Welcome to Estonia and Tallinn Olympic Centre – the venue of 1980 Olympic Regatta!
We are located in Northern Europe, on the coast of the Baltic Sea. Estonia is one of the smallest nations in Europe with 1.3 million inhabitants, comparable to Cyprus, Luxembourg and Malta. At the same time, the area of Estonia covers 45,227 km2, being larger than countries like Belgium, Holland and Denmark.
Within easy reach
Estonia can easily be reached by plane, ferry and car. Estonia is member of the European Union and Schengen visa area, which means that visitors with a Schengen Visa are entitled to travel freely throughout the Schengen Area.
Capital
The capital of Estonia is Tallinn (59°25′N 24°45′E) with a population of approximately 425 000 people. Tallinn, located by the Gulf of Finland, is proud to host the Finn Gold Cup 2013 at the Tallinn Olympic Sailing Centre.
Geography
Estonia has plenty of islands (1 521), lakes (around 1200 lakes with an area of over 1 ha) and forests (55% of the country is covered in woods). Where we lack is mountains - the highest peak in Estonia and in the entire Baltic states is Suur Munamägi (in translation "Big Egg Mountain"), reaching 318 metres (1,043 ft) above sea level.
Language
The Estonian language is different from most languages spoken in Europe. It belongs to the Finno-Ugric language family, and is closely related to Finnish and distantly related to Hungarian. Travellers can easily get by using English, knowledge of Russian or Finnish is also common, and in some cases German and French as well.
Currency
The official currency is the Euro (€, EUR).
E-everything
Estonians are the ones behind Skype, mobile parking, e-elections and many of the innovative technologies and solutions. Various e-services like e-banking, online medical and document registries; digital tickets; full wireless connectivity and excellent mobile coverage are considered to be as elementary as air and water by most modern Estonians. You can count on free WiFi almost everywhere, including Tallinn Olympic Sailing Centre.
When sailing...
If you are planning to rent a boat in Estonia, please remember that you are subject to owning the international certificate of competence for operators of pleasure craft (valid for sea and inland waters). This is carefully monitored by the water police.
While at water, every person on board an open craft is advised to wear a lifejacket.
For information about Estonia, please visit www.VisitEstonia.com
