Tallinn Baltic station sits on the western edge of Tallinn's Old Town, where the railway meets the medieval walls. It is the city's main rail gateway and the anchor of everyday Tallinn: commuter trains, long-distance services and the Balti Jaam market next door. The station also stands at the point where the walled town, Kalamaja's wooden streets and Telliskivi Creative City meet, so arrivals step straight into the texture of the city. Beyond the platforms, the Old Town's 2 km of standing wall, twenty surviving towers, functioning 1404 town hall and the long climb to Toompea are all within reach on foot. The lower town around Raekoja plats is merchants' Tallinn; Toompea, up the limestone hill through Pikk jalg gate, was where the nobility and bishops sat. Come at 8am and the cobbles between Pikk and Lai are empty and echoing; come at 1pm in July, when three cruise ships are in, and Viru gate is a slow-moving queue. For travellers, the station is less an address than a starting line for the city.