Estonian Open Air Museum (Eesti Vabaõhumuuseum, EVM). Tallinn, Estonia

This picturesque museum just 15 minutes from the center of Tallinn is a place where the history of Estonia from different centuries comes together. Here, you will find wooden houses, windmills, a village school, an inn and a church as if stopped in time.

At the museum, you can literally walk through history: see how peasants lived in the 18th–20th centuries, what a shop looked like in 1938, and sit at a desk in a 19th-century school.

We recommend visiting the collective farm apartment building, where interiors from the 1960s, 1970s, 1990s, and 2010s have been recreated in meticulous detail, from the clothes in the closet to the food in the refrigerator. This exhibition was recognized as the best in the country in 2021.

Then you can stop by the Lau Village Store, an actual store built in 1914 that has recreated the authentic atmosphere of a village store from that era.

Visitors with children are recommended to visit the Kolga farmstead, where you’ll find various activities for children and domestic animals and birds.

You can also visit the Härjapea farmstead, built in 1892. Inside, you’ll experience a true journey back in time, as many of us went to houses like these for the holidays to visit our grandparents.

After your walk, stop by the Kolu Inn, where they prepare traditional dishes. Be sure to try the pea soup and roast pork with sauerkraut.

The museum will be open until April 22, 2026, according to its winter schedule. You can stroll leisurely, enjoying the surrounding scenery, pop into the various buildings to warm up by the stove, or chat with the owners about life past and present.

Details, event schedule, and tickets: evm.ee

By the way, don’t forget to pick up a map and brochure at the box office to learn more about each of the museum’s objects. The brochure is now also available in Latvian for visitors from Latvia.

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Tallinn, Estonia