Christmas market in Tallinn - a brilliant experience

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Christmas market in Tallinn! We have visited Estonia's beautiful capital for a weekend, and when we arrived, their famous Christmas market had just opened. Lovely Christmas atmosphere and lots of lights!

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Christmas market in Tallinn

Tallinn's famous Christmas market is held at the Town Hall Square in the centre of the Old Town and is open every day from late November until just after Christmas. Named Europe's best Christmas market in 2019, it remains one of the cosiest and most active Christmas markets you can visit.

This year, the Christmas market opened on 22 November, which meant it had only just opened when we arrived on our weekend trip to Tallinn, which we did in collaboration with Visit Estonia. The 16-metre Christmas tree was in place when we arrived and the square was full of stalls and carousels.

Crafts and gifts

Tallinn's Christmas market is packed with stalls selling crafts and other gifts. For example, there are plenty of wooden crafts, woollen mittens, hats, Christmas decorations and various products by Estonian designers. We also saw some products made of alpaca wool.

Delicacies

If you want to buy edible gifts (for yourself or others), there are plenty of sausages, hams, tinned food, jams and honey.

You'll also find gingerbread with Christmas icing, as well as luxury cakes, buns, sweets, truffles and chocolate pralines.

Food and drink

Getting hungry while walking around the Christmas market in Tallinn? Then there are plenty of options to fill your stomach. A popular choice seems to be a variety of grilled sausages or chops served with potatoes and sauerkraut. There are also soups, pies, vegan options and more sophisticated dishes for gourmets.

Mulled wine is served at every stall and, to be on the safe side, it is presented in many languages. It says 'glögg' in several places, but also hõõgvein (glögg in Estonian) and glögi (glögg in Finnish). You can also find mulled wine flavoured with cranberries or cherries. Or why not try hot chocolate flavoured with Bailey's?

Vana Tallinn is a rum-based Estonian herbal liqueur, which appears here and there on the market in different flavours. Vana Tallinn Glögi is a mulled wine available both with and without alcohol. Of course we tried it, and it was really good. Perfect to warm up with in the cold!

Sustainability at the Christmas market

When you buy food or drink at the market, you pay a €2 deposit on cups and other items. When you're done, you take the cup to a collection point and get your euros back - a great solution for recycling everything and throwing nothing away!

For children at the Christmas market in Tallinn

There is, of course, a lot for children at the Christmas market in Tallinn. The most obvious is the fantastic carousels. Plus, Santa Claus comes to visit from the first Sunday of Advent.

Entertainment on stage

There is a stage at the Christmas market and at weekends there are performances of dance, music, choral singing and more. When we were here, there was Estonian folk dancing, which caught our attention for quite a while despite the cold.

Visiting the Christmas market in Tallinn

So, what is it like to visit the Christmas market in Tallinn? Very nice, as long as you're dressed warmly. The market is located in the centre of the Old Town, so it's perfect to combine a visit to the Christmas market with other experiences during a weekend in Tallinn.

More to see and do in Tallinn

There is of course much more to see and do in Tallinn. We can highly recommend strolling (or taking a guided tour) in the Old Town, discovering the Kalamaja area, experiencing the spa and sauna, and eating at all the fantastic restaurants in Tallinn.

Have you visited the Tallinn Christmas market?

Have you visited the Christmas market in Tallinn? Or maybe you're keen to go there? Feel free to write a comment, or ask a question, in the comments section!

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