Tallinn.

Raekoja plats is the open heart of Tallinn’s Lower Town, framed by the Gothic Town Hall and streets that once fed a medieval marketplace.

Start here to orient yourself in the Lower Town. The square makes the Town Hall’s civic role obvious and gives you a clear point from which to explore nearby lanes, churches and former merchants’ buildings. Seasonal activity can change its atmosphere, but the historic layout is the lasting draw.

Town Hall Square has served as Tallinn’s marketplace and civic centre since the Middle Ages. A town hall is recorded beside it by the early fourteenth century, and the present Gothic building took shape in the early fifteenth. The square’s role becomes clear when standing in it: trade unfolded in the open space, while municipal authority occupied the building on its edge. Streets from the Lower Town still lead into this meeting point. Later cafés, events and seasonal markets add changing layers, but they are not needed to understand its basic appeal. Raekoja plats is especially useful at the start of an Old Town walk because it gives scale to the Town Hall and a reference point for the surrounding lanes. From here, the Church of the Holy Spirit and other historic sites are close enough to make the square part of a connected visit.

• Tallinn Town Hall defines one side of the former market square.
• Old Town streets converge on the square from several directions.

Use the square to begin a Lower Town walk, then continue to the nearby Church of the Holy Spirit or Niguliste Museum.

Check event dates separately if a market or festival is the reason for your visit.