Tallinn - where is everyone?

Are stores/restaurants open?

Yes, things are open, but with almost no patrons. It feels very strange.

Enjoyed a good meal and beer at the Hell Hunt pub and had a good meat-filled crepe at Kompressor.

Heading on to Riga and Vilnius and hoping things are a little more lively.

Well for starters, the cruise season in that area is over. Summer vacations are over. And its proximity to Russia isn't helping.

I'm guessing many folks would look at the weather stats and decide October isn't nearly as attractive as June-September for that part of Europe. The average high is 49F. I have Estonia pegged as a July-or-August-only destination, but then I'm very cold-natured.

We’ve had similar experiences in traveling and despite much ado about avoiding crowds and tourists, we found empty streets unnerving and frankly sort of creepy. It detracted from our experience. Interesting I thought. Safe travels.

I'm heading there on December 5th for the Christmas Market. Hope that brings some activity to the city. I'll do day trips to other parts of Estonia as well but base myself at an AirBnB apartment in the old town of Tallinn. Also spending some time in Helsinki. I thought of Lapland but it's a very great distance north.

we found empty streets unnerving and frankly sort of creepy.

I needed a good laugh. Thank you.

I was in Tallinn this July and the city was very lively and filled with tourists. Restaurants and outside terraces, museums, churches, shops etc were filled with tourists from everywhere in Europe and beyond. The only signs of the war that we noticed, were the Ukrainian flags and anti-Russia/anti-Putin signs all over the city. Other than that, things looked and felt completely normal.
Right now however the summer holidays are over and it’s off season. I don’t think many tourists will think of Tallinn as a destination to visit outside the summer months.

Enjoy Tallinn without the tourists! It's a lovely town, and it can be obnoxiously crowded (I visited in late May a few years ago). I do know what you mean though about a town that's empty feeling a bit bleak - I have stayed n a number of towns like that and usually didn't enjoy it - I don't like towns mobbed with tour groups either but a happy medium is nice.

My last trip to Europe was late April 2019--a return to Tallinn, then bus to Riga, then Vilnius--I certainly hope you enjoy the Baltic states as much as I did. I arrived in Tallinn and headed out to Hell Hunt around 7:00 pm and the streets were deserted, as you say, and there's something about having such a very magical old city to yourself, I felt somehow transported back in time and got some great photos.

I will offer a suggestion for food in Riga--Petergailis restorans, on Skarnu iela right near St Peter's church and the statue of the Town Musicians of Bremen. I was in Riga for 3 nights and ate dinner there twice, wonderful food and excellent service. Not a big place, and seemed to have more locals than tourists.

October is hardly peak tourist season in Tallinn, so enjoy the city!