A story of a castle town

Pärnu Vallikäär (Riverside) invites visitors with an illuminated shorefront promenade, where a romantic footbridge arches over a moat and the highest fountain in Estonia pleases you with spectacular displays of colour. The amphitheatre-like concert venue calls you to take part in various cultural events. In a restored smithy located next to the Venus Bastion, you can observe traditional smithery and make yourself a souvenir coin. Scale models displayed at Vallikäär provide a visual overview of the development of Pärnu from a castle town into a modern resort. Both the passageway through the fort wall and the Tallinn Gate, which marked the beginning of the former coachway, are restored. Children can have fun on a sea-theme playground.

Parks and beaches are waiting for picnickers

Pärnu County’s beautiful and unspoilt nature is much more than just delightful views and clean air. Pärnu’s green parks are its pride and joy. Lovely fountains, colourful flower beds and secluded benches in the cool shade of big trees provide ideal places for a picnic.

However, there are also amenities of modern life because wireless Internet is available in many parks. You will remember the moments spent with your special someone by the lighthouse at the end of the pier at the mouth of Pärnu River. If you wish to enjoy real peace and quiet, you can take a trip to the countryside surrounding the city. You are welcome to our plentiful picnic sites, hiking tracks, bird watching towers and breathtaking sandy beaches in Kabli and Valgerand.

Ancient love story

Pärnu is a city of romantic walks, lovers and first kisses. The legend of the pier here is part of the city, as the city is part of the legend. According to an ancient story, young lovers must walk together to the end of the pier and seal their love there with a kiss.

Discover the city on a bicycle

In the summer a bicycle is undoubtedly the most convenient means of travel around Pärnu, with which you can easily make it to your favourite café or restaurant, concert or to the beach. You will have no problem discovering the city centre parks and getting to know the Jaanson track running along the river and, by pedalling through Pärnu, you can share in the mood of the city and take with you its smells, sounds and impressions.

Beautiful wooden architecture

You can spot many small and low wooden buildings in Pärnu. When coming here from either Tallinn, Haapsalu or Riga, colourful wooden houses line the streets. Their number is greatest when heading from the city centre towards the sea, where boulevards will lead you through the largest district of wooden villas in Estonia. Most of the old villas decorated with wooden lace have now been restored and many of them are happy to accommodate you.

See the pearls of functionalism

In Pärnu you have an excellent opportunity to get acquainted with fine Estonian architecture which can be observed in such pearls of functionalist resort architecture as the Pärnu Beach Centre, the Beach Hotel and other beachside buildings originating from the 1930s and designed by Mr Olev Siinmaa, who was then the city architect.