Helsinki vs Tallin (not a cagefight)

Hi, I haven't seen either place although Helsinki has been on my traveling sights since my first trip over. Based on my interests I would spend the 3-4 days in Helsinki, not a so-so place, using the 4th day for day tripping (short ferry ride) to Tallin (Reval). Get an overview by taking in a harbour cruise which includes the fortifications. Check out the various museums, incl. historical in Helsinki. I suggest using Rough Guide to set your itinerary for Helsinki.

I spent 4 days in Finland and I really liked Helsinki. It's a very pleasent city, although it's not really packed with tourist highlights. I enjoyed walking around Suomenlinna, mainly for the harbor and Baltic views and the Outdoor Folk Museum. The Helsinki zoo is far from the best I've visited in Europe, but they have an impressive collection of big cats. I found the food almost uniformally excellent. Nordic cuisine, in general, is pretty under-rated, and Finnish food particularly so. I debated between a daytrip to Tallin versus the nearby wooden town of Porvoo. I chose Porvoo, and although it was pleasent enought, I think Tallin would have proved a more interesting choice.

I loved Tallinn, one of the nicest Medieval centers to date. Helsinki is so-so. It's a new city so you won't find any real history there. The best sight IMO is Suomolina Island, a long-time fortress dating back to when Helsinki was a small town, whose main function was to supply the island. My favorite thing about Helsinki is the people - they were noticibly the nicest people in the Baltic/Scandinavian area. Others were nice (except the Russians) but the Finns took the prize.

Been to both; was based in Helsinki with a daytrip to Tallinn. Love both. For me, there is more to do in Helsinki. The harbor area is great, several churches to see, lots of Russian, Art Nouveau and Modernist architecture and some great museums. Tallinn makes an easy daytrip and you can see most everything. It has more Medeival character. So think grand boulevards vs winding streets. Your time is short enough that you won't get bored in either city no matter what.

Tallinn (the old town) is lovely in a similar way to any number of "lost in time" places throughout Europe. But the old town is not large and really doesn't take more than a day to see. We didn't make much effort to see the area outside the old town because it didn't look nearly as charming - think 1960's Russia. Helsinki isn't London or Rome or Paris. It would take some imagination to spend a week there. But 2-3 days is actually great. Suomolinna islands/fort will take the better part of a day. Do the churches and the market. Be sure to take the tram to the Temppeliaukio Church (church in the rock) if you have any interest at all in an intriguing contemporary design. Stroll a residential neighborhood. Overall, we were very pleasantly surprised by Helsinki - perhaps because our expectations were not high. But I would be happy to go back and spend 2-3 days there again. At the very least, it is a much better base for a day trip elsewhere than is Tallinn.

Thanks for some very interesting points of view. I am again leaning towards basing in Helsinki. However, I guess I really do need to also look at costs - is there a significant difference in cost of flight from Boston to Helsinki vs to Tallin; and will also need to explore modes and costs of travel between Tallin and St Petersburg. That high speed train between Helsinki and St P is so easy and reasonable.
The planning and research of a trip like this is really half of the fun, isn't it?

Hi, A discount airline serving that area is Air Baltic but check if the flight you intend to take goes directly since a lot of them make a detour to Riga. The easiest way to Tallinn (Reval) is to take that short ferry ride, otherwise you can skip Tallinn, spend an extra day in Helsinki which also has historical museums plus the extensive military museum (more than one) in the Helsinki area. What about "the rest of the itinerary?" Where do you intend to go after St. Petersburg? Flying and train combination would give you flexibility in seeing parts of eastern Europe, if that is part of the plan.

We've been to both and agree with what you are hearingHelsinki is so-so. In Tallinn we used the RS book, took his suggested walk, and tried to visit the sites he identified. You have 2 and a half days in Helsinki and a part of one in Tallinn. I'd change the order and give more time to Tallinn. Good luck however your itinerary works out.

Day -1 - Columbia or Charlotte to Boston to Frankfurt to Helsinki Day 0.5 and 1 - in Helsinki, Day 2 - daytrip to Tallin, Day 3 - more Helsinki, Day 4 - morning train to St Petersburg Days 5-7 St Petersburg Day 8 - Mandrogi (Matreshka dolls!) Day 9 - Kizhi Island Day 10 - Goritsy Day 11 - Yaroslavi Day 12 - Uglich Day 13-15 Moscow Day 15 late afternoon - fly to Vienna
Day 16 Vienna.....as many days as possible ..depending on how much time I can sweet-talk my boss into......back to Boston

Bear in mind that St. Petersburg needs to be seen by organized tour or with a visa (I think a visa costs better than $150 each). You can't just go into Russia visa-free, like everywhere else, and the immigration people are very serious about their jobs. I've heard of tours from Helsinki by train but believe they are primarily marketed to Finns. If you have trouble finding something, you may try a travel agent in Helsinki.

Hi, This is "the rest of the itnerary." Good. Flying from Moscow to Vienna precludes any side trip to Lvov (Lemberg) or Krakow. Maybe just as well so as have max days set aside for Vienna, one of the top big cities for me in Europe, enjoy that good Austrian food and the coffee! I second the suggestion to consult with a travel agent in Helsinki. As expected, Finns are, esp. in the tourist/service industry, are well versed in German and English.

St Peterburg and the rest of Russia is already organized with TravelAllRussia. They will meet us at the train statioin when we arrive, and they take care of the visa too. That was one of the deciding factors for this tour company - I was very happy to let them take the visa process off my plate. I can use that time for more important things like reading up on Russian history and learning the alphabet. And we travel by ship, no unpacking or packing for 12 days.
This is my first trip to Russia. I usually prefer to travel independently and not take organized tours, but this is what meets my comfort level for this trip.

We recently visited Helsinki, Porvoo and Tallinn. My husband and I both loved Tallinn and did a lot of shopping there too; good prices. Not just regular shopping, but interesting antique stores that weren't expensive. Would have loved to have 2 days there instead of 1. Could have skipped Porvoo. Enjoyed Helsinki and had a good guide, which made it even more enjoyable. I would do a day and a half in Helsinki and a 2 days in Tallinn.

My husband and I spent about 3 days at Helsinki and Tallinn. I think you can do about 1.5 days in Helsinki if you stay in the downtown area -- checking out the market, Suolimeni (I'm misspelling it horribly!), several churches. When we were there, we were able to see a soccer game. As for Tallinn, it was beautiful. You can definitely see old town in 1 to 1.5 days. We used the tour company, EstAdventures, which provided several local tours in Tallinn as well as tours out in the country. The tours are pretty reasonably priced and you got to see different areas of Estonia. So after all my rambling, I would say, spend more time in Tallinn. Either way, you'll have a blast!

I have been to Helsinki, but not Tallin. I have been to Riga, which is interesting and fun for a day. I was in Helsinki in February, so perhaps its not a fair assessment, but I found the layout of the city to be a single long line, with no true center (for a true cultural treat, find a public sauna). I did love the "rock" church and russian food.
Have you considered a night or two in Stockholm? There are very cheap flights on Baltic air. Lots to see and do and quite nice in May!