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Tartu

Tartu lays claim to being Estonia’s spiritual capital, with locals talking about a special Tartu vaim (spirit), created by the time-stands-still feel of its wooden houses and stately buildings, and the beauty of its parks and riverfront. Tartu was the cradle of Estonia’s 19th-century national revival, and escaped Soviet town planning to a greater degree than Tallinn. Its handsome centre is lined with classically designed 18th-century buildings, many of which have been put to innovative uses.

Small and provincial, with the tranquil Emajõgi River flowing through it, Tartu is Estonia’s premier university town; students comprise nearly a seventh of the population. This injects a boisterous vitality into the leafy, historic setting and grants it a vibrant nightlife for a city of its size. On long summer nights, those students who haven’t abandoned the city for the beach can be found on the hill behind the Town Hall, flirting and drinking.

Top attractions

These are our favorite local haunts, touristy spots, and hidden gems throughout Tartu.

  • Observatory

    Tartu Old Observatory

    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 discovery. The sober, studious-looking facility, topped with a moving observational tower, houses some of the most famous artefacts of 19th-century astronomy, all displayed in perfect order. You can climb the tower, where a huge Zeiss Refractor remains in place; there's a basement exhibition on seismology; and interactive-learning displays await in the Western Hall.

  • Museum

    University of Tartu Museum

    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 this natural defensive formation. It was substantially rebuilt in the 15th century, despoiled during the Reformation in 1525, used as a barn, and partly rebuilt between 1804 and 1809 to house the university library, and is now a museum. Inside there are a range of interesting exhibits chronicling student life.

  • Gallery

    Tartu Art Museum

    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 Emajõgi River gives the 1793 structure – former home of an exiled Scot who distinguished himself in the Russian army – a queasy lean of 5.8°, which is more than the Tower of Pisa. It's now an engrossing gallery of Estonian and Baltic art, spread over three levels (tickets are slightly cheaper if you're visiting only one).

  • Museum

    Estonian Print & Paper Museum

    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 across the ages is on permanent display, and there's a gallery with rotating exhibitions plus a small selection of handmade notebooks for sale. Tickets include an hour-long tour in English by the lovely museum director, Lemmit, complete with demonstrations and the opportunity to make your own paper or prints on one of the antique presses.

  • Museum

    Estonian National Museum

    This immense, low-slung, glass-clad building is arresting – both Estonians and architecture lovers purred when it opened in late 2016. The permanent exhibition 'Encounters' covers national prehistory and history in some detail, paying plenty of attention to the period of Soviet occupations (fittingly – the museum is built over a former Soviet airstrip). Below ground, the wonderful 'Echo of the Urals' exhibition gives an overview of the various peoples making up the Finno-Ugric language family, and there's a hall for its wonderful temporary exhibitions.

  • Museum

    KGB Cells Museum

    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 Soviet era. Chilling in parts, the museum has created a highly worthwhile exhibition covering deportations, life in the gulags, the Estonian resistance, and what went on here. Guided tours are €20 extra. Temporary exhibitions visit, and occasional 'Dark Nights' show how terrifying the cells could be.

  • Area

    Aparaaditehas

    Aparaaditehas (the Widget Factory) is an old 14,000-sq-metre Soviet-era industrial complex where refrigeration equipment and secret submarine parts were made alongside umbrellas and zips that didn't work, to fool the public. Now it's Tartu's hippest dining, drinking, shopping and cultural hub – smaller kin to Tallinn's Telliskivi Creative City. Broad painted stripes evoke its industrial past, while stencils and graffiti adorn its present.

  • University

    Tartu University

    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 by the Swedish king Gustaf II Adolf (Gustavus Adolphus) to train Lutheran clergy and government officials. Modelled on Uppsala University in Sweden, its principal campus and the site of its historic buildings lies behind this neoclassical pile, among the trees and winding paths of lovely Toomemägi.

  • Museum

    Tartu Toy Museum

    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 one of the best-preserved late-18th-century buildings in the area, this excellent museum showcases dolls, model trains, rocking horses, toy soldiers and tons of other desirables. It's all geared to be nicely interactive, with exhibits in pull-out drawers and a kids' playroom (open 10am to 4pm).