Normally when travelling to other countries I prefer not to waste time on visiting museums (except for the greatest ones like Hermitage in St. Petersburg or Gallery Uffizi in Florence) because the daily life of other cities is usually much more interesting than shadows of the past. At the same time the recently renovated Seaplane Harbour is one that you should not miss.

Some historic and general facts: Seaplane Hangars, where the maritime museum is located, were built in 1916-1917 and were the first ferro concrete buildings of that size in the world. In 2013 Seaplane Harbour was pronounced as Design Project of the year in Estonia. At the same time it was shortlisted in two categories at the World Architecture Festival in Singapore. 

Its main attractions are the submarine Lembit (built in 1937) and vintage steam icebreaker “Suur Tõll” (built in march 1914, more than 100 years ago! And it still looks like new).

In Seaplane Harbour not only can you find a lots of truly unique artifacts but also lots of various interactive games – like flight or submarine simulation, shooting with air defense guns etc. Children can easily spend their entire day there and it still won’t be enough.

Since it was opened in 2012, I have visited the museum dozens of times and keep coming here from time to time – mostly because there is always something new to see.