Kiek in de Kok & Bastion Passages
A 38-metre cannon tower whose name means "peek into the kitchen" — plus a network of 17th-century Swedish tunnels beneath Toompea hill.
Cannon tower of Kiek in de Kok with medieval bastion passages below
What to expect at Kiek in de Kok & Bastion Passages
Kiek in de Kok was built in 1475 as the biggest cannon tower in northern Europe, and its four-metre-thick walls still carry cannonballs from the 1577 Livonian War embedded in the stone. The Low German name translates as "peek into the kitchen" — the guards up top could literally see down chimneys of the town below. The tower is now a museum of Tallinn's fortifications, but the real draw is the bastion passages: a cold, damp tunnel network the Swedes dug in the 1600s and later used as a WWII bomb shelter and Soviet-era punk hangout.
The bastion tunnel tour runs on the hour and lasts 45 minutes — bring a jacket even in August, because it's 8°C down there. Combined tickets get you the tower, the tunnels and the Neitsitorn (Maiden's Tower) cafe next door where you can drink hot wine on the ramparts. Book the English-language tunnel tour online for guaranteed slots; the Estonian ones have space but no commentary you’ll follow.
Questions about Kiek in de Kok & Bastion Passages
$14 for the tower plus bastion tunnels. Tower only is $8. Under-8s go free.
No free days, but the Tallinn Card ($35 for 24h) includes full entry.
About 2 hours: 45 minutes in the tower museum plus a 45-minute guided tunnel tour.
Closed every Monday, 24-26 December, and 1 January.
Yes — guided tunnel tours must be booked in advance at linnamuuseum.ee, especially the English slots.
5-minute walk uphill from Freedom Square (Vabaduse valjak), or from Viru Gate follow Komandandi tee to the tower base.
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