Railway & Communication Museum

Western Estonia & the Islands


Haapsalu’s attractive former train station, with its wooden-lace ornamentation and grand colonnade, opened in 1907 to transport the Russian nobility to the resort. Designed to keep the royals dry, its 214m-long covered platform was then said to be the longest in the empire. This boxcar-sized museum records the golden years of train travel, and there are antique locomotives to explore outside. Six times a day in summer, a road train runs between here and Old Town (€5).


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby Western Estonia & the Islands attractions

1. Paralepa Forest Park

0.64 MILES

On the western edge of town, beyond the train station, this shady park has a popular beachfront which, despite being a bit swampy, attracts plenty of…

2. Haapsalu Episcopal Castle

0.66 MILES

Haapsalu’s crumbling heart is its bishop’s castle, which was western Estonia’s centre of command from the 13th to the 16th centuries but now stands in…

3. Town Hall Museum

0.78 MILES

Built in 1775, Haapsalu's former town hall now houses a charming little museum with displays on the history of the resort town, regional history, a re…

4. St John’s Lutheran Church

0.8 MILES

Although it has its roots in the 16th century, the exterior of this whitewashed church owes much to a renovation in 1858. Inside, look out for the…

5. Ilon’s Wonderland

0.8 MILES

Showcasing the works of Estonian-Swedish illustrator Ilon Wikland, who spent her childhood in Haapsalu and is best known for her illustrations for the…

6. Haapsalu Kuursaal

0.85 MILES

This fairy-tale wooden confection, painted pale green and white, sits plumb on the waterfront, surrounded by rose gardens. Stepping into the airy spa hall…

7. Promenaadi

0.87 MILES

Nineteenth-century Russian toffs, like their counterparts in Victorian England and Paris’ belle époque, liked nothing more than a good see-and-be-seen…

8. Birdwatching Tower

0.89 MILES

Broad, shallow, reedy Haapsalu Bay is a key habitat for migrating waterfowl in Estonia, and is listed as a Ramsar Wetland of International Importance…

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