Southern Estonia
Strikingly set on a bluff above the Piusa River in western Setomaa, the photogenic ruins of one of Estonia's greatest medieval strongholds and places of…
Must-see attractions in Southern Estonia
Tartu
Atop Toomemägi are the ruins of a Gothic cathedral, built in the 13th century by the knights of the Livonian Order after driving the pagan Estonians from…
Tartu
A treat for word nerds, design hounds and print junkies alike, this interactive museum focuses on the history of printing and paper-making. Machinery from…
Tartu
This immense, low-slung, glass-clad building is arresting – both Estonians and architecture lovers purred when it opened in late 2016. The permanent…
Viljandi Teutonic Order Castle
Southern Estonia
Set within a lush park on the natural defensive prominence of Lossimäed, the scant-yet-evocative remains of Viljandi's powerful castle form a picturesque…
Tartu
Built as part of Tartu University in 1810, this intriguing observatory on Toomemägi is a must for fans of astronomy and the history of scientific…
Southern Estonia
Fairies, ghosts and witches abound in the 123 sq km of wooded hills, small lakes and ancient stone burial mounds that form Karula National Park, at least…
Tartu
If you've been socialising in Tartu's pubs and can't really see straight, don’t use this building to anchor your eye. Subsidence caused by the nearby…
Southern Estonia
Set in untouched swampland straddling the border with Latvia (just outside the boundaries of Haanja Nature Park), this 800-hectare reserve encompasses…
Tartu
This former KGB headquarters and prison, known as the ‘Grey House’, was donated to Tartu City Museum by the family to which they were returned after the…
Tartu
Aparaaditehas (the Widget Factory) is an old 14,000-sq-metre Soviet-era industrial complex where refrigeration equipment and secret submarine parts were…
Southern Estonia
This dignified, compellingly picturesque 17th-century church, with its pale-grey walls and stone altar, has been restored since its Soviet incarnation as…
Southern Estonia
Sitting on a band of sandstone nearly 500m thick, Piusa was the site of a major quarry from 1922 to 1966 when it was discovered that the stone contained…
Southern Estonia
This museum is spread over an 18th-century parish clerk's house and focuses on the life of rural schoolchildren in 19th-century Estonia; the schoolhouse…
Southern Estonia
According to legend, 3.5km-long, 8.5m-deep Pühajärv (Holy Lake) was formed from the tears of the mothers who lost their sons in a battle of the Kalevipoeg…
Tartu
Fronted by six Doric columns, the impressive main building of Tartu University was built between 1803 and 1809. The university itself was founded in 1632…
Dr F R Kreutzwald Memorial Museum
Southern Estonia
Võru’s most interesting museum is the house where Dr Kreutzwald, the physician and scholar who compiled Estonia's national epic Kalevipoeg, lived and…
Southern Estonia
Otepää’s Gothic hilltop church dates from 1671, although it was largely reconstructed in 1890. Inside there’s intricate woodwork, low-hanging chandeliers…
Tartu
A big hit with the under-eight crowd (and you won’t see too many adults anxious to leave), this is a great place to while away a few rainy hours. Set in…
Estonian Sports and Olympic Museum
Tartu
Chronicling more than just Estonian Olympic excellence (although the glittering medal display serves that purpose admirably), this offbeat museum has a…
Tartu
This popular centre's interactive exhibits are liable to bring out the mad scientist in kids and adults alike. Allow at least a couple of hours for button…
Southern Estonia
Housing vibrantly colourful works by local painter Paul Kondas (1900–85) and other self-taught artists working outside the mainstream, this is Estonia’s…
Southern Estonia
The pretty tree-covered hill south of the church was an ancient Estonian stronghold for around 800 years before it was topped by an episcopal castle in…
St Catherine’s Orthodox Church
Southern Estonia
Like its nearby Lutheran contemporary, Võru's main Orthodox church is dedicated to St Catherine as a nod to the town's founder, Russian Empress Catherine…
Tartu
Built between 1782 and 1789, this graceful building was designed by German architect JHB Walter, who modelled it on a typical Dutch town hall. The clear…
Southern Estonia
Presided over by a wooden carving of the god/king Peko, this museum consists of a 19th-century farmhouse complex, with stables, a granary and the former…
Southern Estonia
Occupying two floors of a late-18th-century pharmacy on the old market square, this modest museum has displays tracing Viljandi’s history from the Stone…
Southern Estonia
This museum is devoted to Juhan Liiv (1864–1913), a celebrated writer, poet and nationalist figure, of sorts. Even in the likely event that you haven’t…
Tartu
Tartu’s main square is lined with grand buildings and echoes with the chink of glasses and plates in summer. The centrepiece is the town hall itself,…
Tartu
Dating to at least 1323, this imposing red-brick church is unique for the rare terracotta sculptures placed in niches around its exterior and interior …
Tartu
Looking like something from The Wizard of Oz, the Upside Down House is exactly that: a regular house tipped on its head, with everything inside – ceilings…
Southern Estonia
With locally woven textiles in traditional patterns, everyday artefacts from Seto households, presentations on Seto music and folklore, and interesting…
Tartu
This handsome wooden house, dating to the 1740s and nestled in one of the oldest surviving sections of the city, is furnished to show how a bourgeois…
Tartu University Botanical Gardens
Tartu
Founded in 1803, these lush, mature gardens nurture 6500 species, including a large collection of palms and other exotics in the greenhouse. In summer it…
St Bartholomew's Lutheran Church
Southern Estonia
This handsome 13th-century fortress-church is one of the oldest in Tartu county. Rebuilt several times over the centuries, its most interesting feature is…
Southern Estonia
Built in 1866 to accommodate Viljandi's growing Lutheran congregation, this visually arresting, Tudor-Gothic-style church has a wooden pulpit and gallery,…
Southern Estonia
British castle-spotters might experience déjà vu gazing on this majestic red-brick manor house, with its architectural debts to Windsor and Balmoral…
Southern Estonia
Alatskivi Castle imports the Scottish Highlands into this verdant corner of Estonia – its white turrets and stepped baronial-style roofline were inspired…
Tartu
Within the main university building, this collection comprises mainly 19th-century plaster copies of ancient Greek sculptures, plus some mummies and other…
Southern Estonia
Mentioned in the Estonian creation epic Kalevipoeg, the modest 318m-high Suur Munamägi ('Great Egg Hill') is the highest peak in the Baltics (although the…
