Travel: Tallinn

It's a funny thing, but turn your back on a city for 12 years and it can change. Especially if last time you saw it, it was emerging from decades of enforced poverty, stagnation and oppression.

The last time I saw Tallinn was in 1998 when I was finishing a year as a student in Estonia, still very much aware of the post-Soviet shadow that hung over the place and its population like a slow-to-dissipate fog.

But time passes and places change - and Estonia has done it in style. This year is the 20th anniversary of its independence - just the blink of an eye in the life of a nation, but in Estonia's case an entire era.

In those two short decades, the northern-most Baltic state has hurtled headlong towards a democratic, free market economy. It has made huge investment in technology (this is where Skype was invented, and the first country to offer internet voting in parliamentary elections) and embraced the West. In 2004 it joined the EU, this year it is European Capital of Culture.

Something in the air has changed too. Once a sober Soviet city, the capital, Tallinn, has burst out of its shell and is now a vibrant place, stuffed with good food and drink as well as historic charm.

One thing that remains intact is the beauty of Tallinn's Old Town. It is the perfect size to wander around without fear of getting lost - eventually, it seems, all roads lead back to Raekoja Plats, the main square.

Neatly contained within a ring of stone defensive walls and towers, it is divided into upper and lower sections, with stunning views from the high parts across the city to the Gulf of Finland. It wears its history on its skyline, from dizzyingly high Hanseatic steeples to the onion-domed Alexander Nevsky Russian Orthodox Cathedral.

One of the old stone watchtowers, Kiek in de Kok, now contains a museum on the city's early history, including a selection of torture instruments guaranteed to enthral children (though their grandparents might get less pleasure from the endless flights of spiral stairs).

Visitors can also take a guided tour into a section of the Passages Under the Bastions - tunnels beneath the city's fortifications which are part of an underground network dating back to the 1600s, and still largely unexcavated.

Tallinn's Old Town might feel as if it's popped straight out of a fairytale, but the Estonians have resisted the temptation to preserve the place in aspic and it buzzes with activity. The largely-pedestrianised cobbled alleyways are lined with cosy coffee shops, fun bars and restaurants offering some incredible food.

Sometimes this new internationalism bursts out in slightly bewildering manifestations - such as the 'English pub,' Scotland Yard, complete with leather, wing-backed chairs and a live band playing in front of a vast fish tank of piranhas.

But sometimes it gets it just right - if you're after a drink, opt instead for Hell Hunt, a straightforward and friendly boozer in the heart of the Old Town where the locals rub shoulders easily with the ex-pats and the holidaymakers.

For the finest of dining, the Tschaikovsky restaurant at the Hotel Telegraaf could beat the socks off many of its Edinburgh counterparts and at a fraction of the price. A delicate starter of salmon and caviar, for example, comes served under a glass dome filled with woodsmoke, which is lifted with a flourish by your waitress to waft past your face before dining. Sound pretentious? Who cares, it smells wonderful, tastes delicious, and is cheap.

If you prefer something a bit more down to earth, Olde Hansa offers a medieval feast served by wenches in period costume, an idea that sounds like a terrible tourist cliche on paper, but is turned into a fine night out by the hearty amiability of the wenches and the delicious food and drink - where else are you going to try bear, boar and elk sausages washed down with honey beer?

There is, of course, life outside the Old Town. Pirita boasts a long white sandy beach and the Olympic Yachting Centre, built for the 1980 Moscow Olympics.

Across the road is the tree-covered Kadriorg Park, where Kadriorg Palace, built as a summer residence by Tsar Peter I, has been converted into an art museum, close to the newer art gallery, Kumu.

A hop-on-and-off tour bus will take you to both districts, as well as giving you a glimpse of some of the tree-filled suburbs, where traditional wooden houses lurk in various states of repair, looking for all the world as if they're waiting for the three bears to come home for their porridge.

The bus will also take you to the Lauluvaljak, or singing stage, where the country's vast song festivals are held.