Taking a bus to the Song Festival grounds

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Traveler059

New Jersey

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Taking a bus to the Song Festival grounds

7 Jul 2013, 02:42

I will be in Tallinn for one day later this month on a cruise with Emerald Princess. Time in port is 8am -5pm.

It seems like I could take a city bus (1A, 5, 8, 34A, 38) to Lauluvajak to see the Song Festival grounds. I found the schedules on solduplann.tallin.ee.

Can anyone provide a bit more detail on how to do this. Where should I get the bus in Tallinn? Where can I get a ticket (I will have euros, but likely not exact change). How much is a ticket? Is there much to see at the grounds?

Any other tips would be appreciated. I prefer to explore on my own rather than a guided tour, but I haven't seen much on line about riding the bus and with a firm deadline to be back at the ship any advance information would be helpful.

Thanks!

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Wout V

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1. Re: Taking a bus to the Song Festival grounds

7 Jul 2013, 08:34

Hi. Here is my suggestion: Buy a 24h Tallinn card on the cruise ship dock and then walk to the city center (Viru Keskus, it's marked in the map in the brochure you get with the card). With the Tallinn Card you get free public transport and free entry to all museums in Tallinn.

Just hop on any of the buses you mentioned in the underground bus terminal at Viru Keskus and get of at song festival grounds.

At the song festival grounds you can spend about 45 minutes. You can walk around the arch, climb the tower and check the musical bench on top of the hill facing the stage. A bit furher up the hill you will also find an overview of the previous song festivals and the amount of participants.

After that, you exit the grounds from the same place where you entered (Oru entrance) and cross the street. After a short walk you will come past the Japanese garden which you can tour. After that continue walking the path. It will lead to Peter the Great's former holiday residence, where except for the beautiful garden, you will also find a small art museum.

Going left on the road, you will get to the presidential palace. Going a bit further, you will find Estonia's art museum Kumu, which you can visit.

After that, have some late lunch in Kumu's cafe, stroll through the parks and take tram 1 or 3 until Hobujaama (same as Viru Keskus) or one stop further for the old town.

I estimate, such program would take up about 5 hours.

Edited: 07 July 2013, 08:35

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Traveler059

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2. Re: Taking a bus to the Song Festival grounds

7 Jul 2013, 20:04

Thanks so much for the reply. i didn't realize there was so much to see beyond the grounds.

I have enough euros to buy the bus tickets from the driver, but it's good to know the Tallinn Card is an option as well.

Thanks again for the response.

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JohntheFinn

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3. Re: Taking a bus to the Song Festival grounds

7 Jul 2013, 20:58

You'll have a hard time making the Tallinn Card a paying proposition on such a short visit. Better just to pay any bus fares and museum tickets you may require.

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Traveler059

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4. Re: Taking a bus to the Song Festival grounds

7 Jul 2013, 21:08

My visit is on a Monday when several museums are closed, so all the more reason to purchase the fares and tickets directly.

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Wout V

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5. Re: Taking a bus to the Song Festival grounds

8 Jul 2013, 06:48

True, true. The only reason I recommended it was because it can be an annoying hassle to buy tickets from drivers. Drivers also do not sell tickets in the bus terminal.

The only option to get tickets up front is to buy the electronic public transport card from a kiosk and load a few single tickets or a day ticket on it.

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Traveler059

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6. Re: Taking a bus to the Song Festival grounds

8 Jul 2013, 11:33

It's helpful to know the drivers don't sell tickets in the bus terminal. Seem like it would make sense to board the bus at the next stop which is Pronksi. It looks like an easy walk from the ship. Does that make sense?

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