Estonia has many delights on offer and over 2.5 weeks, we had a lovely introduction to some of them. One of our resounding memories will be a popular spa and seaside town in the country’s west coast. Come on in as we bring you along to reveal how to find health and happiness in Estonia’s Haapsalu.

Haapsalu’s history, on the face of it looks very colonial based on the smart hotels and homes along the northern promenade. Yet when you dig below the town’s facades, you find a much older presence in this seaside town. Its castle dates back to the early 13th century, giving secrets to its past that gave the town its medieval roots. In 1279 Haapsalu was given its town rights, so that makes it one of the oldest and noblest of towns in Estonia. It’s also classed as Nordic Venice, just without the canals.

However let’s look at the joys that this town will offer you as you choose to put it on your Estonian itinerary as you head just an hour down from the capital Tallinn in search of happiness and health. There are three faces to Haapsalu. The Promenade, the town itself and the wetland peninsula that reaches out into the Baltic Sea. Each one offering you a different personality that will no doubt please and appeal in equal measure.

This article is also featured on GPSmyCity. To download this article for offline reading or create a self-guided walking tour to visit the attractions highlighted in this article, go to Walking Tours and Articles in Haapsalu

Sunrise on the Promenade

As the sun rose on our five days stay in Haapsalu whilst we waited for the delivery of our very new and expensive fridge freezer, the Promenade called me. With no people to colour my experience, I wove through the quiet streets to the most quintessential shoreline promenade I have ever seen. It was like something out of an old English Victorian photo album before commercialism took over. Smart cafés, hotels bordering the sea, immaculate flower beds and a walk through a beautifully designed garden with monuments to famous Haapsalu residents. Tchaikovsky for one, who was a well-known figure in the town who would sit watching this tranquility scene play out in front of him, whilst composing his latest symphonies.

With the cries from the Arctic Terns as your only musical interlude, the whole stretch of about a mile was delightful giving an air of peace to early morning sleepiness. The reflections in the bay from the historical bandstand that sat over the water’s edge made for a serenity that any camera would adore capturing.

Taking the path north, you cannot avoid the attraction of the Swedish Museum which captures 1000 years of Coastal Swedes in this area and their deportation during the 1941 tragedy that hit the whole country during the German occupation.

Midday in the centre of Haapsalu

There is something quite endearing about the characterful houses that line Haapsalu’s streets. Each one timber framed and clad, these homes have a regal and elegant feel to them, despite them showing the effect of weathering. Walking from our free overnighter, the warmth from this town, aside of the soaring temperatures, was enough to capture our hearts and lift our souls. Colour, cobbles, charm, the absence of commercialism all make for such a joyful wander through Haapsalu’s beating heart. A cafe culture is the next appeal, as locals and visitors alike enjoy this much appreciated heatwave beneath their umbrellas, seeking shade if not solitude. The gentle beat of Jazz draws us towards the Town Hall, where one of Haapsalu’s many music festivals was taking place the weekend of our visit. With the town’s musical connections, it is easy to see why this is a perfect venue for a whole range of musical genre.

The 13th century castle is hard to miss as it takes centre stage. Walking through its historical gates, which are free to pass, you feel the enormity of the past hit you. The old walls still hanging in there and the towers, that with some precarious steps, give you a great vista of the castle landscape. The cathedral and tower make for an impressive view and today it is a museum, which for a small fee can be entered. Sadly given the grounds were the centrepiece of the Jazz festival, it was closed.

Sunset over the lake and wetlands

As if all that wasn’t enough to capture your attention, there is a third aspect to the delightful Haapsalu that will seal its fate in your affections.

The wetland and lake area of the town is really where the heath aspect of Haapsalu originates. In 1825 Dr Carl Hunnius noticed locals bathing in the bay’s mud deposits. He soon found that they had healing properties. This really put Haapsalu on the tourist map, with Russian nobility travelling to take healing therapies. To this day, the mud is still used by the three Spas that are located around the lake. From that moment on, Haapsalu went from a sleepy seaside town to spa town magnetising crowds of Russians seeking health and healing.

The lake is a draw for the locals to swim, which of course during our heatwave, we admit to partaking. Well when in Rome you must do as the Romans do. The walk around its circumference is delightful and the peninsula carries on up to the ocean with lovely views up to the Baltic Sea. It is here that an abundance of wildlife can be found. The reeds teem with warblers, the skies with terns and geese, swans and grebes just a few of the summer residents here.

It is here that you get the most magnificent sunsets. From our off grid spot on the wetlands, together with many others for the weekend, we watched as the sun set the sky on fire. Its daily ritual of warming our earth done for the day, it left us every night with a display like no other. Just one of Haapsalu’s incredible features that make it such an endearing and must visit place on your Estonian itinerary.

Within easy reach of Latvia’s Riga just a couple of hours south and Estonia’s capital Tallinn an hour to the north, Haapsalu is just the perfect place for a bit of time out, RnR. With a big welcome to motorhomes, this makes it even more attractive a place to come. And if you are looking for the prettiest town in Estonia, then you will not go far wrong with Haapsalu. For a more intimate peek into our experience whilst there for a week, check out our YouTube video with captures why we left our heart in Haapsalu.