Free Walking Tour Haapsalu: Castle, Sea and Railway

Your Haapsalu Walking Tour: Bishops, Spa Guests and Steam Trains

1. 1

   Haapsalu Episcopal Castle

   

   Start at the walls and take in the scale. What you see grew for three centuries: under Bishop Johannes IV Kievel, who ruled from 1515 to 1527, the stronghold reached its final size, more than 30,000 square metres enclosed by walls 1.2 to 1.8 metres thick and over 10 metres high, later raised to 15. Look for the watchtower on the western side. It stands 29 metres tall, dates from the 13th century and later served as a bell tower.

   Why Haapsalu? In 1228 Albert of Riga created a new diocese of Läänemaa, Saaremaa and Hiiumaa and made Gottfried, an abbot of the Cistercian monastery at Dünamünde, its bishop. The first seat was Lihula; to avoid clashing with the powerful Order, the bishop moved to Perona, which Lithuanians burned ten years later. Haapsalu was the third attempt, and here stronghold and cathedral were begun together, which is why castle and church still form one complex.

   The walls were reshaped again and again as weapons changed. The inner trenches and gun shelters date from the Livonian War of 1558 to 1582, which left the fortress badly damaged; the small castle and the outer fortifications were never fully rebuilt.

   Then there is the White Lady. According to legend, on full moon nights in August the image of a young woman shows on the inner wall of the chapel. Stand in the chapel and you will understand why the story has lasted.

   Is the inside worth it? If medieval church history and fortifications interest you, yes: allow about an hour and a quarter. If you mainly want atmosphere, the walls and the park next door give you a lot for free. Krahviaed Park is just 80 m away, a one minute walk.

   Local name

   Haapsalu piiskopilinnus

   Hours

   June–August: Mon–Sun 10:00–18:00; September–May: Wed–Sun 10:00–18:00, Mon–Tue closed

   Price

   12 EUR full, 8 EUR concession, 28 EUR family

   Website

   linnus.salm.ee ↗

   Location

   Haapsalu Episcopal Castle on Google Maps ↗

2. 2

   Krahviaed Park

   

   Right behind the castle walls you step into a protected park of 7.4 hectares. Look up: Estonia's tallest common lime grows here, 34.5 metres high. The park is also part of the Väinameri Natura protected area, so it is as much a piece of coastal nature as a town garden.

   The name means the Count's Garden. In the 1820s the von Stenbock family built a town manor behind the bishop's castle, on land belonging to the Uuemõisa estate. In 1828 they sold it to the De la Gardie family, and the manor house is still called the De la Gardie palace today. Its main building has kept a largely authentic look. Most of the garden was once the castle's own garden.

   The romantic mood you feel among the ruins was planned. In 1858 a commission for greening the castle ruins, led by Karl Arthur Woldemar von Hunnius, planted trees on the castle yard and the earthen ramparts, levelled the yard and carried out archaeological digs. The fortress turned into a ruin park where people came to stroll, and that is still the best way to use it.

   Take a slow loop under the old trees, then head on to Ilon's Wonderland: 620 m, about 9 minutes.

   Hours

   Open 24/7

   Price

   Free

   Location

   Krahviaed Park on Google Maps ↗

3. 3

   Ilon's Wonderland

   

   At Kooli 5 the castle story gives way to a storybook. This themed centre is dedicated to Ilon Wikland, the artist who illustrated Astrid Lindgren's books. When she drew those scenes, the ruins of Haapsalu castle, its wooden houses and the sea were often her inspiration, so you have just walked through some of the backdrops.

   In 2004 Wikland decided to give the originals of her book illustrations to the Estonian state. A home for them was found in this building, and the Ilon Wikland gallery opened in 2006. The idea grew into a lively centre for families, which opened on 1 July 2009. In January 2014 the first floor and gallery reopened fully renovated with the exhibition “I Am Always Here. Ilon”, curated by Tea Tammelaane, showing illustrations, small sculptures, keepsakes and books. It won an award for the best permanent exhibition of the year.

   Children are the point here. In the three storey house you find a cinema and exhibition hall, Ilon's kitchen and a playroom with crafts and theme days; you can peek into Karlsson's room, hunt for familiar characters, try on costumes and draw. In summer the yard opens with Mattias' house and a craft workshop for paper and wood, plus target throwing, stilt walking, fishing and sandbox games.

   Is it worth it? With children or as a Lindgren reader, absolutely: plan about an hour. Without children and with little time, the outside is enough.

   From here it is only 170 m, about 2 minutes, to the Haapsalu Promenade, passing Haapsalu Pier on the way to the water.

   Local name

   Iloni Imedemaa

   Hours

   June–August: Mon–Sun 11:00–18:00; September–May: Wed–Sun 11:00–17:00, Mon–Tue closed

   Price

   10 EUR single, 8 EUR concession (pensioners), 22 EUR family

   Website

   salm.ee ↗

   Location

   Ilon's Wonderland on Google Maps ↗

4. 4

   Haapsalu Promenade

   

   Now you are on the shore of Tagalaht bay, and the street under your feet is where Haapsalu became a resort. In 1831 a footpath just a couple of fathoms wide was laid along the water. From 1859 the sea was filled in and the bank reinforced, and the path became the Great Promenade, 4.5 metres wide and about a kilometre long.

   Its names tell Estonian history in short. People called it the big boulevard, in German die große Promenade. In early 1914 the Imperial Russian Ministry of the Interior had it renamed Romanov Boulevard. From 1926 to 1941 it honoured the statesman Jaan Poska. In Soviet times it was 21 June Avenue, until on 18 December 1987 the town council restored the old name together with other historic street names. A second, smaller promenade laid out in the 1860s is today's Pyotr Tchaikovsky Avenue, where you will sit down later.

   Keep an eye out on the way. The green between Linda, Rüütli and Jaani streets and the sea is Jaan Poska Park, with Roman Haavamägi's monument to the composer Rudolf Tobias and a sundial with five bas reliefs. At Promenaadi 3 stands the Haapsalu bird watching tower.

   Walk on 180 m, about 2 minutes, to the Kuursaal at Promenaadi 1.

   Local name

   Promenaadi tänav

   Hours

   Open 24/7

   Price

   Free

   Location

   Haapsalu Promenade on Google Maps ↗

5. 5

   Kuursaal

   

   The green wooden building at Promenaadi 1 is the only kuursaal in Estonia preserved in its original form. It works as a summer restaurant, but that restaurant is currently closed and reopens in summer 2027, so enjoy it from the outside, which is where its charm is anyway.

   Look at how it sits: half on the bank revetment, once built as an almost vertical log wall, and half over the sea, with a foundation strengthened against high water. The rectangular hall with its gabled roof was surrounded by an open veranda, glazed on the sea side, with a sloping roof on columns resting on a balustrade. Then look closer: gables, window frames and dormers are covered in fretwork typical of Russian wooden architecture, and the gables over the entrances carry lace ornaments and acroteria.

   Haapsalu grew into a spa and summer town in the 19th century, visited by St Petersburg high society and the tsar's family. In 1897 the Haapsalu Horticultural Society commissioned the provincial architect Rudolf Otto von Knüpffer. The building was planned smaller; the surrounding gallery was added during construction. Accounts differ on whether it was finished in 1898 or 1905. Either way it was one of the last of its kind: the others date from the 1880s, in Kadriorg, Narva-Jõesuu, Kuressaare and Pärnu.

   An autumn storm in 1929 badly damaged both kuursaal and promenade. During the repairs in spring 1930 the wooden revetment was rebuilt in stone, and sculptures were added; the best known, the Sea Lion and the Polar Bear, were set up by Roman Haavamägi in the bay, in view of the veranda. Since 1998 the Kuursaal is a protected cultural monument.

   Follow the shore 430 m, about 6 minutes, to the Tchaikovsky Bench.

   Hours

   Summer restaurant currently closed; reopens in summer 2027

   Price

   Free admission to building / restaurant premises (food and drinks paid per menu)

   Website

   kuursaal.ee ↗

   Location

   Kuursaal on Google Maps ↗

6. 6

   Tchaikovsky Bench

   

   On Pyotr Tchaikovsky Avenue by Tagalaht bay stands a monument you can sit on. Roman Haavamägi, the sculptor who lived in Haapsalu, made this bench in 1940 and placed it where the composer often sat during his stays to watch the sun go down over the water.

   Look at the backrest: carved into it is a fragment of the Estonian folk song “Kallis Mari”, a melody that found its way into Tchaikovsky's Sixth Symphony. The same name lives on in town, carried by the museum foundation's steamboat Kallis Mari.

   By now you have met Haavamägi several times: the Tobias monument in Jaan Poska Park, the Sea Lion and the Polar Bear in the bay, and this bench. Take a seat for a few minutes before the longest stretch of the walk.

   From here it is 1920 m, about 26 minutes, to Haapsalu Railway Station, leaving the bay behind and passing the Läänemaa Museum along the way.

   Local name

   Pjotr Tšaikovski mälestuspink

   Hours

   Open 24/7

   Price

   Free

   Location

   Tchaikovsky Bench on Google Maps ↗

7. 7

   Haapsalu Railway Station

   

   The long historicist building in front of you was built from 1905 to 1907, designed in St Petersburg by the architect Karl Wehrheim, with V. Vestfalen as engineer. Work on the line from Keila to the resort town began in 1902, on a clearing of 10.9 hectares between the Paralepa forest and the town. Temporary train service started on 28 December 1904, before the station building was even finished, and the line opened officially in November 1905 as a continuation of the railway from Tallinn to Keila.

   Officially it was a second class station, but the main building met first class standards: waiting rooms with buffets, separate rooms with water closets for gentlemen and ladies, a large vestibule, ticket office, telegraph room, rooms for the post office and the railway gendarme, and even rooms for the imperial family. That is why part of the building is still called the Imperial Pavilion. Fitting for a second class station, there is a two stall limestone engine depot with a large steam locomotive turntable 19.5 metres across.

   Regular passenger trains to Tallinn ran until September 1995; after that the line carried only a little freight, and in spring 2004 the tracks were taken up. Since June 1997 the Imperial Pavilion has housed the Estonian Railway Museum, which continues the broad gauge museum founded in Tallinn in 1970.

   Worth going in? For railway fans and children, yes: the museum charges entry, and you should allow about 45 minutes. The town's bus station is here too, with stops behind the building since December 1961, so the walk ends at a practical spot.

   Local name

   Haapsalu raudteejaam

   Hours

   Wed–Sun 11:00–17:00, Mon–Tue closed

   Price

   6 EUR full, 5 EUR concession, 15 EUR family

   Website

   salm.ee ↗

   Location

   Haapsalu Railway Station on Google Maps ↗

Three Ways to Walk Haapsalu

The full route ends at the old station, a longer walk away from the bay. If you have less time or travel with children, these shorter versions work just as well.

Castle and storybooks for families

Stops: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

For families with children: the castle, the park, a long visit to Ilon's Wonderland and then out to the water as far as the Kuursaal. 14 minutes of walking in total. The castle and Ilon's Wonderland charge entry, and both offer family tickets.

Free shoreline stroll

Stops: 2, 4, 5, 6

For a relaxed walk without tickets: from Krahviaed Park past Ilon's Wonderland to the promenade, the Kuursaal and Tchaikovsky's bench. 19 minutes of walking, nothing to pay.

The full route with the railway museum

Stops: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7

For history and railway lovers with a whole morning and early afternoon: all seven stops, 46 minutes of walking. Entry is charged at the castle, Ilon's Wonderland and the railway museum.

How Long This Haapsalu Tour Takes, With and Without Museums

The pure walking time is 46 minutes, and almost half of it comes in the last leg from the bench to the station. Everything from the castle to the Tchaikovsky Bench lies close together along the bay.

With all three interiors (about an hour and a quarter in the castle, an hour in Ilon's Wonderland, 45 minutes in the railway museum) and short pauses outside, plan about four and a half hours, so start in the morning once the castle is open. Seen only from outside, the whole route takes a little over two hours.

The family version needs just over three hours with both museums. The free shoreline stroll fits into a little more than an hour.

Before You Set Off in Haapsalu

• Start: Haapsalu Episcopal Castle is the recommended start, but you can join the route at any stop.
• End: Haapsalu Railway Station, which also houses the town's bus station.
• Best day and time: Check the opening days before you go: the castle, Ilon's Wonderland and the railway museum are not open every day, especially outside summer. Start in the morning so you reach the station well before the museum closes for the day.
• Costs: All three museums charge entry, with concession and family tickets available. Everything else on the route is free.

Common Questions About Visiting Haapsalu