Take a wine-tasting tour at Gundlach-Bundshu, one of Sonoma Valley’s oldest wineries

Savour a hearty Cab Sav or a Chardonnay while you picnic on a sun-dappled hillside or inside a designer tasting room – Napa and Sonoma wine country produces some of the world’s finest vintages.

Sonoma ValleySonoma’s family-owned Kaz is all about blends: whatever’s in the organic vineyards goes into the wine, and they’re blended at crush (harvest). Kids can sample grape juice in the playground while you pop your favourite LPs on the turntable and relax. Bottles from £15 (233 Adobe Canyon Road; 11am– 5pm Fri–Mon, by appointment Tue–Thu; tastings £3).

• Related article: California's other wine countries

One of Sonoma Valley’s oldest and prettiest, Gundlach-Bundschu looks like a storybook castle. Founded in 1858 by Bavarian immigrant Jacob Gundlach, it’s now at the cutting edge of sustainability. Cave tours are available by reservation (£13). It’s a good bike-to winery, with picnicking, hiking and a small lake. Bottles cost from £14 (2000 Denmark Street, 11am–4.30pm, Fri–Sun May–Oct; tastings £6).

The name, Little Vineyards, fits at this family owned small-scale winery, big on atmosphere, with a weathered tasting bar and a lazy dog to greet you. If you are new to wine, consider the introductory class (£16; call ahead). There’s good picnicking on the terrace with views of the vineyard that grows big reds such as Syrah, Petite Syrah, Zinfandel and Cab. Bottles cost from £13 (15188 Sonoma Highway, Glen Ellen; 11am–4.30pm Thu–Mon; tastings £6).

Napa ValleyBegin or end the day with a glass of bubbly or Pinot at Artesa Winery, southwest of Napa. Built into a mountainside, the ultra-modern, Barcelona style is designed to blend into the landscape. You can’t beat the vistas over San Pablo Bay from the terrace. Free tours leave at 11am and 2pm. Bottles cost from £13 (1345 Henry Road; 10am–5pm; tastings from £6).

Meandering paths wind through gardens and fruit-bearing orchards surrounding an 1884 barn and farmstead with cats and chickens atFrog’s Leap. It’s the vibe that’s wonderful: down-to-earth with an emphasis on fun. Sauvignon Blanc is its best-known wine, but the Merlot merits attention. There’s also a dry, restrained Cabernet, atypical in Napa. All are organic. Bottles cost from £13 (8815 Conn Creek Road; 10am– 4pm; tours and tastings £13).

High atop Spring Mountain, cult favourite Pride Mountain straddles the Napa-Sonoma border and bottles vintages under both appellations. The well-structured Cab Sav and heavy-hitting Merlot are the best-known wines, but there’s also elegant Viognier and standout Cab Franc. Bottles from £37 (4026 Spring Mountain Road; tour at 10am, tastings 10.30am–3.45pm, closed Tue; tasting £6).

Russian RiverHartford Family Winery sits in a pastoral valley surrounded by redwood-forested hills, on one of the area’s prettiest roads. It specialises in single-vineyard Pinot, Chardonnay and Zinfandel, some from old-vine fruit. Umbrella-shaded picnic tables dot the garden. Bottles from £25 (8075 Martinelli Road, Forestville; 10am–4.30pm; tastings from £10).

Inside a vintage 1920s garage, the tasting bar of Porter Creek, a father-and- son enterprise, is a former bowling-alley lane, plunked atop barrels. High-acid, food-friendly Pinot Noir and Chardonnay are specialities, but there’s silky Zinfandel and other Burgundianand Rhône-style wines too. Bottles from £15 (8735 Westside Rd, Healdsburg; daily 10.30am– 4.30pm; tastings £6).

At Preston Vineyards, weathered picket fencing frames the farmhouse-turned-tasting room, with candy-coloured walls setting a country mood. The signature is citrusy Sauvignon Blanc, but try the Rhône varietals and small-lot wines: Mourvèdre, Viognier, Cinsault and Barbera. Bottles of wine from £15. Homemade bread and olive oil is also on offer (9282 West Dry Creek Rd; 11am–4.30pm; tasting £6).

TransportBA, Virgin and United all fly direct to San Francisco from London Heathrow, while numerous airlines fly with one stop from other major UK cities (from £635). The valleys are 90 minutes’ drive from San Francisco. You’ll need a car for vineyard hopping, or stick to downtown Napa or downtown Sonoma, where you can rent bikes (from £25 per day; sonoma cyclery.com from £16 per day).

Where to stayA 10-minute drive from downtown Calistoga, Mountain Home Ranch is a 340-acre homestead ranch doubling as a retreat. Choose from simple lodge rooms, rustic cabins and cottages. With miles of woodland trails, a hilltop pool, private lake with canoeing and fishing, and a hike to warm springs, there’s lots to keep you busy (3400 Mountain Home Ranch Road; from £45).

Surrounded by horse pastures, Beltane Ranch is a 19th-century throwback. The cheerful 1892 ranch house occupies 100 acres and has double porches lined with swinging chairs and white wicker (11775 Sonoma Highway; from £95).

Carneros Inn’s 86 retro, smalltown themed semi-detached cottages are decked out with cherrywood flooring, heatedslate bathroom floors, giant tubs and indoor-outdoor showers (

Tourism boards and travel writers often connect at industry events, such as ITB Berlin

Do free press trips allow for greater access, or biased coverage?

That’s the question causing conflict and contention in the travel community, sparked by an early April BBC Fast Track report on the ethics and growing popularity of travel blogging and junketism – the practice of tourism boards providing free or subsidised trips to travel writers in exchange for publicity.

The debate ballooned in online forums and social media, with aboutseven in 10 respondents on BBC World News’ Facebook page asserting travel bloggers cannot provide balanced views when they enjoy free travel. “General rule of thumb, we are more demanding when we pay for something, hence more critical/appreciative. Freebies change that for sure,” wrote World News Facebook fan Savitha Peri.

A discussion on the LinkedIn Travel Editors and Freelance Journalists board saw some writers rushing to their own defence, with travel writer Janet Groene pointing out that magazine and newspaper staffers have expense accounts and are on salary wherever they go. Bloggers, even those on junkets she said, often pay for trips in time, attention and extra expenses like airport shuttle/parking, meals en route and special clothing and equipment. “Their trips may be dictated by the advertising department,” wrote Groene about traditional media. “Mine are chosen because I expect to get great stories.”

And while the debate over junkets rages in the virtual world, the practice does, in fact, have a history of official regulation. In October 2009 the US Federal Trade Commission announced regulations requiring writers and bloggers to disclose to their readers any “material connections” with providers of goods and services they endorse. The US-based Society of Professional Journalists goes a step further, recommending journalists “refuse gifts, favours, fees, free travel and special treatment [that] compromise[s] journalistic integrity”. On the blogger front, some have proposed a travel bloggers pledge – a set of self-made oaths by which bloggers would promise to disclose all freebies or payments received in return for reviews; express honest opinions about experiences and products; and clearly label advertorial content as such.

We’ve taken the debate to travel publications and organisations themselves, asking them about their policies with regards to press trips. While some, such as Gadling, Conde Nast Traveler and Afar, could not be reached for comment and have no published stance on the issue, the results reveal that a wide variety of traditional media and travel organisations do not accept free press trips in order to guard against a perceived conflict of interest – but those that do cite access as a top reason to allow the practice and put rules in place to prevent undeserved promotion.

New York Times
According to the New York Times ethics handbook, “no writer or editor for the Travel section, whether on assignment or not, may accept free or discounted services of any sort from any element of the travel industry.” 

The rules are in place “to guard against conflicts of interest or the appearance of conflict”, said Danielle Rhoades Ha, director of communications.

Lonely Planet
Lonely Planet guidebook authors are not allowed to accept free press trips, junkets, accommodation or meals, regardless of coverage. According to Rana Freedman, senior manager consumer marketing and communications for Lonely Planet Americas, however, there may be exceptions in rare circumstances, such as when it is the only possible way to research a destination.

“Reader trust is core to our brand. Travellers know they can trust our information because it is independently researched and reviewed,” Freedman said. “[The policies] protect the integrity of our content and ensure [guidebook authors] can conduct their research free of any agenda or influence that could come with a press-trip itinerary”.

In 2008, Lonely Planet came under scrutiny when Thomas Kohnstamm, a former Lonely Planet guidebook writer, released the memoir Do Travel Writers Go to Hell?, claiming to have accepted freebies due to lack of time and money, which compromised his recommendations. According to Stephen Palmer, guidebook publisher at Lonely Planet, “At the end of the day this is a matter of trust. Unfortunately, Thomas Kohnstamm’s activities were not consistent with our policies or that relationship based on trust.”

Budget Travel
The budget-focused magazine allows writers to go on press trips.

“I’m going to break with industry orthodoxy a bit and say that on rare occasions, [a free press trip] just might allow us to send a reporter to a location that our budget might not normally allow and deliver great service to readers,” said Robert Firpo-Cappiello, Budget Travel executive editor. “But we would consider a press trip only if we make it absolutely clear to the trip sponsor right up front that we are not guaranteeing coverage or a positive review… [and] Budget Travel will never let our readers down by endorsing a destination in exchange for a junket.”

Fodor‘s
The guidebook company works with tourism boards around the world and does accept press trips.

Press trips allow Fodor’s editors and select senior writers to have “firsthand access to and experience in locations” to offer readers “a broad overview of a destination”, said Katherine Fleming, a senior publicist with Random House Digital Publishing.

Frommer’s
The guidebook company could not be reached for comment. However, itseditorial policy online does not forbid their use, but states that “the airlines, cruise lines, tour operators, consolidators, national tourist boards and other travel firms mentioned in our Frommers.com Newsletter and our popular Frommer's Travel Guides series have not paid a single penny for such mention. All establishment listings and reviews in Frommer's Guidebooks and online at Frommers.com are based on our author's individual experiences…”

BBC Travel
BBC Travel does not allow press trips unless it is the only opportunity for press to be a part of something before the public launch, or the story is editorially justified and would be financially unattainable otherwise. According to the BBC’s editorial guidelines, any proposal to accept such a trip will be referred to a senior editorial figure who will ensure the acceptance of such facilities do not compromise the BBC's reputation. In the event that a travel provider does facilitate a trip, information will be provided for a range of suppliers and not just those who provided assistance.

“It’s very rare that a story is so expensive that we wouldn’t cover the cost,” said Allison Busacca, editor of BBC Travel. “However, when BBC Travel contributors have participated in a press trip, we have made it clear to both the writer and the company that there is no promise of positive coverage or promotion.”

BBC’s Fast Track
Fast Track does not permit its reporters or crews to take free press trips organised by tourist boards, airlines or tour operators.  

“To ensure editorial independence and comply with BBC guidelines, we always pay our own way or make a substantial contribution towards costs where the actual value or cost of an experience is hard to exactly quantify”, said Mike London, editor at BBC’s Fast Track program.

Huffington Post
Huffington Post staff are not allowed to accept free press trips. Bloggers who aren't staff journalists but post on the organisation’s blog platform are also not allowed to use their affiliation with Huffington Post to obtain free press trips, and the site’s editors decline submissions related to junkets.

“Readers should expect that our pieces aren't influenced by outside sources and that information we provide is based on the same conditions that any traveller might expect,” said Adam Rose, a standards editor at Huffington Post.

Travel + Leisure
While on assignment, Travel + Leisure editors, writers and photographers travel incognito whenever possible and do not take press trips or accept free travel of any kind, said editor-in-chief Nancy Novogrod.

“We need to be – and are –a reliable and trusted source for our readers,” Novogrod said. “There can be no question about the reason for our coverage of a destination, other than our dedication to providing our readers with the best travel advice and insights possible.”

National Geographic Traveler
National Geographic Traveler could not be reached for comment, however according to its writer’s guidelines, the magazine does “not accept proposals about trips that are subsidized in any way”.

CNN Travel
According to Matt Dornic, senior director of public relations for CNN Worldwide, the network’s policies do not allow staff reporters to take free trips to cover travel, leisure or entertainment. He could not comment on the policy for freelancers.

Archaeologists in Greece's northern metropolis Thessaloniki were already overjoyed in 2006 when a 2,300-year-old avenue was found during construction work on the city's new underground rail network.

But a decision to keep in situ the superbly preserved ancient neighbourhood described as "Thessaloniki's Pompeii" has been hailed as a major win for preservationists in the cash-strapped country that has been forced to make unprecedented cuts to cultural spending.

"This is a great victory," says Aristotelis Mentzos, a professor of Byzantine Archaeology at the city's Aristotelio University.

"Such finds exist in other Roman cities but what they lack is duration of continuous use," which in the case of Thessaloniki was unbroken for seven centuries, Mentzos told AFP.

The rescue excavation has unearthed significant evidence of the city's urban life between the fourth and nine centuries AD, five metres beneath the city's modern highway.

In addition to a 76-metre (83-yard) stretch of marble avenue (decumanus) originally paved in the third century BC that led to the harbour, there is a monumental Roman-style gate and the remains of public buildings, offering a rare glimpse into social, commercial and daily life during the early Byzantine Empire.

"This was a central crossroads where the city's central market and public buildings were located," said Despoina Koutsoumba, head of the association of Greek archaeologists.

"The area has retained the same character today, it remains the heart of the city's society," she said.

Several contemporary texts from lay and ecclesiastical authors specifically refer to this ancient avenue, known at the time as Thessaloniki's 'Middle road'.

Bustling with merchants and travellers by day, by night it was given to religious processions of holy icons and relics, a common practise during the Byzantine era.

To the archaeologists' shock, the state company overseeing the underground rail construction demanded that the avenue and buildings be uprooted and relocated, deeming their preservation "technically unfeasible."

"Can you imagine moving the Eiffel Tower or Big Ben from their original place?" the archaeologists said in a petition signed by over 12,000 people, including many prominent academics.

With the help of the city's local council and the university, which put forward alternative technical studies, the rail company backed down.

The current plan envisages retaining up to 84 percent of the finds in place, where a rail station is to be built.

Working ahead of the rail construction drills, archaeologists have recovered over 100,000 objects in the area, including over 50,000 coins.

Vessels, lamps, vials and jewels of various types have also been found -- in keeping with the area's trading character -- in addition to 2,500 graves of Hellenistic and Roman times.

A key Balkan port fought over by Greeks, Romans, Slavs and Turks for centuries, Thessaloniki was founded in the fourth century BC by king Cassander of Macedon, who named the city after his wife, the sister of Alexander the Great.

It was later home to a prosperous Jewish community that was eradicated during Greece's occupation by Nazi Germany during the Second World War.

The city's metro was originally budgeted at over a billion euros ($1.3 billion) for a 9.6-kilometre (5.9-mile), 13-station network with completion forecast in 2012.

It is now slated to be operational in 2016.

There are plans to expand the network to 35 kilometres and 35 stations overall, accessing the city's suburbs and airport in 2020 at a cost of 4 billion euros.

om Stoppard could call an end to his illustrious career as one of Britain's leading playwrights, he revealed on Saturday, saying he was considering writing just one more play.

I might write one more play and give up because I am very slow...," he told reporters at Paris's Forum des Images cinema.

"I am 75, I am 76 in a minute... My brain cells are dying in their trillions," he said, adding that he had started work on a new stage play.

Stoppard, in addition to his critically acclaimed work for the stage, has written prolifically for television, film and radio, winning an Oscar with Marc Norman for the screenplay of "Shakespeare in Love".

Other recent film work includes the screenplay for Joe Wright's "Anna Karenina" starring Keira Knightley.

But he said he was increasingly weighing up whether to continue writing for the theatre, although a sense of defiance in the face of his own mortality might yet propel him on.

"When I was 20 the idea of having a play on anywhere was just beyond my dreams... I ended up having quite a few of them on but it never stopped feeling like the thing that I ought to do and would want to do," he said.

"I don't think I would be in disgrace if I stopped and started reading and maybe doing adaptations but I think there is something discreditable in furtive competitiveness. I think I am not dead yet!" he added.

Stoppard was in Paris for a screening of "Parade's End", the BBC/HBO television adaptation of Ford Madox Ford's series of novels for which he wrote the screenplay.

The screening was part of the annual "Mania" series festival featuring television drama from around the world.

Thousands of party-goers wearing orange suits, wigs and sunglasses, drunk, stoned or as-yet sober flooded Amsterdam on Tuesday set on catching a glimpse of their first king in over 120 years, Willem-Alexander.

Over 25,000 people packed Amsterdam's central Dam Square in front of the royal palace where Queen Beatrix signed her abdication.

"Today is a day in which we get together as the Dutch and celebrate and the monarchy is of course a part of it," Nick van Boor, 25, told AFP, pushing his way through thronged streets.

"We really hope we can catch a glimpse of them," he added, dressed in an all-orange outfit, using a Dutch flag as a cape and his hair dyed bright orange.

He was hoping to see the new king and Queen Maxima on the palace balcony.

Streets around the royal palace were blocked off with typically Dutch obstacles: giant flower beds of tulips of every colour.

Some were frustrated not to be able to get onto the Dam in time for the abdication, after which people headed in their thousands to the city's Museumplein.

The large open space is home to the Rijksmuseum and Van Gogh Museum, but today given over to concerts and partying.

"This is fantastic!" said Anne Boonjer, 60 as she walked down to the Dam, recalling the riots that accompanied Beatrix's investiture in 1980 because of a housing crisis.

"I was here that day and it was truly awful, with bombs being thrown," she said.

Over 10,000 police are patrolling the event, and Amsterdam mayor Eberhard van der Laan warned ahead of the celebrations that police should be careful not to overreact.

The ever-mercantile Dutch sold merchandise including brightly orange coloured T-shirts emblazoned with playing cards featuring the faces of Willem-Alexander and his Argentine-born wife Maxima: "King and Queen."

Amsterdam's many immigrant workers also got in on the act, with a bicycle taxi driver from Georgia who only identified himself as "Bojuk" saying: "Today's going to be good for business."

People made last-minute purchases of a range of gratuitously orange products, including vuvuzelas and cannabis lollypops.

Some streets of the Dutch capital were littered with the detritus from celebrations of Queen's Night on Monday, a sea of plastic glasses and crushed beer cans and puddles of vomit.

Nico Silberie, 25, from Aruba, a Caribbean nation that forms part of the kingdom of the Netherlands, was tired but unbowed.

"We have partied through the night and now we're heading to Amsterdam," he said.

"This enthronement is the most beautiful and entertaining event," said Alex Hamstel, 41, wearing an orange suit and matching cowboy hat.

Some sought to grab a few hours sleep before once more picking up the party that will take over Amsterdam's picturesque streets and canals throughout the day and into Tuesday night.

"I'm really drunk, I've got a headache, I'm going home," said Maarten, 32, trying to walk in the opposite direction to the swelling river of people.

"If I want to go out again tonight, I'm going to have to get some rest," he told AFP.

Sound systems around the capital cranked up the beats as the sun slowly warmed the morning's chill air hanging over city canals.

At Amsterdam's central train station, a man was busy emptying bins, wearing an inflatable orange crown on his head.

"Yeah, well, I'm working, that's life, but that's no reason not to be in a good mood," the worker said.

"This is a party for everyone and I'm going to make the most of it," he said, declining to give his name.

The royal family was to take a boat tour behind Amsterdam central station in the evening, accompanied by a flotilla of pleasure boats and historic ships.

TRAVEL TECH

While researchers are continuously debating and fine-tuning their advice, they agree that exposure to light is one of the most effective ways to combat jet lag.

“But the rules for when you should seek out or avoid light are complicated and depend on whether you travel east or west and how many time zones you are crossing,” said Russell Foster, head of Oxford University’sNuffield Laboratory of Ophthalmology and one of the world’s leading experts on jet lag.

Sunlight activates the pineal gland, which triggers a physical process that winds up and sets your body’s internal clock, while darkness encourages your body to sleep by lowering your temperature and sending melatonin, a natural sleep-inducing hormone, into the bloodstream.

But obeying signals from sunlight and darkness – which are key to resetting the body’s internal clock – can be difficult when you’re flying cross-country or halfway across the world. Thankfully, two websites offer step-by-step, personalised help for combating jet lag. Using your flight itinerary, each site provides a suggested sleep schedule based on how many time zones you’ll cross and which direction you’ll be travelling.

Jet Lag Rooster is an online calculator that employs similar guidelines to those used at academic institutions such as the Mayo Center for Sleep Medicine in Minnesota and Rush University Medical Center in Chicago. Type in your itinerary and the site will give you an hour-by-hour breakdown of when to sleep and when to go outside and seek sunlight.

For example, on an Atlanta to Moscow itinerary where a passenger lands at 10 am, Jet Lag Rooster advises a schedule of doing the best you can that first day and night (without specifying particular hours) and then, on the following day, avoid light after 11 am. The next day, it recommends you begin to avoid light a little later – after 12:30 pm – and on the day after that, it suggests you begin to avoid light after 2 pm.

The reasoning behind this advice is that the average person can only adjust their internal clock by an incremental amount of 60 to 90 minutes a day. Jet Lag Rooster encourages travellers to pace themselves accordingly, which means it may take a person travelling between Atlanta and Moscow about seven to 10 days to shift their body clock the necessary 10 hours.

British Airways also created an online jet lag fighting calculator, where the advice is based on research by Chris Idzikowski, director of the sleep assessment and advisory service at Edinburgh Sleep Centre. The science behind the site’s conclusions is the same as Jet Lag Rooster’s, but the tool condenses the advice to a few sentences, rather than give an hour-by-hour breakdown.

It’s important to note that when scientists say you should seek out “light”, they mean ideally being outdoors for up to half an hour. Outdoor light is always better than indoor light. Even an overcast spring day in say, Reykjavik, will provide enough light to reset a body clock, compared with sitting indoors, which won’t. On the flip side, avoiding light can entail wearing sunglasses or staying indoors.

Special light boxes, or flat lamps that simulate natural white light with a blue tint, are also effective, noted Foster, who has been consulting withDelta on the feasibility of introducing such lights into airport lounges. However, there is no word yet from the airline on whether it will put the concept into practice.

Tallinn has an ever-growing number of museums, including award-winning modern-art repository Kumu

If you know anything about the Estonian capital Tallinn, it is likely to be the chocolate-box appeal of its medieval Old Town, a Unesco-protected jumble of intertwining alleys and picturesque courtyards. Most visitors see little more than this cobblestoned labyrinth, happily taking in red-rooftop views from medieval turrets and sipping cocktails in cosy vaulted cellars.

• Related article: Tallinn's secret history of espionage

The Old Town deservedly hogs the marketing limelight, but it is hugely rewarding to step outside of the ancient town walls and experience Tallinn's unsung treasures. The small city (population: 425,000) is a charmingly compact blend of church spires, glass skyscrapers, Baroque palaces, brooding battlements, shiny shopping malls and cafes set on sunny squares – with a few Soviet throwbacks in the mix, for added spice.

Tallinn's renaissance
Since joyfully regaining its independence in 1991, Estonia has turned its focus to the west, transforming itself into a modern, internet-savvy country (fun fact: Skype software was invented here). It is also determined to catch up with its Nordic neighbours in the quality-of-life stakes, thanks to its robust ties with nearby Finland (Helsinki is just 80km across the water, and frequent ferries connect the two cities).

Travellers may be pleasantly surprised to discover stylish restaurants plating up oh-so-fashionable New Nordic cuisine, and a design scene taking its cues from Scandinavia. There is also an ever-growing number of museums, including award-winning modern-art repository Kumu and the fascinating new KGB museum, which explains how the state security agency kept tabs on visitors during the Soviet era (they operated from a spy base atop Hotel Viru, the only hotel in Tallinn where foreigners were permitted to stay).

Picturesque neighbourhoods are ripe for exploration, and areas gaining traction with visitors include beachside Pirita and leafy, affluent Kadriorg, both east of the Old Town and easily reached by tram or bus. However, the best place for a taste of local life is Kalamaja, a district just northwest of the Old Town. Its name translates as “Fish House” and it traditionally served as the town’s main fishing harbour. It is an old quarter filled with distinctive wooden houses, and, like all good working-class neighbourhoods, is emerging as a hang-out for artists, with quirky and affordable spots to eat, drink and play.

The Culture Kilometre
The Kultuurikilomeeter (Culture Kilometre) opened in 2011 to coincide with Tallinn's turn in the spotlight as European Capital of Culture – a title it shared for the year with Turku, Finland. Despite the name, it is actually a 2km pedestrian and bike path, developed to provide easy access from the city centre and Tallinn Passenger Port (Vanasadam) to the cultural sites of Kalamaja.

Although the path is not signposted, it does appear on most tourist maps. Start by the abandoned Linnahall on the waterfront in the port area which lies just to the northeast of the Old Town. Nothing says "former Soviet" like a gigantic public building made of concrete, and the bunker-like Linnahall certainly fits the bill. Built for the 1980 Moscow Olympics (for which Tallinn hosted the sailing events) and originally christened the Lenin Palace of Culture and Sport, the Linnahall contains within its crumbling, much-graffitied hulk a vast concert hall. Concrete steps lead up to the roof – a favourite spot for young partygoers to bring drinks and watch the sunset before a night out, or watch the sunrise after a night of clubbing. It is a great place to enjoy watery Gulf of Finland views and contemplate Soviet-era Tallinn – this was the northwestern edge of the Soviet Union, after all.

Heading west, you will pass the ramshackle Museum of Contemporary Artinside a former power plant. It is a small and unconventional museum that started as an artists' squat, with free changing exhibitions showcasing often provocative video, photography and sculpture.

Opposite the museum is the KultuuriKatel (Culture Cauldron), where work is underway to transform the gasworks into Tallinn's own miniature version of London's Tate Modern gallery by 2015, combining art galleries, music studios and public spaces.