SCandinavian Cruises - 2026
Friday 22 May'26 - Tallin (Estonia)
Docked at 0700 this morning in Tallin. A city of just over 435,000 people. It was overcast, with a predicted maximum of 10'c. We had a scheduled 0900 walking tour of the Old Town, both Upper & Lower. The link will explain the complex history of Estonia and Tallin, its capital. Suffice to say, the Upper Old Town was where the "noble's" lived whereas, the Lower Old Town, was for merchants, tradesmen and others... We started in the Upper region and our 1st point of interest was Alexander Nevsky Cathedral. Directly opposite is Toompea Castle which serves as Parliament House.
After that we walked through the Upper Old Town until we came to a vantage point, that provided a great view over the Lower Old Town. We then continued to walk towards the Lower Old Town. In times gone by, both of the "towns" were surrounded by city walls, some 2.6km's in total length but much of this has dissappeared due to ongoing wars fought in the country over many centuries. The 1st photo is a passage between the "town's", with the 2nd showing the Lower city walls but the Upper city walls no longer exist in that area. We then walked to the Market Square, which has one of the oldest City Halls in Europe, now serving as a museum of the city's history. The square, as the name suggests, was the place where all the food & goods were traded in the past whereas today, it's basically restaurants, bars and souvenir shops with the exception of one building tucked away in a corner of the square.
This building is Raeapteek (Town Hall Pharmacy), the world's oldest recorded continuously operating chemist (since 1422, turning 604 years old on the 8th of April 2026) and still operates as one today but because of it's history, they have set up a small museum in the building. So you have real customers blending with tourists (lots of 'em). Amazing... Btw, that's our guide Eric in the checked shirt outside the chemist explaining things to us.
Tallin's claim to fame throughout history is that in the 12th century, due to its position in the baltic, it became a crucial place of trade. It therefore had a thriving collection of various guild's and the original Guild Hall is still standing. We then walked along one of the best preserved areas of the Lower Town city walls, with even the ramparts still in place (although they have been restored) until we reached one of the remaining watchtowers, signalling the border of the Old and New towns. An interesting 3 hours with a very knowledgeable guide, who is very proud of his country and its history. We could either find our own way back to the ship or meet back at the watchtower in 2 hours and catch the bus back to the ship. We chose the latter option given that about 30 minutes into the walk, there had been a persistent drizzle. So a light lunch, some retail therapy and back on board. Dinner tonight was in the Cyprus restaurant, the Mediterranean themed one then bed.