sweet covered with chocolate, available at every supermarket.

Planning your route

Estonia has a comprehensive bus network all over the country. Nearly every city can be accessed by a direct bus from Tallinn or Tartu. Other big cities have their own bus routes, such as Narva–Pärnu. Beside that, most of the towns and villages have regular bus connections to the nearby larger cities and towns. Smaller places are often only served in the morning or noon, and late afternoon (17:00/18:00). City connections generally operate up to 21:00. Make sure not to miss the last bus, or not to get stuck during daytime in a smaller town or village.

All connections are available online through Tpilet.ee (for long distance connections) and Peatus.ee (for short distances and local connections – enter/choose the exact station name to get meaningful results; e.g. "Tallinna bussijaam" and not "Tallinn"). Load a pilet.ee mobile app to buy local bus tickets. The websites and apps are mostly available in Estonian, English, and Russian. You can always buy tickets from the driver, except in Tallinn public transport.

Travel guide text compiled and adapted from Wikivoyage article (contributors). Sections were selected and reordered for this guide. Text is shared under CC BY-SA 4.0. Check current arrangements with your travel consultant.