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Kadri Karu, Acting Managing Director of the Estonian Convention Bureau
My favourite spots in Tallinn:
Top three restaurants
„Ö“ – This cutting edge restaurant is located just outside Old Town, easily accessible by car or public transport. The atmosphere of stylish, charcoal-coloured furniture, with dove-wing chandeliers overhead add an artistic touch. The equally fashionable menu, prepared by an award-winning chef, is inventive and modern with an emphasis on the use of local ingredients. There you can find mouth-watering moose dishes, home-made reductions and fresh seasonal fish.
„Olde Hansa“ – This unforgettable, Medieval-style restaurant is set up like the welcoming home of a 15th-century Hanseatic merchant. Here you can soothe your hunger with roasted game meat, raise your spirit with flavoured wines and enjoy the genuine Medieval atmosphere complete with colourful murals, period music, candlelight and caring service.
„Kaerajaan“ – Located right on Town Hall Square, Kaerajaan is a great place to experience a modern take on traditional, Estonian cuisine. Its name comes from an old folk song and dance, and both the off-beat interior and the inventive dishes on offer resonate with the echoes of the nation's ethnic heritage.
Top three bars
„Lounge24“ – You'll find this stunning rooftop bar with an open-air terrace perched up on the 24th floor of the Radisson Blu Hotel. From up here, a full 90 metres above street level, you'll get a marvellous view of Tallinn and the Baltic Sea. Lounge 24 offers starlit dining, tempting desserts and an exceptional drinks menu, all of which make it a perfect place to relax with friends and start your night out.
„Deja Vu Lounge“ – One of the city's trendiest lounges, this intimate venue keeps its regulars entertained with a venerable schedule of guest artists. Performances can range from jazz singers and trumpet players to dance beat DJs. The extensive food menu, which includes nachos, club sandwiches and Thai soup, is also worth note.
„Hell Hunt“ – Known for its comfortable, local atmosphere and good food, the Gentle Wolf is a popular destination every night of the week. Tallinners and foreigners alike are drawn by its friendly prices and service, as well as the extensive list of beers, which include ten draught varieties and over 50 in bottles.
Top three hotspots
„The Rotermann Quarter“ – To see where Tallinn is heading in the 21st century, take a walk through the Rotermann Quarter, a former factory complex that sits between the Old Town and the Passenger Port. The area’s biggest project is the Rotermann Centre, a trendy shopping and cultural zone opened in 2007. The centre is made up of both cleverly revamped, 19th-century factory buildings and modern structures. Visitors in search of a cultural experience in the quarter can visit the Loovala art collective, a group of studios where artists work and display their creations. There’s also the striking Rotermann Salt Storage building nearby, which houses the Estonian Museum of Architecture.
„The Culture Cauldron“ and „Culture Kilometer“ – In its building the Cultural Cauldron brings together different sort of arts, sustainable and creational way of thinking. It’s a meeting place for different fields of different arts. Next to it is a pedestrian and bicycle path, called the Culture Kilometer, linking sites along the post-industrial waterfront of Tallinn. The promenade was opened to celebrate Tallinn being the Cultural Capital of Europe 2011. It starts from the capital's cruise liner terminals, passes the Culture Cauldron, former Patarei prison, and an old seaplane harbor, ending up in Kalamaja Park.
„KUMU Art Museum“ – The modern facility wedged into a limestone hill in Kadriorg is by far Estonia’s biggest and newest art museum, voted museum of the year in Europe in 2008. The focus here is on Estonian art, which is divided into three eras: 18th century to World War II, and the Soviet period, 1940-1991. Temporary exhibitions display more modern works. The museum contains exhibition halls, a library, an educational centre, art studios, a video studio and a high-tech auditorium where cinema, shows, jazz concerts, plays etc. take place regularly.
The Estonian Convention Bureau is a non-profit organisation established jointly by the public and private sectors. ECB members include the cities of Tallinn and Tartu, the national flight company Estonian Air, DMCs, PCOs and conference hotels. ECB is co-financed by Enterprise Estonia. www.ecb.ee