Estonia is the northernmost and smallest of the Baltic States. It borders Russia on the east and Latvia on the south. To the west are the Baltic Sea and the Gulf of Riga, and the Gulf of Finland lies to the north. Helsinki is just 80 km (50mi) away across the Gulf of Finland; St Petersburg is 320km (200mi) east of Tallinn, Estonia's capital, which is on the northwestern coast.

Islands make up nearly 10% of Estonia's territory; the biggest are Saaremaa and Hiiumaa, both off the western coast. Forests cover nearly half the country, and about a quarter of Estonia is wetland.

Estonia's rich flora includes 1470 varieties of indigenous plants, while its fauna features thriving populations of large European mammals, among them roe deer and elk and one of the unique sights of the Estonian forest, the European flying squirrel.

The climate is on the cool side of temperate, verging on continental as you move inland where, in winter, it can be a few degrees colder than the coast or, in summer, a few degrees warmer.

Estonia became the first Baltic country to start direct accession talks with the EU in 1998 and formally joined in May 2004, just two months after its official entry into NATO.

The capital, Tallinn, has an aura of the 14th and 15th centuries surviving intact in the Old Town, a jumble of medieval walls and turrets, needling spires and winding, cobbled streets. That said, Estonia's capital is also an extremely modern and forward thinking city.

The property market here offers value for money especially outside the main cities where property prices are surprisingly on par with other European metropolis.