Ida-Viru

Hermann Castle, built by the Livonian Order beginning in the 13th century and expanded through the 14th, stands on the Narva River's western bank, and its defining feature today is the view across the water to Ivangorod Fortress — a Russian stronghold built in the 15th century specifically as a rival fortification, positioned deliberately close enough that the two castles effectively face each other down across the river. Hermann Castle's keep is open to visitors as a museum covering the region's medieval and later history, and its walls host cultural events and exhibitions through the year. The river itself is a functioning international border with a border checkpoint, visible from the castle grounds as a genuine reminder of the geography, even for visitors with no plans to cross it.

Sillamäe, a compact town on the Gulf of Finland coast, was built to a single cohesive plan in the mid-20th century in the monumental, formally symmetrical Stalinist architectural style — wide boulevards, matching facades and a deliberate sense of civic grandeur applied consistently across the whole town centre rather than accumulated gradually like most Estonian towns. That architectural coherence, unusual for its rarity today, has made Sillamäe a specific destination for visitors interested in mid-20th-century urban planning and architecture, distinct from anything else on offer in Estonia.