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Already seen London, Paris and Rome? Have you stretched yourself to see Prague and Budapest and wonder what’s next? Try Tallinn, Estonia, USA Today calls it one of the 10 up and coming cities of Europe where there is still a deals to be had.

I traveled there and fell in love with the Old Town. Lastly occupied by Russia, is still has some of the Eastern feel and is just waking up form it’s communist past. The Old Town is a World Heritage Site due to the fact that it has been invaded numerous times but has never been bombed and the Old Town stands today much as it has for centuries, of course the city has built up around it and things are modernized but the old world charm can be felt as you enter the city gates and walk the cobbles streets winding their way past stone churches and private residences dating back to the 13th century. The walled city has something like 31 towers that are still fully intact, starting with at Margaret at one end and Tall Hermann at the other. Some house museums others are under repair simply from age.

Being part of the Soviet Union for many years left it’s influence on Tallinn, there are many Russian style churches with the onion top spires as the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral, you can visit Alexander the Greats cottage where he stayed until he built his palace or you can visit the cities infamous KGB headquarters. You still hear Russian spoken frequently, in fact they only gained independence from Russia in the 1990’s.

While dropping in for refreshment at a local bar we met a boy named Pritt, I believe he was about 10 years old but he spoke Estonian, Russian and Finnish as well as English. We bumped into him over and over in the old town and he finally took us to meet his father who owned a shop where he imported goods from all over the world. I am always amazed by young people in Europe who can speak so many languages and seem much older than their years.

If you’d like more information about traveling to Tallinn, call Jennefer the Europe Expert at Totem Travel, or shoot an email to jennefer@totemtravel.com.