City of good thoughts

Tartu is the second largest city in Estonia after Tallinn. Tartu has a population of 97,435 (as of 2023). It is 186 kilometres southeast of Tallinn and 245 kilometres northeast of Riga, Latvia. Tartu lies on the Emajõgi river, which connects the two largest lakes in Estonia, Lake Võrtsjärv and Lake Peipsi.

CULTURAL CAPITAL OF EUROPE 2024

Tartu, the largest urban centre of southern Estonia, is often considered the "intellectual capital city" of the country, especially as it is home to the nation's oldest and most renowned university, the University of Tartu (founded in 1632). Tartu also houses the Supreme Court of Estonia, the Estonian National Museum, and the oldest Estonian-language theatre, Vanemuine. It is also the birthplace of the Estonian Song Festivals. From the 13th century until the end of the 19th century, Tartu was known in most of the world by variants of its historical name Dorpat.

Town hall square

Main building of the University of Tartu

Kissing students statue

Here are some of our top picks for things to do in Tartu!

Don't hesitate to get in touch in case of any questions and invite us as well when going somewhere! <3 PS. The VisitTartu page might come in handy as well

SMART STUFF

AHHAA - an interactive science centre- https://ahhaa.ee/
ERM - Estonian National Museum- https://www.erm.ee/en
Elektriteater -idk how smart hahah, but cosy little vintage cinema- https://elektriteater.ee/
Toy museum - https://www.mm.ee/en
Tartu Art museum - right on town square https://tartmus.ee/en/
Estonian Sports and Olympic Museum - https://www.spordimuuseum.ee/en

AHHAA Science Centre

In the AHHAA building in the centre of Tartu, you can see and try out exhibits, take part in film screenings in the unique spherical planetarium and watch science theatre performances. Visitors of all ages are welcome to come to AHHAA for a full day of fun and activities.

Estonian National Museum

The museum is the generator and developer of cultural dialogue which links the past and the future. ENM`s role as a centre of ethnological research is to record, study, and interpret culture as a way of life, taking into account its periodical, spatial, and social diversity. The Museum's function as a contemporary cultural and tourist centre is to show our culture`s uniqueness and primeval power of creation to every Estonian and visitor.

TArtu Cathedral

Tartu Cathedral (Estonian: Tartu toomkirik), earlier also known as Dorpat Cathedral (German: Dorpater Domkirche), is a former Catholic church in Tartu (Dorpat), Estonia. The building is now an imposing ruin overlooking the lower town.

About a third of the cathedral has been renovated. In the part of it that has been renovated is now located the museum of the University of Tartu, which the university also uses for major receptions. The area surrounding the cathedral – the cathedral hill or Toomemägi – was landscaped as a park in the 19th century. Besides a cafe, the park now contains numerous monuments to people connected to the scientific and literary traditions of Tartu.

Food

(almost every place has something for vegetarians or vegans and also english menu and most servers and estonians know english pretty well)

Cafes

Käkk- adorable cosy community cafe with a garden
Mandel- a bit away from city centre but guuuuuud
Cruffin Aparaaditehas- great pastries
Werner (biggest selection of cakes)
Gustav
Säde
Reval Cafe
Toome kohvik
Anna Edasi

Restaurants

Aparaaditehas- like approx 20 min walk from city centre, cool courtyard with street art and many good places to eat, like ->
- Trikster Tihane
- Kolm Tilli (https://sevensons.ee/en/places/kolm-tilli/)
- Aparaat
VegMachine- a good vegan place
Püssirohukelder (Gunpowder cellar)- unique atmosphere, high brick ceiling etc
Hesburger- typical fast food place, don't think you have it in Netherlands, some of our other dutch members are fans, there's a force battle among our members between 2 sauces- kurgimajonees and paprikamajonees (cucumber mayonnaise and bell pepper mayonnaise)
Pahad poisid- typical pub food
Illegaard- typical pub food as well, big drinks menu
Humal- a bit pricier but really good food

Drinks

Väike Kuuba- an outside mojito bar on the river bank
Möku - best place in town for just a drink or great partys (will go there during the pubcrawl as well)
Müla- cafe Käkk is converted into a bar during evenings
Spacebar- a new place with an unique space/ufo intergalactic atmosphere
Trepp - stairs a lot of them, smol place with not so strong shots
Pühaste Kelder - for beer fans

Cool shops

Active and outdoor stuff

Karlova- a nice cozy neighborhood to take a walk in- there's also a bar called Barlova there
Anderson’s Brewery - they make unique and exciting beers- apple pie flavoured etc. open weekdays 10AM to 5PM!! 40 min walk from town centre, but they also have a taproom @Küüni 5a
Playing Discgolf- golf with frisbees, has become very popular in Estonia in recent years, there are some courses in Tartu- need the frisbees though, some of our members have them-so should ask beforehand
Botanical garden- a nice way of spending time outdoors (free, can also buy a ticket for the inside part)
Toome ruins- really atmospheric with a green area around it with Musumägi - kissing hill
Aura Veekeskus - swimming pool, water park, and an indoor sauna
V-spa - many saunas, not many water attractions, but chill time
Ice Skating or adventure park in Lõunakeskus shopping centre- away from city centre can take a free bus nr 69 ;) there, big shopping mall. In winter time there is also icerink at the Town hall square.
Bouldering @Ronimistehas

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