NY Times calls Tallinn “Party Capital of the Year”
Queen Elizabeth to visit!
Fueled by British guidebook author Laurence Shorter’s new guidebook, A Hedonist’s Guide to Tallinn, the January 22nd New York Times headline declared Tallinn the “Party Capital of the Year.”
The Times asks: “How did a city smaller than Fresno, California...in a former Soviet backwater explode into a hot spot whose Hedonist Guide companions include the likes of Madrid and Miami?” Their answer, of course, is Finns and British bachelors, and a host of stylish clubs and good restaurants.
Of course, British bachelors have long been an embarrassment for some Tallinners, and the TimesÂ’ report will only compound the problem. However, in City PaperÂ’s opinion, it often seems TallinnÂ’s resident foreigners, who consider Tallinn their own well-kept secret, get more upset with the bachelors than do the locals, whose tolerance of others could be a textbook example for the world.
But according to the 2004 guide, Tallinn is ideal for "time-poor, cash-rich 30-something partiers" (Mr. ShorterÂ’s words). And now, like it or not, there are surely more of them to come.
One future guest definitely not meeting Mr. Shorter's profile is Queen Elizabeth II, whose plans to visit Estonia in October were announced only yesterday. It was not mentioned whether Her Majesty's plans were influenced by Tallinn's "party capital" status. And we wonder: In keeping with the "party capital"-spirit, will she fly EasyJet?