I loved the quaintness of Tallinn’s Old Town and wandering through the fairytale like city, but a girl still likes to shop! I was immediately drawn in to the colorful wool knits in the stalls at the outdoor Tallinn Wool Market. Estonian craftswomen set up shop to sell their hand knitted products in the shadows of the city wall on Müürivahe Street. If it can be made out of wool, you’ll find it at this charming market.
My Icelandic wool sweater is a favorite that I picked up on my first trip to Iceland and it has kept me toasty warm in Arctic Finland, Arctic Norway, and even dog sledding and snowmobiling in the harsh conditions of Svalbard. But my Icelandic sweater was an expensive souvenir at around $300 for hand knitted Icelandic wool.
Trying on a cute pair of wool mittens
The prices were much more affordable at the Tallinn Wool Market and I couldn’t pass up a few pairs of mittens and a wool jacket with a traditional Estonian pattern. Even Tim picked up a wool sweater in a charcoal gray. I guess he’s preparing for the next crazy Arctic – or maybe Antarctic – adventure I come up with!
Estonian hand knitted wool mittens and hats also make great gifts and really are affordable with prices starting around €12 for mittens. We found a lot of the stock to be similar with emphasis to be on Nordic patterns like reindeer prancing or the diamond patterns. It’s definitely worth wandering all the stalls before making any purchases. You might find something completely unique and you can barter a bit for similar styles.
Know Before You Go
- The Tallinn Wool Market is set up along Müürivahe Street and the wooden stalls are generally open from 10am – 7pm Monday through Friday. The Tallinn Wool Market is open on Saturdays also, but closes up earlier like most shops in the Old Town.
- Credit cards are widely accepted even at the Tallinn Wool Market
Stef says
Wow that’s a lot of wool haha 😉 but you probably need it up there, I’m already complaining about the winters in Germany but in Scandinavia it must be even worse. The gloves are nice 😉
Jennifer Dombrowski says
I think that because both Tallinn and Helsinki are on the water, it is more temperate. It gets cold but not THAT cold there. We’ve been to Helsinki in both December and April and the temperatures were really not too bad. Though dressing warmly in wool certainly helps!
memographer says
I’ve been to Vilnius, Lithuania but never made to Tallinn, Estonia and Riga, Latvia. Would love to go one day. Thanks for the introduction. Look forward to reading more of your posts from Estonia. Are you going to visit Riga?
Jennifer Dombrowski says
At some point we’ll visit Latvia. One of our goals is to visit every European country.
Katherine Belarmino - Travel the World says
I just love a good opportunity to shop when on vacation, especially when you can get something so unique to remember your trip!
Jennifer Dombrowski says
Me too, Katherine! I love picking up a necklace or an outfit I can’t get anywhere else. Plus I’ll actually wear the souvenir then instead of some trinket that gets stashed away.
Val Dawson says
Wow! That's a lot of wool…what a unique experience…
Jennifer says
Definitely a lot of wool, Val! If they could make it out of wool, you could find it at the wool market!
Heather says
I can’t wait to go shopping in that part of the world! So much fun, unique stuff!
Jennifer Dombrowski says
I imagine you’ll have quite the collection! I actually know nothing about Latvia. But I’m thinking some wool sweaters and socks will come in handy. 🙂
Ali says
I don’t often buy souvenirs, but something practical like a sweater or gloves seems better than a key chain or something.
Jennifer Dombrowski says
Exactly! Practical souvenirs are great because you actually use them. I have no doubt we’ll be off somewhere cold and need wool sweaters and gloves.