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Estonian Museum of Contemporary Art
Despite its highfalutin name, this grungy old warehouse space is more slapped together than slick. Exhibitions tend to be edgier and more oddball than anything youll find at the more official galleries.
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Pärnu Museum
This museum covers 11,000 years of regional history, from prehistoric archaeological relics, right up to a reconstruction of a Soviet-era apartment. Pride of place goes to the star exhibit, an 8000-year-old Stone-Age Madonna.
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Tartu University Botanical Gardens
Founded in 1803, these gardens nurture 6500 species of plants including a large collection of palms in the greenhouse. In summer its always full of local families wandering the paths and strolling around the ornamental lake.
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Johannes & Joosep Aavik’s Memorial Museum
The Aavik family home is now a small museum dedicated to the life and works of linguist Johannes Aavik (1880–1973), who introduced major reforms to the Estonian language, and his musically talented cousin, Joosep Aavik (1899–1989).
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A Le Coq Beer Museum
Located at the famous brewery, this museum briefly covers the history of beer-making but tours focus mainly on the machinery and brewing techniques, with free samples at the end. A Le Coq has churned out its trademark beverage since 1879.
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Folk Windmills
On the side of the road, some 7km north of Mustjala at Ninase (on the Ninase Peninsula) , are two of Saaremaa’s kitschier icons. This pair of clunky wooden windmills has been painted to resemble a giant mama and papa in traditional costume.
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Suur Töll & Piret
Estonias jauntiest statue enlivens the waterfront near the Spa Hotel Meri. It features Saaremaas legendary gigantic hero, Suur (meaning the great) Töll and his wife Piret carrying a boat laden with fish on their very naked shoulders.
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Paper Museum
Making a fine companion piece to the Printing Museum, this space is really part museum, part gallery devoted to paper as a 3D artistic medium – think origami on steroids. It too hadn’t opened when we visited, so check details on the website.
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Käsmu Sea Museum
The former Soviet coastguard barracks at Käsmu now shelters this eclectic museum, displaying artfully arranged marine knick-knacks and charts. Its a private museum, with the owners living on site, so there are no formal opening hours.
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Bastion Passages
Guided tours depart from Kiek in de Kök exploring the 17th-century Swedish-built tunnels connecting the towers. Bookings are required, and warm clothes and sensible shoes are recommended. Combined tour and tower tickets are available (€9).
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Lower Town Wall
The most photogenic stretch of Tallinns remaining walls connects nine towers lining the western edge of the Old Town. Visitors can explore the barren nooks and crannies of three of them, with cameras at the ready for the red-rooftop views.
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St Olaf’s Lutheran Church
There’s a colourful little statue of the saint with his trusty axe in the niche above the door of this blocky, whitewashed 14th-century church, just out of Hullo. It has a fine baroque painted pulpit (1660) and medieval ceiling paintings.
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Hiiumaa Military Museum
Despite limited English captions, this small museum in the former Soviet border guard station is quite engrossing. There are big items of military hardware to peruse in the yard, while inside there are uniforms, photographs, posters, weapons and medals.
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Meremäe Hill
In such a flat country, even a modest 204m hill can become a high point. This one has a four-storey wooden viewing tower. Its right next to Setomaa Tourist Farm, a conference and group accommodation complex which is often booked up for weddings.
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Tallinn Botanic Garden
Set on 1.2 sq km fronting the Pirita River and surrounded by lush woodlands, this pretty garden boasts 8000 species of plants scattered between a series of greenhouses and various themed gardens and arboretums. Bring a picnic and make an afternoon of it.
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St Elizabeth’s Lutheran Church
Named after John the Baptists mum but also the Russian empress at the time it was built (1747), this baroque church has low dangling chandeliers, a Gothic-style carved wooden pulpit and a wonderful altarpiece of the Resurrection from Rotterdam (1854).
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Postal Museum
Sharing a building with the Sports Museum, the Postal Museum is rather more staid but still quietly fascinating. The stamp displays lay bare Estonia’s recent history, with the swastika appearing in 1941, giving way to the hammer and sickle in 1945.
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Mikkel Museum
The Estonian Art Museums collection spills over into this former kitchen for Kadriorg Palace. It displays a small but interesting assortment of paintings and porcelain, along with temporary exhibitions. Joint admission with the palace is €6.50.
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Citizen’s House Museum
There are many historic wooden and stone buildings on Pikk street, including this 18th-century home, kitted out mainly in early-20th-century garb. Displays include a cobbler’s workshop, a collection of children’s toys and a piano that once belonged to Arvo Pärt.
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Orthodox Cathedral of the Resurrection
Hidden, in typical Soviet atheist style, among dingy apartment blocks northwest of the train station, this 1896 cathedral has an attractive red-brick exterior and a glittering core. Check out the frescoes inside the dome and the wonderful carved iconostasis.
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