Scheduled tours

This tour is about one of the darkest chapters of Estonian history - the concentration camp in Klooga and its bloody end. We’ll get an overview of the Third Reich’s camp system and the horrors of daily life in them. To not get too morbid, we’ll also talk about Klooga’s nicer sides - the stunning pine forest, the garden suburb, and the present day of the area. Some humorous stories from the Soviet era are also included, of course. Admittedly, the Klooga tour is one of the more controversial topics in Matkafy’s line-up and isn’t suitable for young children. It’s worth remembering that we must not let the past fade into oblivion - only then can we ensure that these atrocities never happen again.

Perhaps there is no place with more stories circulating about it than a psychiatric hospital. On the Seewald tour we'll go and find out how a beautiful former summer manor became a medical facility. We'll take a look at the historical buildings of Seewald and talk about what happens in these dignified houses now and what happened in the past. Since it's no secret that the hospital has been considering moving for a long time, we'll also discuss the future prospects of this breathtakingly exciting place. In the last part of the tour you'll get a popular science overview of psychiatry and treatment methods and find out what Seewald actually deals with, both in the present and in the past.

In many people's minds, Kopli is associated with slums, but 100 years earlier that role belonged to Kassisaba, Kelmiküla, and Uus-Maailm. Today these are city centre subdistricts, but when the Baltic Railway was completed in 1870, it was built with a wide curve around Tallinn's built-up area. And as we all know, the areas along the railway attract all sorts of shady characters! On this tour we'll search for that century-old slum romance. We'll explore the origins of the quirky neighborhood names and the fights between local guys' crews that were a part of slum life. Of course, we will also seek out the area's most iconic objects, such as the Wismari Hospital and sobering-up station, the school building from "Wikman Boys", and the mysterious radio signal jamming station. We'll also pass by the America tavern building, which gave its name to both the neighborhood and its streets, and the Railway Technical School, whose exterior you can still admire for its original Baltic Station building's beauty. However, we'll also encounter some more vulgar things: Tallinn's medieval breaking wheel site and Tallinn's oldest operating sex shop.

Fortunately, planes don't crash very often. Yet, there is a small village in Estonia where it has happened three times - a true capital of aviation disasters! We'll talk about these accidents on the tour, the Soviet-era Ämari Air Base as their backdrop. However, Turba and Ellamaa also have a renowned past in other ways, as they once supplied a quarter of Estonia with electricity. A place that's been dubbed Estonia's most beautiful industrial settlement, where, in addition to the power plant and the peat industry, we can tell the story of a rural settlement from its origins to the present day - there's no doubt that every village has its own stories and its own heroes. On this tour, we'll observe the peat fields and the peat industry, talk about the curiosities of Estonia's electrification, and walk on the embankment of the former Haapsalu railway, which made all this glory possible. Also, in what way were Stalin and Hitler in a staredown in Turba, long ago in the Soviet times?

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The Astangu tour is one of our more special ones, taking you to underground ammunition caves that are closed to the general public. We explore a former Soviet military base, take a look at abandoned structures and talk about Peter the Great's Naval Fortress. Tour stops include the ruins of Mäepealse village, crossing Tallinn's only rapids and enjoying the untouched wilderness. We share incredible stories of criminal activity in the Astangu forest you won't hear anywhere else. If you think you know everything about Astangu based on ChatGPT, military history pages and urban legends - think again, because you haven't been to Matkafy's Astangu tour yet!

Celebrate Women’s Day with a special Lantern Walk Dinner in the enchanting Old Town of Tallinn. We will stroll by lantern light through medieval streets, where tall stone houses and ancient walls tell stories of Hanseatic glory and everyday life. Along the way, we will explore what life was like in the Middle Ages: how trade was conducted in the market square, how guilds operated, and what role women played within these historic walls. In honor of Women’s Day, we will focus especially on the women who have shaped life in the Old Town through the centuries. How did women live in medieval times? What rights and opportunities did they have? Have you seen the oldest known depiction of a woman in Tallinn? Who are the women whose quiet yet powerful contributions have left their mark on the city’s history?

The evening culminates in a romantic three-course dinner at the legendary Peppersack, where candlelight and a historic atmosphere create the perfect festive mood.

Starter: Chicken liver pâté with onion-lingonberry jam, black bread, fresh salad, and blueberry-balsamic dressing. Main course: Smoked pork neck with pearl barley, marinated cucumber salad, and mustard cream sauce. Dessert: Panna cotta with sea buckthorn sauce and kama crumble. Also included: coffee, tea, water, a homemade bread roll with flavored butter, and one alcoholic drink of your choice (house wine, beer, or cider).

Please note that a vegan dinner option is available, and the meat can be replaced with fish upon request - kindly inform us at the time of ticket purchase.

Linnahall – a gigantic concrete colossus by the sea. But what lies beneath and behind its massive concrete shell? On the Laternamatkad tour of Linnahall, we walk across and around the building, discovering stories of its creation and fate - stories filled with intrigue… and then we do something rare: we go inside and explore the halls where crowds have gathered, important decisions have been made, and world-famous stars have performed. We visit the rooms where performers collected their thoughts before great moments, peek into backstage preparation areas, and sense the tension and anticipation preserved within Linnahall’s walls. At the end of the tour, we step onto the stage ourselves - like stars - onto the very spot where applause has thundered and history has been made.

This is a meeting with Linnahall’s hidden story - its memories and unanswered questions. Did you know that Linnahall once housed the largest wall tapestry in the world? Which stars have performed on its stage, and what curious backstage stories have taken place there? Why did world-renowned film director Christopher Nolan become fascinated with Linnahall and choose Tallinn as one of the filming locations for his blockbuster Tenet? If you want to see Linnahall as most people never have - join the guided Laternamatkad tour and bring a friend!

Perhaps there is no place with more stories circulating about it than a psychiatric hospital. On the Seewald tour we'll go and find out how a beautiful former summer manor became a medical facility. We'll take a look at the historical buildings of Seewald and talk about what happens in these dignified houses now and what happened in the past. Since it's no secret that the hospital has been considering moving for a long time, we'll also discuss the future prospects of this breathtakingly exciting place. In the last part of the tour you'll get a popular science overview of psychiatry and treatment methods and find out what Seewald actually deals with, both in the present and in the past.

Perhaps there is no place with more stories circulating about it than a psychiatric hospital. On the Seewald tour we'll go and find out how a beautiful former summer manor became a medical facility. We'll take a look at the historical buildings of Seewald and talk about what happens in these dignified houses now and what happened in the past. Since it's no secret that the hospital has been considering moving for a long time, we'll also discuss the future prospects of this breathtakingly exciting place. In the last part of the tour you'll get a popular science overview of psychiatry and treatment methods and find out what Seewald actually deals with, both in the present and in the past.

There aren’t exactly many Soviet-era collective farms where the land has developed into a modern and successful Estonian municipality. Kiili was historically a border region of Jüri parish with a broadly insignificant village called Veneküla. Regardless, it became the centre of such a successful collective farm that the area was dubbed the “millionaire kolkhoz”! Kiili has undergone an even more incredible development in the last 30 years, turning it into a kind of a museum of urban planning. On this tour we’ll journey through the decades and view this very new urban environment from the perspective that future generations might have. We’ll talk about the developers and the residents of these developments, and discuss which visions have changed over the years and which ones have stayed the same. We’ll analyse the pros and cons of the modern settlement, draw parallels and predict the future! And most importantly, why is Kiili a good place to live? What is the secret of Kiili’s success?

Murru prison is an environment that is both mysterious and exciting as well as scary and thought-provoking. We hope that no one ever has to end up behind bars themselves, but we do hope you join us for an absolutely thrilling experience in the former prison complex! The Murru prison tour is very special in the Matkafy series because we spend a significant amount of time exploring the interiors of the former correctional facility. We will talk about the prison life of the past and the events that took place there. But not just that - we'll also briefly cover the history of the entire Rummu settlement and its state today. The Murru prison tour is a real treat for those who want to experience apocalyptic views, get acquainted with former prison life, and feel the magic of abandoned buildings!

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Linnahall – a gigantic concrete colossus by the sea. But what lies beneath and behind its massive concrete shell? On the Laternamatkad tour of Linnahall, we walk across and around the building, discovering stories of its creation and fate - stories filled with intrigue… and then we do something rare: we go inside and explore the halls where crowds have gathered, important decisions have been made, and world-famous stars have performed. We visit the rooms where performers collected their thoughts before great moments, peek into backstage preparation areas, and sense the tension and anticipation preserved within Linnahall’s walls. At the end of the tour, we step onto the stage ourselves - like stars - onto the very spot where applause has thundered and history has been made.

This is a meeting with Linnahall’s hidden story - its memories and unanswered questions. Did you know that Linnahall once housed the largest wall tapestry in the world? Which stars have performed on its stage, and what curious backstage stories have taken place there? Why did world-renowned film director Christopher Nolan become fascinated with Linnahall and choose Tallinn as one of the filming locations for his blockbuster Tenet? If you want to see Linnahall as most people never have - join the guided Laternamatkad tour and bring a friend!

Every Estonian is familiar with Kalamaja and Kopli, but nestled between them is the subdistrict of Karjamaa, which many aren't even aware of. There's a reason for this, as it has historically been a partially military area. This is where the grandiose Peter the Great's Naval Fortress began to rise during the Tsarist era, and its barracks were later turned into Estonia's own military factory, Arsenal. We'll investigate how much of this mega-project was completed, what was left unbuilt, and how much remains today. The neighborhood of Sitsi is also on the edge of Karjamaa. This is where the Baltic Manufactory was built, which could be considered Kopli's oldest major industrial site. During the Tsarist era, the factory's female workers were mockingly called the Sitsi sl*ts. Why? Find out on the tour! In passing, we'll also talk about the highly controversial needle exchange point in Põhja-Tallinn, which is located in this very neighborhood!

The Astangu tour is one of our more special ones, taking you to underground ammunition caves that are closed to the general public. We explore a former Soviet military base, take a look at abandoned structures and talk about Peter the Great's Naval Fortress. Tour stops include the ruins of Mäepealse village, crossing Tallinn's only rapids and enjoying the untouched wilderness. We share incredible stories of criminal activity in the Astangu forest you won't hear anywhere else. If you think you know everything about Astangu based on ChatGPT, military history pages and urban legends - think again, because you haven't been to Matkafy's Astangu tour yet!

Only once - this exclusive Matkafy tour offers a rare opportunity to meet the man who in 1986 found himself right in the epicenter of events - as a liquidator in the Chernobyl nuclear disaster zone! For this special tour, we’ve chosen Paldiski, which housed a reactor of the same type. We’ll take a walk through the beautiful nature of Pakri and talk about the events from 39 years ago. You’ll learn why and how Allar was sent to Chernobyl, what he had to do there, what life was like on site, and whether the radiation exposure affected his health later in life. This is a rare chance to ask questions and hear fascinating material straight from the source, unfiltered and first-hand. Don’t miss it - this isn’t a regular Matkafy tour but a one-of-a-kind interview walk!

P.S.! We’ll also hear a tragicomic story of how Allar managed to avoid being sent onto the reactor roof. Sadly, many others weren’t as lucky - and are no longer with us today.

On this tour of Vaksali and the city centre, we'll explore several landmark places in this historical area. One of the most notorious is the building known as the "gray house", which housed the former NKVD pre-trial detention centre. We'll recount the memories and horrors of former Forest Brothers and other political prisoners, as well as the interrogation methods used by the NKVD in this building, where the main result was "25 + 5" (a sentence of 25 years in a labor camp plus 5 years in exile). Since Tartu was the cradle of our national awakening, we'll also take a quick journey back to that period and see where a modern-day Khrushchev-era apartment building now stands on the site of Koidula and Jannsen's home. By the way, Nikita Khrushchev also personally visited Tartu, and there are some funny stories about that - we'll hear them on the tour. We'll talk about student organisations, the Vanemuine Theater, and the building on the same street where the most important document in Estonian history was signed - the Treaty of Tartu. We will discuss the events of that time, the victory of our War of Independence, and the background behind it.

There is nothing more exciting than underground bunkers and caves. We have several tours in the Matkafy series where we explore them, but Laagri is undoubtedly the crown jewel. Did you know that there's about 5 km of tunnels in Laagri today, many of which can still be walked through? Moreover, in the 1970s, a multi-story underground air control center was built there, which was targeted by American nuclear weapons! On top of that, we will also walk along a village street with ancient roots, talk about village gossip from the 1930s and look for the prison camp that gave the settlement its name! To top it all off, during this tour we will share stories of life at a secret Soviet military facility based on the memories of the men who served in the control center.

There is nothing more exciting than underground bunkers and caves. We have several tours in the Matkafy series where we explore them, but Laagri is undoubtedly the crown jewel. Did you know that there's about 5 km of tunnels in Laagri today, many of which can still be walked through? Moreover, in the 1970s, a multi-story underground air control center was built there, which was targeted by American nuclear weapons! On top of that, we will also walk along a village street with ancient roots, talk about village gossip from the 1930s and look for the prison camp that gave the settlement its name! To top it all off, during this tour we will share stories of life at a secret Soviet military facility based on the memories of the men who served in the control center.