Raekoja Plats, Tallinn Town Square
Raekoja Plats, Tallinn Town Square
Raekoja plats, the Town Hall Square, is the centre of Tallinn’s medieval Lower Town and the point most visits pivot around. It has been the city’s marketplace and meeting ground for centuries, and today it is a wide cobbled space ringed by merchant houses, cafes and the landmark that gives it its name. Here is what is actually on it, and how to use it well.
The Town Hall and its tower
The Gothic Town Hall is the square’s anchor, one of the oldest of its kind in northern Europe, with its current form dating to the early 1400s. Its tower is climbable in summer only, June through August, for about 6 euros adult (4 concession), with a combined building-and-tower ticket around 12 euros. Outside those months the tower simply shuts, so if you are visiting off-season, do not build your day around it, walk up to Toompea’s free viewpoints instead.
The medieval pharmacy
Tucked into a corner of the square is the Town Hall Pharmacy (Raeapteek), which claims a continuous run since 1422, making it one of the oldest working pharmacies in Europe. It keeps a small display of historic remedies and instruments and is free to step into, an easy and genuinely interesting five minutes.
St Nicholas’ Church nearby
A short walk off the square, the medieval St Nicholas’ Church (Niguliste) is now a museum and concert space known for its preserved religious art. It is one of the quieter, more rewarding stops in the immediate area.
The Christmas market
From roughly late November to early January, the square turns into Tallinn’s Christmas market, built around a tree tradition the city dates to 1441, a claim Riga disputes. Mulled wine, craft stalls and the floodlit Town Hall make it the reason many people visit in winter at all.
Eating on and around the square
One clear-eyed warning: the restaurants directly on Raekoja plats are priced for the location, not the plate. Walk a couple of streets over for far better value on the same meal. The exception people make is Olde Hansa, the candlelit medieval-themed restaurant just off the square, worth one visit for the theatre of it rather than the cooking.
Practical notes
The square is free and open at all hours, but it fills with cruise-ship crowds from mid-morning through the afternoon in summer, so come early or after dinner. The cobbles are uneven, so wear flat shoes. Estonia has used the euro since 2011 and is near-cashless, so a tapped card covers everything from the tower ticket to a coffee.
Read more: the Tallinn travel guide sets the square within the wider Old Town.