No matter where I travel to, viewpoints are one of the first things I add to my itinerary – ideally on the first day I arrive somewhere new to help orient myself. I also use photos taken at viewpoints for the cover pages of my travel photobooks.
Read more: How I plan and make travel photobooks (plus download my workflow printable)
Tallinn has quite a few viewpoints – some better than others. These were my favorite:
Kohtuotsa viewing platform:
This viewing platform is big with plenty of space for everyone to get a good photo. This viewpoint captures all those red rooves, the church of St Olaf and you can see the cruise ships in the distance.
Kiek in de Kök Museum Tower
Wandering along the old walls provides a good view but it gets even better when you go up the towers. I took this photo from one of the windows – my favorite photo of Tallinn!
You do need to pay for this viewpoint but the price you pay includes a museum entry ticket too. You can also get a combination ticket with the Bastion tunnels that I recommend doing.
Read more: Guide to visiting Tallinn, Estonia
Patkuli viewing platform
This was a good viewpoint but a little difficult to photograph – the nice view is at one end of the lookout platform.
Other Viewpoints
Tallinn Town Hall Tower
You can go up the tower in the main square (in the right of the photo below) during summer. Sadly I didn’t have time to do this one 🙁
Note that it costs a few euro and.. there are only stairs (no lift!)
Piiskopi viewing platform
This was more of an ‘urban’ viewpoint with no red rooftops 🙁
St Olaf’s Church
Sadly this was undergoing renovations during my visit. Note that while researching things to see and do, a lot of websites said this viewing platform was closed in winter.
The lookout platform is 60 metres high which may not seem that much, but since most of the building’s within Tallinn’s old town walls aren’t more than 5 story’s, it looks higher. There’s quite a few steps to the top and no lift but you do get a 360° view unlike some of the other viewpoints on this list.
Hellemann Tower and Town Wall Walkway
For a few euro you can walk along the old ramparts around the town however the walls are basically in line with the rooftops of buildings.
Tallinn St. Mary’s Cathedral (Dome Church) and bell tower
This viewpoint in Toompea has a nice view of Alexander Nevsky Cathedral but apart from that, looked like it much the same view of the red rooftops you can get from the viewing platforms (for free) so I didn’t visit this one.
Tallinn TV Tower
This modern lookout (‘needle style’) is located out of town. Really the only thing touristy nearby is the botanic gardens. Hence why I didn’t bother going out of my way to visit it. I’ve read it has a good view over the port and the cruise ships, but you can see that in the distance from some of the other viewpoints I’ve listed above, I skipped this one.
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