My parents and I decided to visit Scandinavia next instead of the hill towns. We will be leaving St. Petersburg and would like to see 2 of these 4 places. Which would you pick as things to do and old towns and nice places to sit and watch people go by. Thanks!!
Posted by
Florida, USA
12172 posts
I'd go with Tallinn and Gdansk. The Market square in Tallinn and the Royal Way (?) in Gdansk are both good places to people watch. Tallinn is a great medieval town. You can add a park or beach, depending on the time you have. Gdansk also has a great medieval old center, add a half day to see Malbork Castle - we had planned a to train to Malbork but ended up getting a taxi for the day for a flat fee (train is cheaper). Riga and Vilnius are less "cleaned up" but less touristy too.
Posted by
Paris
9670 posts
Two more votes for Tallinn and Gdansk. Tallinn is just so special and charming, and Gdansk is pretty too, with such an interesting history. (but it's been years and years since I've been to Riga or Vilnius, so maybe I'm not giving them a fair shake.)
Posted by
Atlanta
3250 posts
We haven't been to Gdansk but were just in Tallinn, Riga, and Vilnius in June. Tallinn was our favorite - we liked it very much. Vilnius was next and Riga was our least favorite of the three--nothing bad about Riga - it was enjoyable with lovely art nouveau architecture and a beautiful green park/walkway that runs the length of the city. Vilnius was just a little more quaint and we liked our stay there better than Riga. We spent 4 nights in each of the three cities. For logistics, visiting Tallinn and Riga make sense - it's a 4-hour bus trip between the two cities. If logistics weren't an issue, I'd pick Tallinn and Vilnius! Perfect for lingering and people-watching with many interesting restaurants. All of the cities have an interesting past with museums that detail the history. You'll have a great time with any two cities that you chose!
Posted by
San Francisco
14575 posts
Hi, I would suggest that apart from visiting Tallinn (Reval) or Riga you try to include Gdansk (Danzig) as well. The Old Town in Gdansk is particularily amazing. As suggested, a day trip from there ca. one hr. or so to Malbork (Marienburg) would definitely be worth your time to see the largest castle/fortress...it certainly was for me. From the Gdansk area (Gdansk and Gdynia) ferries go to Sweden, to southern Sweden and one close to Stockholm, if Sweden is part of the Scandanavia visit.