Tallinn's main station: Location map
Tallinn has one main central railway station, known as Tallinn Balti Jaam or Baltic Station. There's been a station in Tallinn since 1870, but the current buildings date from 1960-66, renovated in 2005. The station is perfectly located right next to Tallinn's lovely old town, and on the opposite side of the station you'll find the Balti Jaama Turg (Baltic Station Market) and a former industrial area now converted to bars and restaurants, the hangout of choice for Estonia's youth and young at heart.
Overview
Tallinn Balti Jaam south side, as seen when crossing the road from Tallinn old town. The platforms are mostly open and uncovered. Larger photo.
Yellow arrow = Go Shnelli hotel where the reception desk provides an official station left luggage service.
Blue arrow = former ticket hall for international trains, now completely repurposed as a supermarket, travel agency, offices.
Red arrow = ticket hall for domestic trains, now repurposed as a Burger King & Tallink Express cafe with two Elron train ticket windows & small waiting area.
Tallinn Balti Jaam northeast side. This is the ticket hall for domestic trains, which now contains a Burger King, a Tallink Express cafe counter, two Elron train ticket windows and a small indoor waiting area with seating. There's also a Circle K minimart in part of this building. Platforms 8 & 9 are just visible on the right.
Stenbock House: The neoclassical building on the hill on the left of this photo is Stenbock House, the official residence of Estonia's prime minister.
Which platform?
The station has 9 tracks numbered 1 to 9 from south to north. Departure screens tell you which track your train leaves from. Most tracks have a platform on each side so you can board/alight from either side of the train!
Tracks 3-9, looking back along track 3 towards the buffer stops with tracks 4-9 to the left. The former international station building is on the right.
Tracks 3, 2 & 1. Note the famous 'Tallinn' sign on the roof of the former international station. The Go Shnelli hotel is out of shot to the right.
Circulating area behind the buffer stops to tracks 3-9, looking south. That's the Burger King/Tallink Express/Elron ticket office on the left, the former international station building in the background on the right. Note the summary of departures screen on the right.
Left luggage
There's a small left luggage office on platform 3 (photo below), but it's only open limited hours, 09:00-18:00 Monday-Friday, 09:00-16:00 weekends. However, if you follow the other 'luggage' signs further along platform 3 to the GO Hotel Shnelli, the hotel reception provides a left luggage service, open all hours. See the luggage lockers page for prices. There's also a left luggage office at Tallinn D Terminal where the ferry from Stockholm arrives, open 10:45 to 17:30.
Ticket office & waiting area
The Elron ticket office is inside the combined Burger King and Tallink Express cafe behind the buffer stops, see the photo below. It consists of just two ticket windows, on the left under those two arrival & departure screens. As you can see, there's a small covered waiting area here too. The Tallink Express cafe counter is out of shot to the left. The ticket counters can sell Estonian domestic tickets, but not international tickets to Riga or Vilnius, you'll need to buy those online at ltglink.lt.
Food and drink
There's a Burger King at the station, and a Tallink Express cafe counter for coffee or sandwiches, see the photo above.
There's a Circle K minimarket at the station for stocking up for a journey.
You'll find lots of bars and restaurants in the Balti Jaam Turg area on the north side of the station, including Peatus, which uses two former Estonian Railways restaurant cars. I can vouch for their mussels!
Steam locomotive
If you walk beyond the GO Hotel Shnelli and you'll find this Soviet L-class 2-10-0 steam locomotive next to a small car park. You'll see a similar one (but in better condition) at Tapa station as you travel to or from Tallinn by train.
Tallinn old town
The station is in the city centre, easy walking distance from all the sights in the old town.
The Patkuli viewing platform gives a superb view over Tallinn's old town walls. It's a 300m 5-minute walk from the Balti Jaam, see walking map.
Tallinn town hall square, a 650m 9-minute walk from the Balti Jaam, see walking map.
Recommended hotels
In Tallinn I suggest the comfortable but inexpensive Nunne Boutique Hotel (pictured below), perfectly located 5 minutes walk from Tallinn railway station and just 4 minutes walk from Tallinn's old town square. The hotel has beautifully modernised rooms and a decent restaurant and bar too. Try their Blue Marguerita!
For somewhere cheaper but still in the heart of the old town with great reviews, try the Meriton Old Town Garden Hotel or Merchants House Hotel.
For a top-end place in the old town, try the Hotel Telegraaf complete with indoor swimming pool, or the 5-star Burman Hotel, in the old town with spa and sauna.
The Nunne Boutique Hotel.
Tallinn ferry terminals
Ferries to Stockholm & Helsinki leave from Tallinn harbour, a 20-minute walk from the old town. Or you can take tram number 2 every 15 minutes from the Balti Jaam to the harbour tram stop. The trams accept payment with any contactless bank card, just touch it on the reader when you board. See transport.tallinn.ee for tram info and map. A-terminal location map. D-terminal location map.
Tallinn A-Terminal, used by Viking & Eckero lines to Helsinki. It's a 19-minute 1.4 km walk from the town hall square in the old town.
Tallinn D-Terminal, used by Tallink ferries to Stockholm & Helsinki. It's a 22-minute 1.7 km walk from the town hall square in the old town.
Inside the D-terminal: Head upstairs and scan your ferry ticket QR code on a check-in machine (above left). Out pops your boarding pass. Go through the automatic check-in gates and enjoy a coffee or beer in the departure lounge (above right). When boarding starts, you walk through a boarding pass check, then along the passenger walkway and straight into the ferry. There's no airport-style nonsense, it's painless!
Tallinn bus station Location map
If you find you really do need to take a bus between Riga & Tallinn, you'll need to get to Tallinn bus station (Tallinna Bussijaam). This is south of the city centre, a 2.3 km 33-minute walk from town hall square in the old town -arriving at the Balti Jaam by train is far more convenient! The best way to travel between the city centre and bus station is by number 2 tram, this runs every 15 minutes between the Balti Jaam, Tallinn Harbour (for ferries) and the Bussijaam tram stop, see the photo below. The trams accept payment with any contactless bank card, just touch it on the reader when you board. See transport.tallinn.ee for tram info and map.
A number 2 tram at the Bussijaam (bus station) tram stop. The white arrow shows the location of the bus station itself, a short walk away.
Tallinn bus station entrance
Bus station, bus side, with a Lux Express bus for Riga