Coolcations have been on the rise for a few years now, but as heatwaves batter large swathes of Europe, they’ve become even ‘cooler’ (all puns intended – sorry!).
Scandinavia has long dominated the conversation, but in recent years the Baltics have been on the rise thanks to their comparative affordability.
While visiting all three of the country’s capitals – Lithuania’s Vilnius, Latvia’s Riga and Estonia’s Tallinn – is a popular tourist route, these cities all appeal individually for a long weekend escape.
Given Vilnius lies some 300 kilometres inland, while Tallinn is on the Gulf of Finland and Riga is on the Gulf of Riga, I actually think a fairer comparison can be made between the latter two.
Having visited both during the summer of 2025, I would say that Tallinn felt more “touristy”, perhaps in part because the UNESCO-listed Old Town is smaller, so the crowds feel denser.
