Estonia
Lovely cafe located in a cellar on the Town Hall square (Raekoja Plats). Nice coffee, cakes and beer.
Considering the ambience and location it is not surprisingly more expensive than other locations in town. (Beer about €4).
Saiakang 1 (on Raekoja Plats), 10146 Tallinn, Estonia
+372(0)56201826
www.kohvik.ee/
Google map: bit.ly/h1j2QH
Lovely cafe ('Sweet Tooth' in English), owned by the Estonian Kalev chocolate company.
A great place to relax for some incredible value cakes and coffee.
It's the city's oldest cafe and dates back to the mid-19th century.
Mon-Sat 08.00-19.00
Sun 09.30-17.00
Just across from the Russian embassy just a few minutes away from the old town square.
Pikk 16, Tallinn
+372 64 64 079
www.kalev.eu/en/maiasmokk-cafe/cafe
Google map: bit.ly/hTrGJR
A beautiful courtyard in the Old Town housing several artisans' shops and a small cafe/chocolaterie. Go there if you feel tired of hustle and bustle of the usual tourist routes and would like to view and buy truly unique stuff made from wood, glass, etc.
Vene street, 6
The Starbucks of the Baltics, this cafe is so much more. For those travelling on a shoe string this place provides great tasting food for very little money. The coffee itself comes in every form, either the typical black coffee or even turkish coffee. The milkshakes are great and they even give you the pot in which it was made so you end up with a double portion. Great for the greedy tourist.
For people who dare to leave the main tourist areas, this cafe is at least a comforting landmark to regain your bearings, and if you can't find a place to eat, a guaranteed bargain.
The heart of Tallinn's Old Town is the Raekoja plats, or Old Town Square. Surrounded by elegant pastel hued buildings and the creamy limestone facade of the Town Hall, the square has been used as a marketplace, meeting place and also a place of execution.
It is still somewhere to meet up, perhaps in one of the restaurants that overlook it or, during the warmer months, one of the outdoor cafes that are set up on its cobblestones. There is also a reminder of its commercial past with handicraft stalls during summer and its Christmas Market. Indeed you get the sense that this is not a square that has been frozen in aspic - beautiful but untouchable - but a place that is still much in use by locals and visitors alike. There is also an intimate feel about the square, but without it seeming small, and an openness about it without it feeling bare and exposed.
As an introduction to Tallinn's Old Town you can't do worse, and as a place to visit in and for itself you can't do worse either.
Raekoja plats
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