Your Tallinn hit list: the top 5 events this week

29 December 2025 – 04 January 2026

Not sure where to be this week? Every week, in partnership with Gamma, we present a hand-picked selection of the five most compelling events taking place in and around Tallinn – it’s time to plan your week with purpose.

Patarei Sea Fortress tour

This is your last call to explore Patarei Sea Fortress before it slips into history. On an exclusive guided tour by the Estonian Centre for Architecture, hulking iron doors swing open to reveal labyrinthine corridors, sealed-off rooms and spaces never previously seen by the public.

Built in the 19th century as a coastal defence, later rebadged as barracks and then one of Estonia’s most feared prisons, Patarei doesn’t just tell stories – it hums with them. As redevelopment looms and the site prepares for its next life as a seaside quarter, this tour delivers a final, spine-tingling glimpse of a place where architecture, authority and dark history collide. Grim, gripping and genuinely unforgettable.

NYE concert and light show

Tallinn welcomes the New Year with a proper open-air party at Freedom Square. Expect big crowd energy, zero ticket stress and a hit-packed live concert featuring Synne Valtri Band, 5Miinust and Terminaator, easing the night from early warm-up all the way to the midnight countdown.

Fireworks are officially benched this year, replaced by a slick mix of flames, sparks and laser visuals synced to the music – dramatic, high-impact and refreshingly futuristic. It’s free, it’s central and it’s built for atmosphere. Prefer to toast from home? Estonia’s Kanal 2 (Channel 2) will be dropping live moments throughout the night. Same countdown, different kind of sparkle.

New Year’s Eve events

This New Year’s Eve, Gamma has your plans sorted with Tallinn’s end-of-year hit list – a sharp, handpicked guide to seeing in 2026 exactly your way.

Whether you’re chasing live gigs, late-night dance floors, cosy countdowns or a prime view of the city’s main celebrations, this round-up pulls together the best of the night: music-packed squares, glow-lit finales, after-midnight parties and reliable spots for a proper toast as the clock hits twelve.

From open-air spectacles to all-night venues – and from quiet glasses at midnight to full-volume celebrations – Gamma’s New Year’s Eve Guide makes it easy to plan a send-off worth remembering, and a start to the year that feels just right.

Free Museum Sunday

Free Museum Sunday turns the first Sunday of every month into a low-effort, high-reward culture crawl in Tallinn. From medieval fortifications to slick contemporary art spaces, museums across the city drop the entry fee and throw their doors wide open.

It’s an open invitation to wander without a plan, linger longer than usual and finally check out places you’ve been meaning to visit for years. Ideal for families, history obsessives and anyone who loves a proper freebie – the kind that feeds your brain, not just your wallet.

Tallinn’s International Bach Music Festival

If January calls for a dose of elegance – and your ears are craving something properly stirring – bachFest delivers. This much-loved international festival transforms the start of the year into a week-long celebration of Johann Sebastian Bach and his Baroque contemporaries, with concerts unfolding in some of Tallinn’s most atmospheric venues.

Expect finely crafted performances by top-tier musicians, Estonian premieres and a programme that moves effortlessly from Bach’s immortal fugues to lesser-known treasures by his peers. The result? Concerts that soar, shimmer and linger long after the final note.

Whether you’re a seasoned classical devotee or a curious newcomer, bachFest offers a beautifully immersive way to ease into the year – rich in emotion, craftsmanship and old-world grandeur, yet anything but dusty. A January reset for the soul.

Brought to you in collaboration with Gamma. Want more like this? Get Tallinn’s best events delivered straight to your inbox – three times a week, totally free. Just hit subscribe to join the Gamma newsletter.