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Arrival, information and city transport
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Tallinn's international
train station
is the Balti jaam at Toompuiestee 35, just northwest of the Old Town, while the city's
bus terminal
(
Autobussijaam
) is at Lastekodu 46, a couple of kilometres southeast of the centre - trams #2 and #4 run from nearby Tartu mnt. to Viru vA¤ljak, right on the eastern fringes of the old town. For those coming in by
sea
the passenger port (
Reisisadam
) is just northeast of the centre at the end of Sadama. The
airport
(
Lennujaam
) is 3km southeast of the city centre and linked to Viru vA¤ljak by bus #2 (every 20-30min, journey time 10min; 15EEK). Tallinn's
tourist office
at Raekoja Plats 10 (April-Oct Mon-Fri 9am-6pm, Sat & Sun 10am-4pm, Nov-March Mon-Fri 9am-5pm, Sat 10am-4pm; tel 2/645 7777,
www.tallinn.ee
) sells various maps and city guides and has limited information about other destinations in Estonia. You can also buy a
Tallinn Card
here, which entitles you to unlimited use of public transport, entrance to museums, a tour of the city, discounts on car rental and savings in some shops and cafAŠs. A 24-hour card costs 195EEK, a 48-hour one 270EEK, and a 72-hour one 325EEK - it's worth doing a few sums to work out if a card will actually give any savings on your planned itinerary. Good sources of up-to-the-minute listings and what's on in the city are
Tallinn This Week
(free) and the very good
City Paper
(29EEK;
www.BalticsWorldwide.com
), available from most newsstands, which also contains information about Riga and Vilnius. The excellent
Tallinn In Your Pocket
city guide (19EEK;
www.inyourpocket.com
) is available from shops and hotels.
Though most of Tallinn's sights can be covered on foot, the city has an extensive
tram
,
bus
and
trolleybus
network should you need to travel further afield. Services are frequent and cheap, though usually crowded, with tickets (
talongid
) common to all three systems available from kiosks near stops for 10EEK or from the driver for 15EEK. Tickets should be validated using the on-board punches.
Taxis
are reasonably cheap (around 10EEK per km, slightly more after 10pm) though as a foreigner you may occasionally find your meter running faster than it should. Try to ensure that you're not charged the evening rate during the day. Most companies have a minimum charge of 25EEK, but a taxi from one point in the city centre to another should never exceed 50EEK. Other useful information
for tourists (each section contains more specific sub-sections): |
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Estonia,
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