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The Great Russian History Tour
1. Kadriorg Palace → 2. Peter the Great House Museum → 3. Tallinn Tourist Information Centre in Old Town → 4. St. Nicholas' Orthodox Church → 5. Church of Our Lady of Kazan → 6. Paldiski town → 7. Amandus Adamson Studio Museum → 8. Haapsalu Tourist Information Centre → 9. Africa Beach and Promenade → 10. Haapsalu Resort Hall → 11. Tchaikovsky's Bench in Haapsalu → 12. Haapsalu Railway Station → 13. Pärnu Visitor Centre → 14. Church of Jekaterina → 15. Estonian Apostolic Orthodox Pärnu Transformation of Our Lord Church → 16. Barclay de Tolly Mausoleum → 17. Tartu Visitor Centre → 18. Kolkja Museum of Old Believers → 19. The Pühtitsa Dormition Convent (Kuremäe Convent) → 20. Narva City Guide → 21. Alexander Nevsky Cathedral
In addition to the history of Russia, this great tour also introduces the different landscapes and regions of Estonia: Narva, where most of the people speak Russian, Kuremäe, where the biggest operating monastery in Estonia is located and the villages of Old Believers in Peipsiveere. The tour also includes Pärnu, the most popular summer resort in Estonia, and the small and sweet Haapsalu, with the air of the beginning of last century. Paldiski used to be a big military base during Soviet time and the whole city was closed to the outside, you could access it only with a special permit.
You can start this tour either in Tallinn, Haapsalu, Pärnu, Tartu or Narva.
Route map
Sites along route
Kadriorg Palace
Kadriorg can be considered to be the grandest example of palace and park design in Estonian architectural history. The palace, originally an imperial summer residence, has been extremely well…
Peter the Great House Museum
Peter’s house or the “old palace” (the new palace being the present Kadriorg Palace) is a building with a long and interesting history. Peter the Great and his wife Catherine stayed here on their…
St. Nicholas' Orthodox Church
The beautiful Classicist building was designed by St. Petersburg architect Luigi Rusca and was constructed in 1820–1827. The church has valuable iconostas, which can compete with the famous Zarudnõi…
Church of Our Lady of Kazan
Church of Kazan completed in 1721 is the oldest extant wooden sacred building in Tallinn. The orthodox congregation that operates in recently carefully and authentically restored church is…
Paldiski town
Paldiski town is situated on the Pakri peninsula in North West Estonia. Former Russian naval base is situated on the Pakri peninsula in North West Estonia. In the 18th century it became a Russian…
Amandus Adamson Studio Museum
This museum is situated in the summer studio of sculptor Amandus Adamson (12.11.1855-26.06.1929) in Paldiski, where he lived and worked while in Estonia. It showcases Adamson's life and work…
Africa Beach and Promenade
The splendour of Haapsalu, the famous Czarist era resort, is recalled by the seafront Promenade and its jewel -- the Assembly Hall with its wooden “gingerbread”. Walk on the sloping promenade and…
Haapsalu Resort Hall
The timber-laced Resort Hall and the Bandstand on the seaside Promenade were built at the end of the 19th century and are the only ones of the kind that have survived in the original shape. The…
Tchaikovsky's Bench in Haapsalu
The world-famous Russian composer Pjotr Tchaikovsky stayed in Haapsalu in 1867. To commemorate him, a memorial bench was erected on the Šokolaadi Promenaad, where the maestro loved to watch the…
Haapsalu Railway Station
The Keila-Haapsalu railway line was constructed between 1903 and 1905 to serve the resort town of Haapsalu - a favourite among the Russian aristocracy. Erected to the designs of architect Karl…
Pärnu Visitor Centre
Pärnu Visitor Centre, on Uus Street in the heart of the city, can help you with all your tourist needs. We offer maps of the region for orienteering purposes, a wide range of publications, advice on…
Church of Jekaterina
Completed in 1768, the Church of Jekaterina is the most style pure and ample baroque church in Estonia. The design of facades characteristically for baroque disjunct and relief, the six broaches are…
Estonian Apostolic Orthodox Pärnu Transformation of Our Lord Church
Due to the massive religious conversion at the end of the 19th century, the 18th-century Ekateriina's Church became too small for the Pärnu orthodox congregation. So, in 1904, the historic Old…
Barclay de Tolly Mausoleum
The Arch of Triumph in Valga County? No – it is the classicist mausoleum (architect Apollon Shtshedrin) that houses the sarcophaguses in which lie the embalmed bodies of Prince Michael Andrea Barclay…
Kolkja Museum of Old Believers
You can see the traditional clothes, everyday items, handicrafts, tools, photos, books and many other items associated with the Old Believers. Interesting facts: - the Russian Old Believers…
The Pühtitsa Dormition Convent (Kuremäe Convent)
The Kuremäe Convent, located in the centre of Kuremäe, was established in 1891, and is the only functioning Russian Orthodox nunnery in Estonia. In ancient times, a sacred place of the Estonians was…
Narva City Guide
The Hermann Fortress, which looks across the Narva River to the Russian castle on the other side, is the best-preserved castle in Estonia. Narva is largely populated by Russian language speakers and…
Alexander Nevsky Cathedral
The large and richly decorated Russian Orthodox church, designed in a mixed historicist style, was completed on Toompea Hill in 1900, when Estonia was part of the Czarist Empire. The well-maintained…
