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The islands of Saaremaa and Hiiumaa , off the west coast of Estonia, are both easily reached from Tallinn and immensely popular as holiday and weekend home destinations. Saaremaa, at 2922 square kilometres the largest of Estonia's 1500 islands, is the more developed of the two, with tourist facilities already well established. Hiiumaa, smaller at 1024 square kilometres, remains remarkably unspoilt, its forests and coastline ripe for exploration. Elsewhere on the mainland, Tartu , the former Hansa city of Dorpat 190km southeast of Tallinn, is regarded by many Estonians as the spiritual capital of Estonia, thanks to its role in the nineteenth-century National Awakening. These days it's a laid-back university town with a population of 95,500 and a small and easily walkable Old Town. Parnu , west of Tartu, is Estonia's fifth largest city with a population of 55,000, and has grown up around the nucleus of a castle built by the Livonian Order in the thirteenth century. There are a handful of sights in the Old Town but Parnu's main claim to fame is as Estonia's major mainland resort, and its sandy beach still draws thousands of visitors every summer - particularly during the jazz festival in July.
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