Reel off a list of the most popular holiday destinations and it will be a long time before you reach Tallinn, Riga and Vilnius. Yet this trio of capitals — each less than three hours’ flying time from London — count among the most dynamic and attractive cities in Europe.
For 45 years, they were trapped behind the Iron Curtain, emerging in 1991 when their respective countries — Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania — broke free from the Soviet Union. Yesterday, they completed a remarkable transformation by becoming fully fledged members of the European Union.
The Baltic capitals are changing so quickly that guidebooks are out of date almost as soon as they hit the shelves. Stylish restaurants and bars open every week, historic buildings are renovated and converted into boutique hotels, and the grey paint of the USSR is scraped away to reveal 800 years of turbulent, fascinating history.
The three cities are different in character: Tallinn is a chocolate-box medieval town, Riga a buzzing metropolis and Vilnius a quirky backwater crammed with church spires. However, all are friendly and almost embarrassingly cheap. Where else in Europe could you loaf around in a swanky cocktail lounge drinking martinis at £2 a pop? Or find a meal for two at a good restaurant for £10? Or a pub that’s open until 5am, where the beer costs £1 a pint and the girls look like supermodels? It’s beginning to sound quite interesting, isn’t it?
Tallinn
ESTONIA’S CAPITAL looks almost too gorgeous to be true. Its 13th-century Old Town is one of the best preserved in Europe: a magic kingdom of cobbled streets, secret courtyards, towering Lutheran spires and Orthodox onion domes. It can easily be explored on foot in a day, and because it is so titchy, it is almost impossible to get lost.
The Old Town is divided into two parts. The lower part, All-linn, is where the merchants once lived, and is chock-full of churches, medieval German houses, cosy bars and cake shops. The upper part, Toompea, was the aristocratic quarter, and is home to the unassuming parliament building, which is overshadowed by a bulbous, beautiful Russian Orthodox cathedral next door. An appro- priate symbol of years of foreign domination, you might say.
As you climb up to Toompea, you pass a giant studded door that was once slammed shut every night to divide the two districts. At the top of the hill, pop your head inside the impo- sing Dome Church, then turn right until you reach a gap in the fortified wall with a postcard-perfect view of the Old Town — turrets, towers, terracotta rooftops, and the wide-open space of Town Hall Square, where, in the long days of summer, crowds sit out drinking beer on the cobbles.
There is a museum on every other street — more than 30 in all — but the best is the City Museum (Vene 17; 00 372-644 6553, www.linnamuuseum.ee), in a renovated 14th-century merchant’s house. The exhibition is eclectic, with medieval torture instruments displayed alongside full-length oils of Russian emperors and Soviet-era underwear.
Tallinn is the most Scandinavian of the Baltic capitals, so it’s no surprise to find that the city has embraced modern technology (many young people carry wireless internet devices) and minimalist design. Check out Nu Nordik (Vabaduse Valjak 8; 644 9392, www.nunordik.ee), a shop packed with trendy homewares, cloth-ing and jewellery by young local designers.
Zizi (Vene 12; 644 1222) is the place to get top-quality bed and table linen, towels and cushion covers in muted contemporary colours. Expect to pay £7 for a tablecloth and £40 for a double duvet cover. If your tastes are more traditional, pick up some chunky patterned knitwear at the open-air market beside Viru Gate.
Like their Finnish neighbours, the Estonians have a reputation for being cool to the point of taciturnity. This is true, up to a point, and that point is when they raise a glass and start boozing. Pubs, bars and clubs are everywhere, many staying open until dawn, and the drink flows freely: beer, vodka and, in winter, delicious warming mulled wine.
Start your evening out at Pegasus (Harju 1; 631 4040, www.restoranpegasus.ee), a stylish steel-and-glass bar where young people tap laptops and sip coffee by day, and down martinis by night. Upstairs, the restaurant serves modern eastern European dishes such as wild boar hotpot and pikeperch with caramelised fennel. This is one of the most expensive places in town: starters cost about £4, mains £9.
