Tallinn is the capital city of Estonia and its largest metropolitan area. It's also a tourist paradise with an Old Town (Vana Linn) section that's surrounded by a castle wall and is full of fun shops and restaurants. We enjoy it so much that we visit pretty much every time we're in Baltic Country.

The President's palace sits amidst
enticing gardens and parks that
are open to the public.

Like most large cities, Tallinn is divided into sections with names like Kristiine, Mustamäe and Lasnamäe. If you have a car, or are willing to ride a trolley, you may want to stay in these other parts of town which tend to be quieter than Old Town. You can also see how people live. You'll find grocery stores and gas stations and peaceful neighborhoods full of homes and apple trees.

The ruins of a nunnery
destroyed by Ivan the
Terrible in 1577.

If you're in Tallinn for more than one day, you'll want to venture beyond the old town to explore these other areas of the city and to take in sites like the President's home, which was once a summer "cottage" built for Russian tsar Peter the Great. It's surrounded by beautiful parks and gardens. On the north side of town, you'll find the ruins of St. Birgitta's Convent; it's not only picturesque but it's also a lesson in religious persecution.

On the eastern outskirts of town, there is a botanical garden for those who love flora and on the western edge there's a zoo for those who prefer fauna. Beyond the zoo, and well worth seeing, is the Estonian Open Air museum with traditional wooden buildings, mostly farmhouses but also a church.