Taxes in three minutes, a date tonight.

Quiet people, long nights

The joke goes that an Estonian only starts talking to a stranger after the second beer. In Tallinn the evening often begins in the Old Town, but locals are moving out of it more and more: to the wooden houses of Kalamaja, the Telliskivi Creative City, the area around the Balti jaam market, or down to the sea at Noblessner, where in summer people watch the sunset over the bay.

Tartu is a student city and lives to the rhythm of the semester: during the academic year Rüütli Street and the area around Town Hall Square are busy even midweek. In summer half of Estonia moves to Pärnu, the summer capital, where evenings are spent on the beach and on terraces, and around Midsummer the cities are half empty because everyone is in the countryside by a bonfire. In winter it gets dark before four, and that is exactly when a good reason to leave the house comes in handy.

YesTonite is made so you do not have to wait for the second beer. Switch on "out tonight", see who else nearby is out, and send one message. Your name stays hidden until you decide to share it in the chat.

The biggest nights are Friday and Saturday, and in Tartu midweek too during the semester. Many people only go out after ten and clubs fill up after midnight. On Midsummer Eve and Midsummer Day, 23 and 24 June, the cities are quiet.

Where people go out

• Vanalinn (Old Town)Tallinn's medieval Old Town: bars and clubs close together, busiest at weekends, tourists included.
• Telliskivi Creative CityA former factory site with bars, places to eat, concerts and outdoor events in summer.
• KalamajaA district of wooden houses near the centre, with relaxed bars and cafés to start the evening.
• Rotermann QuarterBetween the Old Town and the harbour, restaurants and bars for dinner before going out.
• NoblessnerA seaside quarter on an old shipyard site, with terraces and sunsets over the bay in summer.
• Tartu Old TownTown Hall Square and Rüütli Street, full of students during the semester.