slothis · English

Tallinn's Fairytale Old Town and Town Hall

2016-11-01 · Updated: 2026-08-11 · Original (Korean)

This article was translated from the original Korean post with AI assistance. Read the original Korean post →

After getting some rest and truly realizing why good transport and accommodation are essential to avoid travel fatigue, I headed out to sightsee. Whenever I travel abroad, I usually imagine what I'll do there, but I couldn't even begin to picture what to do here. Even after searching the internet and asking friends, I only got the same anticlimactic answer:

"The Old Town is everything."

For a moment, I mistakenly thought, "Are they saying this because the Old Town is just that incredibly good?" But as I walked around a bit, there was construction going on everywhere. So I changed my mind and figured, "I guess all the ruins were destroyed because they suffered so many foreign invasions." Of course, that was just my own rushed assumption. In reality, many of the buildings in this area were built in the Middle Ages, making you feel like you've suddenly traveled back in time.

But the Old Town is definitely small. Honestly, it's so small that you can see everything in half a day and then wonder what to do with the rest of your time. Eventually, I thought, "Well then, I should just take my time walking around so I can see more of the locals' daily lives." Even that wasn't easy in this Old Town, which felt a lot like Itaewon (an expat district in Seoul). It was hard to even meet an Estonian person, to the point where the owner of a famous hostel was from Finland or another country, not Estonia. What on earth do I have to do here to actually feel Estonia? It really feels like sightseeing Seoul while staying in Itaewon.

People passing in front of a stone tower with a red conical roof and surrounding old buildings
Two red-roofed stone towers with an arched passageway and people lingering in front of them
Don't tear it down!! Tear it down after I've seen it ㅠㅠ
An arched castle gate between two large and small stone towers with red roofs
Taking a picture to make it look like there's no construction going on
A cylindrical stone tower with a red roof and a commercial building with a green roof standing at a street corner
A view of a towering Town Hall tower at the end of a street lined with pastel-toned buildings
That tower you see in the distance is the Tallinn Town Hall.
People walking along a narrow stone path lined with old buildings on both sides
An old building with a light blue exterior wall and the Town Hall tower seen far beyond it
A large crowd of people gathered in a square in front of a massive stone building with a high tower

Tallinn's Old Town is most often described as a "fairytale village." The walk to the Town Hall (the old city hall), which is the starting point for exploring the Old Town, was so beautiful that it completely lived up to that reputation. In the Old Town, which is made up of medieval buildings and preserved by strict laws, everyone really walks around having fun like characters in a fairytale. Regardless of whether you're a young child or an elderly person, this street feels like a portal where anyone can dream of fantasy and step into the fairytales they heard as kids.

The exterior of a stone building with a high spire
Tallinn Town Hall (Old City Hall). It's so massive that it causes distortion when you take a picture. This is also a medieval building (from the 1400s).
A three-lion crest carved on the exterior wall of a building
Tallinn's city seal. It's fascinating to look at these city seals, which you only really see in places like Europe or Japan, since we don't have them back home.
The exterior wall and spire of the Town Hall building with protruding dragon-shaped decorations
An information sign showing the operating hours of the Town Hall
You can also go inside the Town Hall. However, the dates are limited and you have to book in advance.

When I arrived, it was "Book Day" or "Reading Day" week in Tallinn. Perhaps because of that, there were places on the street playing videos of people who looked like authors talking about books, but in a place where the vast majority are tourists, it was a completely meaningless event.

The square in front of the old city hall is where events like this are held or markets are set up. Right now, instead of a market, restaurants surround the square. If you have plenty of money and want to taste Estonian food, you can just go to the restaurants in the Town Hall Square. You can pretty much assume that all the restaurants boasting a long history and fame, like Olde Hansa, are gathered here.

Narrow alleys and buildings of the Old Town where people are walking
A merchant in traditional attire selling nuts from a wooden cart while people watch
Some restaurants roast and sell nuts. The one above is a stand run by Olde Hansa. They know very well that people love traditional things, so they wear medieval clothes while selling and serving. Thanks to that, it feels even more like stepping into a medieval fantasy.
A green dragon-shaped drainpipe decoration installed on the exterior wall of a building
The Town Hall's drainpipe. It's designed so that a uniquely shaped dragon? or snake? spits out the water.
A golden human-shaped ornament holding a flag standing on top of a pointed tower against a blue sky
St. Thomas weather vane. This is a photo that strongly makes me think I need to buy a DSLR. (I absolutely refuse to doubt my own poor photography skills)

The St. Thomas above is Tallinn's guardian deity, but the locals here call him "Lazy Thomas." Because the country has constantly suffered from foreign invasions, the people got angry, claiming their guardian deity wasn't doing his job at all. It's a funny episode between a guardian deity and the people living in the city, but on the flip side, it makes you wonder just how angry they must have been from all the invasions to call their guardian deity lazy.

Expenses

Total Expenses €27.58

Total Trip Expenses 525,936원 + 47,499RUB + $312.26 + €85.58