Seaplane Harbour (Lennusadam) - Estonian Maritime Museum

Seaplane Harbour (Lennusadam) at Vesilennuki 6 in the Kalamaja district of Tallinn is the home of the Estonian Maritime Museum, housed in a pair of huge seaplane hangars built in 1916-17 as part of a naval fortress. The reinforced-concrete shell domes are an architectural highlight in their own right, among the earliest of their kind, and the interior is a single vast hall in which exhibits are displayed at floor level, on raised walkways and hanging overhead. The centrepiece is the submarine Lembit, built in the 1930s, which visitors can enter to see the cramped crew quarters, torpedo room and engine compartment. Nearby are early seaplanes, naval mines, boats of many eras, and interactive displays on Estonian seafaring, shipwrecks and the Baltic Sea. Outside, the 1914 icebreaker Suur Tõll is moored in the harbour and forms part of the same site, and a combined ticket also covers the Fat Margaret tower in the Old Town. A typical visit takes 2 to 3 hours, and families often stay longer because of the hands-on exhibits, simulators and a children's area. The best photo angles are from the upper walkways looking down on the submarine, and from the harbour quayside toward the domes. The museum is open October to April Tuesday to Sunday from 10:00 to 18:00, and May to September daily from 10:00 to 19:00, with ticket sales stopping 30 minutes before closing. It is closed on 24 December and 1 January. The location is a 15-minute walk from the Old Town, or a short walk from the Linnahall tram stop. Rainy days bring the biggest crowds, while weekday mornings are the calmest.