Tallinn may be small, but it’s got plenty stories to tell. In 48 hours it served the British TV popular Travel Man hosts, Richard Ayoade and Alice Levine, a buffet of medieval murder stories, KGB paranoia and a schnitzel the size of a trampoline.
The pair kicked off their tour at the Tallinn TV Tower, where Estonians once blocked Soviet troops from hijacking the airwaves (simply by turning off the elevators — Tallinn’s tallest building, 1; Soviets, 0). Richard and Alice, naturally, hijacked the broadcast room instead — reporting breaking news about the Wife Carrying Championships. Pulitzer material, clearly (with some practice).
Old Town, new trauma
With tour guide Riina leading the way, the Old Town offered up charming squares, gothic cathedrals, and a monk who committed murder over warm beer. (Lesson: never mess with an Estonian barkeep.) Also: a “Peeping Tom” legend where the joke was literally built into the wall. Tallinn: where history is equal parts UNESCO and unhinged.
Boozy business and bugged hotels
Next came Pegasus Bar, where the infamous “Hammer and Sickle” cocktail — basically Fanta with a vendetta — left them blinking with one eye closed. Suitably wobbly, they tottered into Hotel Viru’s secret KGB floor, a Cold War wonderland of hidden microphones, surveillance equipment, and exploding “curl bombs” to keep staff in line. Airbnb could never.
Ice, Ice, maybe?
What’s more relaxing than sliding across a frozen lake on kick sleds? Answer: absolutely anything. At Lake Maardu, Alice screamed with joy while Richard looked like he was auditioning for Frozen: The Existential Crisis. Richard got unusually quiet — that should tell you something.
Noah’s Ark (of schnitzel)
At Restaurant Noah, they sampled aubergine “caviar”, eel sushi, scallops, and the mighty “elephant ear” schnitzel — a chicken cutlet flattened within an inch of its life. The sharing plates caused mild diplomatic tension: Alice wanted Richard’s food, Richard wanted Richard’s food.
Sean Connery’s big head and marzipan meltdown
The Scottish Club revealed Tallinn’s most baffling landmark: an oversized bust of Sean Connery lurking in a courtyard, because why not. From there it was on to Café Maiasmokk, where the pair painted marzipan frogs and chickens that looked like fever dreams. Their instructor politely called them “creative”. Translation: nightmare fuel.
Sink or swim
Finally, they wrapped things up at the Seaplane Harbour Museum, crawling over a submarine while debating whether it was sinking or “just underwater”. Tallinn, of course, stayed afloat — equal parts oddball, historic and heartwarming.
Verdict?
Tallinn smashed it. The guides were brilliant, the food outrageous, the stories deranged, and the cocktails aggressively orange. As Richard put it: “The people have been the wind beneath our chicken wings.”
So next time you’re in Estonia, remember: Tallinn isn’t just charming — she’s surprising, a little mischievous, and impossible not to love.
Watch it here
We had a few laughs watching this episode and even learnt a thing or two about Tallinn. Watch the episode, 24 minutes, by clicking below. Or catch the 8-minute version here.
This episode was first aired on 29 April 2019, reposted 16 September 2025. Read more about Travel Man and see where else in the world the show has travelled since they first aired in 2015 here.
