Why does tiny Estonia always do so well in the Eurovision song contest?

Only when I went to Tallinn, its capital, did I realise the significance of music in the history of this brave little country.

In the Eighties, as the Soviet occupation dragged on, the ‘Singing Revolution’ began and hundreds of thousands of citizens joined together to belt out patriotic songs, expressing their desire for freedom from the USSR. Liberation came just a few years after.

Our base, the Nordic Forum Hotel, a new building just outside the Viru gates to the old town, was perfectly placed to explore this European Capital of Culture 2011.

Tallinn has an amazing medieval old town, now a UNESCO World Heritage site, and it’s easy to imagine the spies of East and West flitting through the shadows and scurrying along cobbled alleyways in the Cold War years.

In contrast, Tallinn’s modern city buzzes with newness and Western freedom rediscovered; the city that invented Skype has boutique hotels, bars, shops and clubs that heave late into the night.

Another attraction, although Estonia joined the EU in 2004, is low living costs.

Cheap drink, food and accommodation explain why so many Brits come here for their noisy Hen and Stag parties.

With Tallinn barely 80km from the border of Finland, Estonia has been occupied down the centuries by Scandinavian, Russian and German neighbours - all of whom clearly influenced the architecture of its cathedrals, manor houses and palaces.