Estonia — things to experience there

Ilma Nausedaite

5 min readAug 13, 2020

We had just a 10 day trip to Estonia. Here’s a post with our highlights, recommendations and plans for the next time.

Stops in Latvia

We went to Estonia from Vilnius, Lithuania with two stops on the way:

Stop for travelers with kids — Rabbit Town in Latvia with over 65 different kinds of rabbits dwelling in miniature wooden houses.
Balta Kopa for lunch and has a great walk trail on the beach
Jelgava with a visit to Jelgava palace, sand sculptures and lunch at Tornis, a restaurant in the clock tower,

Accommodations in Estonia

Laitse castle. The manor, built by Woldemar von Uexküll in 1892, is one of the best works in the local neo-Gothic style. https://www.laitseloss.ee/home

Kodu project. Retreat & Eco-Hostel is located in a forest in Lahemaa National Park. You will live in a tent. The hosts provide vegetarian meals, a yoga class in the morning and sauna, outdoor baths, and a wood-fired hot tub in the evening. More about the place: https://projekt-kodu.ee/

Tallinn: Hektor Container Hotel, a cool hotel where guests live in… ship containers.

The hotel was created together with one of TransferWise’s co-founders. We will find a co-working space, free yoga classes, great coffee and start-up vibe there. It’s all about inspiration, connections and sustainability here. As they say: “Those you think outside the box, can sleep inside the box”.

During the stay, I recommend reading the book “The Box: How the Shipping Container Made the World Smaller and the World Economy Bigger”.

The hotel is in the fashionable Telliskivi district, great food and bars are just around the corner. More about the place.

Estonia Resort Hotel & Spa with a spa area with saunas and a big swimming pool in Parnu.

Lydia Hotel — the best hotel with a spa in Tartu.

Things to do in Tallinn

Lennusadam Seaplane Harbour — all about Estonian love for ship + you can enter the submarine

Video games museum LVLup — back in times with videos games from 80s and 90s
Fotografiska Tallinn and drinks on their rooftop
Telliskivi district
Kumu museum
Proto invention factory — family museums with tons of VR experience
Memorial dedicated to the Estonian people who suffered from Soviet terror is a great place to understand why Estonia is strong and eager to go forward

Places for food and drinks in Tallinn

Odeo for drinks
Kurze for Dagestani dumplings
Lore Bistro
One sixty — smokehouse with best ribs in town
Leib great restaurant in the old town
NOP for breakfast, lunch and brunch
Mantel & Korsten for lunch or dinner
F-Noone for breakfast, lunch and brunch

Places to visit around Tallinn

Arvo Pärt Centre in Laulasmaa. Arvo Part is the most performed living composer in the world that is inspired by silence, beauty, and geometry. The building is the winner of the Construction Project of the Year 2018.