When I say that the residents of Tallinn, the capital of Estonia, rarely seem to be without their laptops, it might sound like a depressing observation. But when I say that they’re often seated under a pine tree, or in an airy café in a post-industrial creative hub, or – I don’t know – beneath the shady walls of a medieval fortress, the whole thing starts to seem a lot more wholesome. But while Estonians seem to have mastered the work-life balance, “work” is unlikely to be high on your to-do list when you’re on holiday there.
And if you haven’t considered it before – which, given it’s the kind of place that likes to hide its light under a bushel, you probably haven’t – here’s why you should. Having recently spent a week exploring the west coast, I was amazed that no one had alerted me to its charms sooner; though with the Mediterranean increasingly inhospitable in the summer months (to put it mildly), it seems likely that more people will twig. Estonia is easily accessible by direct flights from London, although my family and I arrived – more memorably – from Stockholm, Sweden, to the capital city, Tallinn, on an overnight mega-ferry which had a casino, a disco and a last-days-of-Rome buffet at which I saw – no lie – a woman carrying a plate of prawns and chocolate mousse.
Tallinn boasts a picturesque Old Town of cobbled streets and colourful houses and a number of buzzy, creative neighbourhoods, including Telliskivi, home to an impressive .
