Tallinn's old town is the best-preserved medieval city centre in northern Europe, and it has been protected by a ring of walls and towers that still stand for most of their length. UNESCO listed it in 1997. The city grew rich as a Hanseatic port, and its merchants built tall stone houses with steep roofs, guild halls and churches that are still in use. The town is divided into two parts, the Upper Town on the limestone hill of Toompea, where the rulers lived, and the Lower Town below, where the merchants and craftsmen did business, and for centuries the two had separate governments and sometimes separate laws.
The main square, Raekoja plats, has a Gothic town hall and one of the oldest pharmacies in Europe, which has been in business since the fifteenth century. In the Upper Town, the onion domes of the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral, built by the Russian Empire in the early twentieth century, face the medieval Dome Church, a nice reminder of the layers of power. Narrow lanes run between the houses, with courtyards and workshops, and the best views over the red roofs and the sea come from the platforms on Toompea. In summer, the light lasts until very late, and in June it barely gets dark.
The ride starts and ends here, heading west to Haapsalu, a seaside town with a ruined bishop's castle and a ghost story about a white lady, and passing through flat coastal landscape, with pine forests, farmland and long views of the Baltic. Roads in Estonia are smooth and often empty, and speed limits are low and enforced by cameras, with fines that are not trivial. Elk and deer cross the roads, particularly at dusk, and a collision is serious.
Ferries to Helsinki run several times a day and take about two hours, so many travellers combine the two cities. Fuel stations are plentiful and everything works, including card payment almost everywhere. Eat black bread, smoked fish and the local dark beer, and try the traditional dish of blood sausage with lingonberry. The best seasons are June to September, when daylight is long and the sea is warm enough to swim, though the cold water takes some courage. Winters are dark and snowy, and the old town looks magical under snow.