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Estonia
| Location | |
 | |
| Fast Data | |
| Capital city | Tallinn |
| State | Presiding Parliamentary Democracy |
| Coin | Euro (€ EUR) |
| Area | 45,226 km2 |
| Population | 1,315,819 (2014 estimate) |
| Language | Estonian |
| Calling Code | 372 |
| Internet TLD | .ee |
| Time zone | EET (UTC 2) |
THE Estonia is one of the three Baltic countries.
At a glance
Appropriate visit period
Languages
In Estonia most people speak Estonian. Unlike Latvian and Lithuanian which are of Slavic origin, Estonian is very similar to Finnish and Hungarian. There is of course a percentage of people who speak Russian.
Areas
Important cities
- Tallinn (Tallinn). —The capital, economic and cosmopolitan center of Estonia. Tallinn's medieval Old Town is famous. Beautiful and expensive (always compared to other Estonian cities).
- Χααψαλου (Haapsalu). —
- Kouresaare (Kuressaare). —
- Narva (Narva). —
- Πάρνου (Pärnu). —
- Rakvere (Rakvere). —
- Τάρτου (Tartu). —
- Valga (Valga). —
- Vilgialdi (Viljandi). —
Additional tourist destinations
- Saaremaa (Saaremaa). —
- Χιίουμαα (Hiiumaa). —
- Vilsandi National Park (Vilsandi rahvuspark). —
- Lachemaa National Park (Lahemaa rahvuspark). —
- Matsalos National Park (Matsalu rahvuspark). —
- Karoula National Park (Karula rahvuspark). —
How to get there
By air
By train
By road
By boat
How to move
There are several car rental companies in Estonia such as Hertz, Budget,Imperial Estonia , Europcar.
What to see
Entertainment
Transactions and purchases
Cost
Estonia uses euro. It is one of the many European countries that use the single currency. All euro banknotes and coins are legal tender in all countries that use them.
Countries that have the euro as their official currency:
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The euro is divided into 100 cents.
The official symbol of the euro is €, and the ISO code is EUR. There is no official symbol of the euro cents.
- Banknotes: Euro banknotes have the same design in all countries.
- Regular coins: All euro countries issue euro coins with a typical national design on one side and a common design on the other. The coins can be used in any Eurozone country, regardless of the design they depict. (eg a one euro coin from Finland can be used in Portugal).
- Commemorative coins of two euros: These differ from regular two euro coins on their "national" side, and are legally traded. Each country can mint a certain number of them, and sometimes "pan-European" two-euro commemorative coins are minted for important events (eg the anniversary of an important treaty).
- Other commemorative coinsCommemorative coins of other denominations (eg ten euros or more) are rarer, and have a special design, often containing some gold, silver or platinum. While they are technically a legal medium of exchange, their collectible value is greater than their face value, and you are therefore unlikely to find them in the everyday market.
Local cuisine
Estonian food is strongly influenced by German and Scandinavian cuisine. The closest to a national dish is verivorst, the black pudding served with mulgikapsad, which is essentially a stew of cabbage. Many types of food are similar to Russian dishes and have equivalents almost exclusively in the former USSR, such as hapukoor, smetana or "kartulisalat" ("potato salad"). As Estonia was a mass food producer in the USSR, some of its food, unknown to the West, is still recognized in the CIS countries. This is also true vice versa. In Estonian grocery stores, products from the countries of the former Soviet Union, such as Georgian mineral water, are widely available. Also some restaurants offer bear meat. For lovers of sweets, the national chocolate maker is "Kalev", with many specialty stores across the country, as well as supermarkets retailing the product. For the more adventurous, they can try kohuke, a sweet chocolate-covered sweet curd, which is available in every supermarket.
Local drinks
Like their Russian neighbors, Estonians love alcohol. His favorite beverages are the local Saku or A. Le Coq beer, also the local vodka brands Viru Valge (Vironian White) and Saaremaa Vodka. Another local soft drink is "Kali" (the Estonian equivalent of Russian "kvass" "), which is made from fermented brown bread.
