Tallinn · Month comparison
December vs May
May ranks #1 overall vs December at #12. Sweet spot of the year: 17 hours of daylight, lilacs in Kadriorg, hotels still under EUR 150, no cruise volume yet.
December
#12 of 12 months
Avoid
Town Hall Square Christmas market — repeatedly voted Europe's best — runs all month with mulled glühwein and elk sausage.
- ↑Christmas market on Raekoja plats opens Nov 28 to Jan 7
- ↑Sõõr (mulled glögg) with cardamom — local Estonian touch
May
#1 of 12 months
Best match
Sweet spot of the year: 17 hours of daylight, lilacs in Kadriorg, hotels still under EUR 150, no cruise volume yet.
- ↑Kadriorg lilacs and chestnuts bloom mid-month
- ↑Sunset at 22:10 enables walking-tour evenings
| Factor | December | May |
|---|---|---|
| Weather score | 2 | 8 |
| Value score | 6 | 7 |
| Crowd score | 5 | 6 |
| Events score | 9 | 7 |
| Atmosphere | 10 | 9 |
| Avg high temp | 0°C | 15°C |
| Monthly rain | 55mm | 35mm |
| Daily sunshine | 0.5hrs | 8hrs |
December trade-offs
- ↓Just 30 minutes of average sunshine per day
- ↓Sunset at 15:18 on Dec 21
- ↓Pre-Christmas weekend hotel rates double pre-15 Dec rates
May trade-offs
- ↓Baltic still cold for swimming (10C)
- ↓Pre-summer thunder showers can be heavy
- ↓Last week sees first cruise ship arrivals — 2,000 day-trippers
Scores compare months within Tallinn. Climate data: Open Meteo ERA5 30-year normals (1991–2020). Methodology →