Tallinn, Estonia: A very Baltic Christmas | Louise Roddon
(The Guardian Travel News)

For an authentic Christmas market, Tallinn is hard to beat. But it´s not the only reason to goSnow is falling in Tallinn´s Town Hall Square and at its dinky Christmas market a blonde woman in furs sits beneath a food stand, tucking into black pudding and fried potatoes. Dean Martin´s White Christmas echoes over the wooden chalets, and at the grog hut there´s a queue for hot, rum-based Vana Tallinn liqueur.Christmas market season is here, and for authenticity Tallinn pips its European rivals. Added to that, tourists are thin on the ground - though maybe not for long: Lonely Planet recently tipped Tallinn as the best-value destination for 2018. Then there´s the appeal of its impressive Christmas tree - a tradition that goes back to 1441 when the city´s was one of the first trees to be displayed in Europe. The setting is fabulous, too: a pastel-toned wrap-around of gabled houses dominated by an impressive town hall. Continue reading...