Estonia
Estonia is the northern Baltic republic: a walled merchant town in Tallinn, a university city in Tartu, a long sandy resort at Pärnu, and the border castle at Narva. The currency is the euro. Estonian is the language, close to Finnish and not to Latvian.
- Currency
- Euro (EUR)
- Language
- Estonian
- Capital
- Tallinn
Cities
Tallinn
Tallinn is a walled Hanseatic city on the Gulf of Finland, limestone lanes below Toompea and a ferry port a short walk from the walls. The old town is small enough to walk and busy enough that mornings are kinder than cruise-ship afternoons.
Tartu
Tartu is Estonia’s university town on the Emajõgi, a small centre of lecture halls, a ruined cathedral on the hill, and a town hall square that students treat as a living room. It is quieter than Tallinn and more interested in its own life.
Pärnu
Pärnu is Estonia’s summer capital, a small port with a long beach, a wooden old town, and a mud-bath tradition that outlived the empire that built it. Out of season the town shrinks to its cafés and the wind. The bus from Tallinn is the ordinary arrival.
Narva
Narva is a border city on the Narva river, facing the Russian fortress of Ivangorod, with Hermann Castle on the Estonian bank and a largely rebuilt centre. Russian is the language of the street. The castle and the river view are the visit; the border is a state crossing, not a promenade.