A Guided Walk That Starts
Inside The Christmas Market
The Tallinn Christmas Market fills Town Hall Square — and Town Hall Square is where our guide waits, under the clock. Two hours through medieval Old Town for €35, daily at 10:00, 13:00 and 15:30, finishing back among the stalls.
No separate meeting point to find in the dark
Most Christmas tours sold online start somewhere else and walk you to the market. Ours does not need to: the meeting point is the Town Hall arcade on Raekoja plats, a few metres from the tree and the stalls. You walk into the market, look for the Town Hall clock, and find a guide holding a bright 120° sign. Two to two and a half hours later you are back on the same square, with the rest of the evening for glögi and gingerbread.
Per adult for the 2-hour guided Old Town tour, English or Russian. Children under 12 free with one paying adult.
Distance from the market to the meeting point. Both are on Town Hall Square, and the tour ends where it started.
Departures at 10:00, 13:00 and 15:30 every day of the season, holidays included.
The Christmas Market on Raekoja plats is run by the city, not by us: admission is free and the organisers publish the season dates and opening hours each year — for 2026 they give 20 November 2026 to 6 January 2027, with the stalls open from 10:00. Check christmasmarket.ee for the current schedule before you travel. Our tour price, times and meeting point do not change with the season.
Daylight or lights? Pick your departure
This is the one decision worth thinking about before you book. Tallinn sits far enough north that in late December the sun rises around 09:15 and sets around 15:20 — barely six hours of daylight — so the three departures are genuinely three different tours.
Daylight & quiet stalls
- Light
- Full daylight, dusk falls hours later
- Tour ends
- Ends 12:00–12:30
The market has just opened and the square is at its emptiest — the best window for photographs of the tree and the stalls without crowds.
Daylight into dusk
- Light
- Starts in daylight, ends as the lights come on
- Tour ends
- Ends 15:00–15:30
The compromise option, and the one most guests pick in December: you see the Old Town in the light and step back onto a square that has just been lit.
Lights & glögi
- Light
- Dark for almost the whole walk in December
- Tour ends
- Ends 17:30–18:00
Medieval streets by lamplight, then back to the square with the tree lit and the stalls in full swing. Coldest option — dress for it.
Daylight stretches quickly either side of the solstice: in late November and early January sunset is closer to 15:40–16:00, so the 13:00 departure keeps more daylight than the times above suggest. The 15:30 tour is dark throughout from roughly late November onwards.
Four tours, four booking deadlines
December weekends are the busiest days of our year. These are the real cut-offs.
Old Town tour in English — €35
Closes 15 minutes before departure
Bookable from the square. 10:00, 13:00, 15:30 daily.
Old Town tour in Russian — €35
Closes 5 hours before departure
Same times, same meeting point, Russian-speaking guide.
Food tour — €80, daily at 15:00
Closes 18 hours before departure
Mostly indoors — the warm option in December.
Private tour — €150 (1–4) / €200 (5–15), daily at 16:00
Closes 3 hours before departure
One private tour per day. Your own pace and your own warm-up stops.
Walking Old Town in winter — what actually matters
- 1
Footwear with grip beats footwear that is warm. Old Town is cobbled, and packed snow on limestone is the one thing that catches visitors out.
- 2
Dress for 2 to 2.5 hours outside: coat, hat, gloves, thick socks. Standing still on a square is colder than walking, so the tour itself is the warmer part of your evening.
- 3
Arrive five minutes early. In December the square is full and the guide is easier to spot before the crowd builds — look for the Town Hall clock and the bright 120° sign in the arcade.
- 4
Children under 12 walk free with one paying adult, and the route has no steps that a pushchair cannot get around, though the cobbles are hard work with wheels.
- 5
The tour ends back on Raekoja plats. That is deliberate: you finish at the glögi stalls rather than a tram stop somewhere across town.
Getting to the market
Flying in for a Christmas weekend? A private airport transfer is worth more in December than in July — the airport is about 4 km away and you will land in the dark. Arriving by ferry from Helsinki? See which departure fits your crossing. On a winter cruise call? Our shore excursion guide works back from your ship’s departure time. Combining the market with a trip east or south? We run fixed-price private transfers across Estonia, and all four tours run through the whole season.
Tallinn Christmas Market tour — frequently asked questions
Timing, light, prices, what to wear and how late you can book — the questions winter visitors ask before reserving a place.
Is there a guided tour of the Tallinn Christmas Market?
Yes. Our 2-hour guided Old Town walking tour meets on Town Hall Square (Raekoja plats) — the square the Christmas Market is held on — and costs €35 per adult, with departures at 10:00, 13:00 and 15:30 every day. The guide waits under the Town Hall clock in the arcade with a bright 120° sign. The walk covers the medieval Old Town, Toompea Hill and the viewpoints, and finishes back on the square so you can go straight into the market stalls.
Which tour time is best for seeing the Christmas market lights?
The 15:30 departure. Tallinn is dark by late afternoon in December — the sun sets around 15:20 at the shortest point of the year — so the 15:30 tour runs almost entirely under the market lights and finishes back on the illuminated square between 17:30 and 18:00. The 13:00 tour starts in daylight and ends at dusk, which is the option that gives you both. The 10:00 tour is the daylight and photography option, and the market is at its quietest then.
Do you run tours during the Christmas market season?
Yes. The Old Town walking tour runs every day of the year, including through the whole Christmas market season and over the holidays, at the usual 10:00, 13:00 and 15:30 departures for €35 per adult. It is a walking tour, so it goes ahead in snow and frost — we simply keep moving and use the courtyards and arcades as shelter.
Where does the Christmas market tour meet?
On Town Hall Square, in the Town Hall arcade under the clock, where the guide waits with a bright 120° sign. In December that is a few metres from the Christmas tree and the stalls, so you do not have to find a separate meeting point in the dark — walk into the market and look for the Town Hall.
How much does the Tallinn Christmas market tour cost?
€35 per adult for the 2-hour group walking tour, in English or in Russian. Children under 12 are free with one paying adult (one free child per adult). Entry to the Christmas Market itself is free — you only pay for whatever you buy at the stalls. The food tour is €80 per guest and the private tour is €150 for 1–4 guests or €200 for 5–15 guests.
What should I wear for a winter walking tour in Tallinn?
Dress for 2 to 2.5 hours outdoors below freezing: a warm coat, hat, gloves and thick socks. The single most important item is footwear with grip — Old Town is cobbled and the stones become slippery when the snow is packed down. There are stops along the route where you can warm up, and the tour ends on the square where the glögi stalls are.
How late can I book a tour during the Christmas market?
The English Old Town tour closes 15 minutes before departure, so you can book it from your hotel or from the square itself. The Russian-language tour closes 5 hours before departure. The food tour closes 18 hours ahead, so book it the day before, and the private tour closes 3 hours ahead. December weekends are the busiest of the year, so booking a day ahead is safer than relying on a last-minute place.
Is there something warmer than a walking tour in December?
The food tour, €80 per guest, runs daily at 15:00 and spends most of its two hours indoors, tasting Estonian food and drink between stops — a good winter alternative when the wind comes off the Baltic. The private tour, €150 for 1–4 guests, starts at 16:00 and can be paced around your group, with as many warm-up stops as you like.
Is the Christmas market tour available in Russian?
Yes. The Russian-language Old Town tour runs at the same 10:00, 13:00 and 15:30 departures for the same €35 per adult, from the same meeting point on Town Hall Square. Booking for it closes 5 hours before departure, so reserve it earlier in the day rather than on the way to the square.
How do I get from Tallinn Airport to the Christmas market?
Tallinn Airport is about 4 km from the Old Town, roughly 10–15 minutes by car. We run private transfers in a Lexus ES or Toyota Camry for up to 3 passengers with a fixed price per car, confirmed on request — useful in winter when you land after dark with luggage. From the passenger port it is about 1.5 km, a 15–20 minute walk.
See Old Town before the glögi
Pick 10:00 for daylight, 13:00 for both, 15:30 for the lights. Booking takes under a minute.
Book English Tour — €35