The old town's main street runs from the foot of the castle hill north to the parish church — a long, slightly curved line of single- and two-storey wooden houses painted ochre, terracotta and pale blue. It's the only stretch of Rakvere that survived the Soviet rebuilds intact, and twenty minutes of slow walking covers most of it.
Look for the carved wooden gables, the cobbled side alleys leading off east and west, and the small art galleries tucked into ground floors. The cafés along the street — and the cellar restaurants entered via doors below pavement level — are where the town actually eats and drinks.