Fat Margaret Tower
A 25-metre-thick 16th-century cannon tower guarding the sea gate — now home to Estonia's Maritime Museum in a knockout modern renovation.
Squat cannon tower of Fat Margaret guarding the Great Coast Gate
What to expect at Fat Margaret Tower
Paks Margareeta was built between 1511 and 1530 to protect the harbour side of the medieval city, and her walls are five metres thick at the base. She was a prison in tsarist times, was gutted by fire in 1917, and reopened in 2020 after a stunning renovation that punched glass floors and a curving oak staircase through the old stonework. The Maritime Museum inside spreads across four levels, from Viking-era boat finds to a full-size Soviet mine, and the rooftop terrace has a free 360-degree view over Tallinn Bay.
The rooftop is genuinely free — you can walk up without a museum ticket in summer, and it's one of the city's best unadvertised viewpoints. The museum itself is very hands-on and family-friendly (buttons to press, ropes to pull), so it's a good rainy-afternoon call with kids. Combine with the flying boat hangars at Lennusadam — the Maritime Museum's sister site 20 minutes' walk away in Kalamaja — on the same $22 combined ticket.
Questions about Fat Margaret Tower
$15 adult, $10 student, free for under-8s. Combined with Lennusadam seaplane harbour is $22.
The rooftop terrace is free in summer. The full museum is free on the last Friday of each month and with the Tallinn Card.
About 2 hours for the four floors, plus 15 minutes on the roof.
Closed every Monday, 24-25 December, and 1 January.
No — walk-in tickets always available. Online booking at meremuuseum.ee saves the queue on cruise days.
At the Great Coast Gate (Suur Rannavarav) at the north end of Pikk street, 10 minutes' walk from Raekoja plats or the cruise port.
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