Kiek in de Kok and Bastion Passages

Kiek in de Kok, peep into the kitchen, was built around 1475 as an artillery tower in the Tallinn wall, so called because from the top the garrison could see down chimneys into the kitchens of the town below. Its walls are four metres thick and cannonballs from the 1577 siege are still embedded in them. It now holds a museum of the town's fortifications across several floors. Beneath the earth bastions built by the Swedes in the seventeenth century runs a system of passages, intended for moving troops and countermining, later used as air-raid shelters and as squats; they are visited on guided tours from the tower. Both are part of the Tallinn old town World Heritage property.

What you actually see

• The artillery tower - the thick-walled tower and its embedded cannonballs.
• The fortification museum - the displays across the tower floors.
• The bastion passages - the tunnels beneath the earth defences.
• The old town view - the outlook from the upper floors.

When to go

Year round; everything is indoors and the passages are a constant cool temperature. Passage tours run at set times and should be booked, particularly in summer. The museum closes on some weekdays.

Honest expectations

The passages are visited only on timed guided tours, which book out in season. They are cold, and warm clothing is provided or needed. The tower involves many stairs. Combined tickets and separate entries can be confusing.

Nearby

Toompea rises above; the old town squares lie north.