Tallinn: My Medieval Time Machine

We walked off straight through the Viru Gates into a Disney movie – cobblestones, pastel merchants' houses, nuns in habits buying flowers. Alexander Nevsky Cathedral's onion domes glowed in the sun, incense and chanting spilling out the doors. We climbed Toompea Hill to the viewing platforms – the entire lower town spread below like a medieval model village, red roofs as far as the eye could see.

We had lunch at Olde Hansa – candlelit, serving bear stew and spiced beer in clay mugs while musicians played lute. In the afternoon we explored the secret St. Catherine's Passage – artisans blowing glass and weaving exactly like 500 years ago. The pros: the best-preserved medieval city in northern Europe and surprisingly affordable. The cons: cruise crowds mid-day, but they disappear into the labyrinthine alleys if you wander.