Flickr, TOTORORO.RORO

Updated for 2026: Tallinn's Old Town is as atmospheric as ever, but popular restaurants and tiny lanes get busy in peak season. Book ahead where you can and start early for a quieter stroll.

One of the most atmospheric corners of Tallinn's Old Town, Catherine's Passage takes its name from the nearby Church of St. Catherine of Alexandria, founded here by the Dominicans in the 13th century. The church itself was destroyed by fire, and today its surviving walls along the north side of the lane are the best reminder of how grand it once was.

For years, the ruins were used as storage space and workshops, and the passage itself was cluttered and overlooked. Only in the 1990s was this little street restored and turned into one of the loveliest corners of the Old Town.

What makes Catherine's Passage special is that you won't find the usual stacks of generic tourist souvenirs here. Instead, the lane is lined with artisan workshops, many of them working with traditional techniques. If you want to bring home something genuinely local and one of a kind, this is one of the best places in Tallinn to find it.

Flickr, dkmurphypr

In one of the oldest houses on Town Hall Square, you'll find the Town Hall Pharmacy, one of Europe's oldest continuously operating pharmacies and still in its original premises. It is also one of Tallinn's oldest continuously running businesses.

The earliest records of a pharmacist working here date to 1422, though some historians believe the pharmacy may be even older. Its most famous owners were members of the Burchardt family: ten generations served Tallinn and the surrounding area from 1581 to 1911. The dynasty began with Johann Burchardt, a Hungarian immigrant, and several of his descendants were also named Johann, distinguished only by their numbers, like royalty. A local legend even says that Peter the Great once summoned Master Burchardt for treatment, but the tsar died before the pharmacist could arrive.

Today the Town Hall Pharmacy sells modern medicines, but right next to the main sales room there is also a fascinating museum where you can see old medical instruments and historic remedies.

Flickr, Tom Wright 1964

If you want the full time-travel effect, head to the Olde Hansa restaurant near Town Hall Square. Inside the old merchant house, the atmosphere of medieval Tallinn is recreated in rich detail. Back then the city was known as Reval and prospered as a member of the Hanseatic League. That period brought wealth, protection, and rapid development to the merchant class, and much of the Old Town's distinctive look was shaped during those years.

At Olde Hansa, the menu is built around ingredients that would have been familiar in medieval Europe, and depending on the season you may find dishes such as venison alongside spiced beers and old-style drinks. The atmosphere carries through everything here: candlelight instead of lamps, rough clay mugs instead of glassware, and sturdy wooden furniture that fits the setting. The servers in medieval-style dress complete the effect.

The Olde Hansa restaurant is divided into three halls: on the first floor there is a commoners' hall for 60 seats, while upstairs you'll find the noble dining hall and the fireplace hall, both for 100 people. The banquet space, called the patricians' dining hall, is designed for a group of 15-20 people.