Tallinn: Old Town in Depth - Part 20

ALONG THE HARBOURFRONT

Seaplane Harbour (Lennusadam)

One of Tallinn’s newest and most ambitious sights is this nautical, aviation, and military museum that fills a gigantic old hangar along the waterfront north of downtown. It has loads of hands-on activities for children and will be enjoyed by anyone interested in transportation, while others may find it off-putting with its militaristic tones. The many Russian tourists who enjoy posing with its machine-gun simulators don’t help matters.

Cost and Hours: €10; May to Sept daily 10:00-19:00; same hours off-season except closed Mon; last entry one hour before closing, Vesilennuki 6.

There are a number of ways to get there. It’s along the waterfront, about a mile north of the Old Town. It’s a long but doable walk, made more enjoyable if you follow the red gravel “Culture Kilometer” (Kultuurikilomeeter) seaside path from near the cruise terminals. While there’s no tram or bus to the museum, a one-way taxi from the town centre shouldn’t cost much more than €5. The hop-on, hop-off buses also stop here.

When you buy your ticket, you’ll be issued an electronic card, which you can use at terminals posted throughout the exhibit to email yourself articles on topics that interest you. The entire collection is enlivened by lots of interactive screens, giant movies, and simulators, such as huge scale shooting video games with life-sized artillery. Touchscreens explain everything in three languages: Estonian, Russian, and English.

The cavernous old seaplane hangar cleverly displays exhibits on three levels: the ground floor features items from below the sea, such as a salvaged 16th-century shipwreck, plus a cinema that shows films subtitled in English. Some catwalks halfway up connect exhibits dealing with the sea surface, with an impressive collection, ranging from buoys to sailboats to the massive Lembit sub; while aeroplanes are suspended overhead. Touchscreens provide more information in English; just take your time exploring the collection. The star of the show is the 195-foot-long Lembit submarine from 1937: Estonian commissioned and British built, this vessel saw fighting in World War II and later spent several decades in the service of the USSR’s Red Fleet. You can climb down below decks to see how the sailors lived, peek through the periscope, and even stare down the torpedo tubes. A good café on the top level, above the entrance, overlooks the entire space, which feels endless.

Outside, filling the old harbour, is the maritime museum’s collection of historic ships, from old-fashioned tall ships to modern day military boats. The highlight is the steam-powered icebreaker Suur Tõll, from 1914. Sometimes you can pay to go out on a brief trip on one of the sailboats, ask at the ticket desk when you enter.

On the opposite side of the building, facing the main entrance is a collection of military vehicles.

Continued in part 21.