Dog-friendly travels in medieval Tallinn (Estonia)

We didn’t know much about Estonia before visiting and had no idea what to expect, but everything about Tallinn exceeded our expectations. Tallinn Old Town is also a UNESCO World Heritage site - and apparently the oldest medieval city in Europe.

The Old Town is beautiful, with streets, squares and buildings that look like they’re from a fairy tale. The people were really friendly (and typically spoke good English) and the food was both delicious and inexpensive.

We found it to be quite compact and easy to walk around - and I think if you had limited time and walked fast, you could see all the highlights in one day. We stayed for a few nights and really loved exploring the different areas in and around Tallinn at a slower pace.

We also found it to be very dog-friendly and every bar or eatery we visited welcomed Beatle to join us inside.

THINGS TO DO

Old Town

We absolutely loved the Old Town area! It’s super walkable, and while a bit hilly in parts, the views you get make the climb well worth it. While you could just wander the pretty streets all day and never get bored, here is my summary of the top spots to visit with you dog - and you’ll also get some great photos along the way:

There is about 2 kms of historic Town Walls around parts of Old Town and you can get good views of these from several locations. There is also a number of towers or forts to see along the way including:

Fat Margaret - this chubby little tower is on the side of Old Town and includes an entry gate and definitely makes a cute photo stop.

Kiek in de Kok (say the name again and try not to laugh…). This wall, tower, museum combo sits near the back of the city and there is a short, steep road to get to it (Luhike Jalg). But the views from the top are pretty darn impressive and you can spend a bit of time walking around the outside area which is big (and flat) and has a couple of ghostly silhouette sculptures. This area is all dog friendly (on google it’s called Komandandi Aed). We actually did go back to explore the inside of the tower without Beatle and I can see why dogs aren't allowed inside - it was several levels of impossibly steep, deep and twisty stairs….

Follow the road out the back of Kiek in the Kok and you'll get good views of the other side of the wall as well as see the amazing 'onion domes' of the St Alexander Nevsky Cathedral. I absolutely love the look of these churches and it was a real treat to be able to walk right around this one and look at it from every angle.

Opposite the Cathedral is Toompea Castle, which is now the Parliament building. On the left hand side is a really pretty garden area (on google it’s called Kuberneri Aed) where we took a break with Beats and admired the views. From the garden area you can also get a nice view back of the pastel coloured building and its impressive corner tower.

Just wondering if this Castle has any free snacks?

From here you can walk to a couple of great viewpoints. The first is Toomkiriku which looks over the back of Tallinn and is set in a large open area. Then take a five min walk to the opposite side of the hill and you'll reach the Kohtuosta viewpoint, which has amazing views across Old Town and out to the sea - as well as further out to the more modern high-rise part of the city.. We only visited it during the day, but I'm sure it would also be spectacular at sunset or at night.

Once you get a free snack, never let it go!

Viru Gates - these gates form part of the Old Town defence system and one of the other main entrances to Old Town so a great photo stop. There are lots of flower stalls here too which make the area even prettier.

St Catherine's Passage, a very old and cobbled alleyway that feels like you've really gone back in time (or are in a Game of Thrones episode).
Town Hall Square - the main square in Old Town is really pretty and is surrounded by cute and colourful buildings. The Town Hall Building is on one side, while the other three are largely bars and restaurants. While the majority of these eateries have outdoor patios - which were dog friendly and are a great spot to take a break and have a drink - their prices are the highest we encountered in the city!

While you're in Main Square, make sure to go down Mundi Street to see the cutest store ever!

St Nicholas Church is just outside of the Main Square and one of the biggest in Tallinn. We just took turns going in for a quick look, but it has lots of grassy areas around it for your dog to sniff while waiting.

Bricktown Area

Bricktown is located between the Port and Old Town and is an older area that has been modernised with some interesting architecture. Its full of great looking restaurants and bars, as well as hotels and shops, public art and open spaces. While not a 'must see' if you're only have a day, in Tallinn, if you're staying two or three days it is worth a visit. There are also some good photo ops around here due to the different styles of buildings and how they've merged the old with the new. Bricktown restaurants also offer outdoor seating, and as the area is mostly blocked off to cars it’s a good spot to walk around and explore with your dog.

Modern Bricktown is definitely worth a visit

Tallinn Port and Waterfront Area

It’s quite amazing to see how many huge ferries visit Tallinn every day. The waterfront area looks to be going through a lot of construction and improvements at the moment, but for now, its still a nice area to walk around to see some of the older, repurposed buildings (not sure what they were originally, but quite a few restaurants are now in them).

There are also a range of things to see, including sculptures that look like oversized origami boats and others that seemed to be letting of actual steam… There is a large mall here too, which can be handy if you need to get groceries etc. I did spot a pet store in the mall if you need supplies and walked Beatle through there one day with no issues. Again, not a 'must see' if you're only have a day, but if you're staying two or three days this are is worth a visit.

Telliskivi District - Balti Jaam Market and Creative City

Just a five minute dog-friendly tram ride from outside the Fat Margaret tower is the Telliskivi District.

The tram stops right outside the Balti Jaam Market and we had no issues taking Beats on the tram with us - but had a muzzle in case it was requested. The area here is open and expansive and we believe the large indoor market is dog-friendly (there was no signage saying ‘no dogs’ and we saw a few waking around with their people inside when we visited). We had a quick look around, grabbled some lunch and then headed back outside to check out the street art.

If you head towards the back of the main open area you'll come across a road /path that leads you to several street food vendors, as well as other places to eat - including Peatus - a restaurant inside railway cars (good photo op) that also has outdoor seating.

From here, keep following the road and you'll get to the creative area, which has some small shops, eateries, lots of street art and the cool Fotografiska Museum (see next tip). We really enjoyed walking around this area for a while, checking out the different murals and art works.

Fotografiska Tallin

Fotografiska is an international photography Museum located near the Telliskivi District, but gets its own mention as it’s totally dog friendly! Yes, your best bud can join you to walk through the multi level exhibitions (and they get in for free!). We really enjoyed our visit, Beatle was on her best inside behaviour and it was really fun to be able to experience something like this with her. My only tip is to try and go when it might be quieter (i.e. early or weekdays) to avoid the crowds and you dog getting stood on by someone who is engrossed in the art works! To get more info about pricing and to see their dog policy click here

Medieval Restaurant - III Draakon

Even though I don't usually include restaurants as a highlight, this one gets a special mention as it was its own experience and perfectly hit the medieval theme of Tallinn. Located on the Main Square, underneath the Town Hall you can't miss it (look for the dragons). As you enter you'll be (not) warmly greeted by the Tavern Wench (their description not mine and all part of the fun)… and Beatle was also welcome to join us inside.

The whole place is completely medieval themed, with floors and walls all made of stone and rustic looking wooden furniture and utensils. From there you can choose from a variety of what seem to be pretty plain looking pasties - but don't be fooled, as they are not only inexpensive, but delicious. So good in fact we went back for seconds. We also ordered some of their yummy sausages, which Beatle insisted we share… and a big pottery jug of beer to wash it all down. Pretty perfect lunch if you ask me.

On the way out, once Beatle had demonstrated her good manners, the Tavern Wench rewarded her with a giant soup bone. Which she proudly carried like a little medieval knight for the next ….three hours. Yes really. Yes, we did try to get it off her but she wasn't letting go! You can see their website here

OTHER THINGS TO DO

The Estonian Open Air Museum is a huge outdoor park that showcases the traditional Estonian way of life and includes examples of farms, typical village buildings and exhibits to walk through. The park allows dogs on lead to visit its outdoor exhibits and if there are particular indoor exhibits of interest you would just need to take turns going inside. There is also a café / inn on site that allows dogs to sit with their people in the Stable Room. They clearly note on their website that they do have a range of other animals in the park - so do consider if your dog will be ok around them (will it want to chase or bark?) before visiting. We know that Beats isn't a huge fan of horses so we didn't take her here…. More information about their dog policy can be found here

GETTING AROUND

We took the Viking Line ferry from Helsinki to Estonia as walk-on passengers. While the trip itself is only around two hours, as we had Beatle and a lot of luggage we opted to book a private cabin for a small price difference.

The Ferry is a fantastic option when travelling with a dog and it had small areas on board that were allocated for them to do their business.

As the journey isn’t that long, we saw plenty of people visiting Tallinn as a day trip from Helsinki. So I think if you were in Finland you could easily visit Estonia for the day, or vice versa. Read more about their dog policy here

Viking Line is one of the most dog-friendly ship lines

While public transport in and around Tallinn is excellent, there is no public transport (trains) if you’re continuing South (i.e. to Latvia like us) from here. The only public transport option is a bus, which does not allow dogs.

If you have a small dog you could fly but if you have one over 10kg then your best bet is to get a rental car. However, the good news is that it seems to be very common in the Baltics to pick up a car in one country and return it the same day in another - and they don’t charge exorbitant one way fees which made it a really cost effective option (we used Europcar, but I’m sure they all have similar policies).

The roads were well kept, but the speed limit signs were quite difficult to understand so we probably drove slower than we needed to, but there are lots of small towns etc to see along the way and it was a really pleasant drive that only took around four hours.

SLEEP

Overall, accommodation in Tallinn was far cheaper than other parts of Europe. We stayed at the CItyBox Tallinn as it was only a ten min walk from the ferry, five mins to Bricktown and ten mins to Old Town. The hotel itself was spacious, new and modern, but you only get the basics (i.e. no TV in the room) - but it was fine for us as we were out most of the day. Click here to see their dog policy.

IN SUMMARY

If you really want to feel like you've stepped back into medieval times - then I highly recommend Tallinn! We were really impressed by how compact the Old Town was and that we could see all of the main highlights with Beatle, plus do a few things that were a bit further out.

If you are comfortable leaving your dog at your accommodation for short amounts of time, there are also plenty of attractions that you could explore more in depth as there are a number of towers and museums, both in Old Town and further out, that are well worth visiting.