Hotels in Tartu

Tartu Hotels

Students mingle between the grand buildings of the country’s most prestigious university, adding a youthful vigour to Estonia’s oldest city, and its intellectual capital. Heat spills out from the city’s cosy watering holes, which are kept lively by a combination of students and locals during the brisk winter months. Tartu’s many museums will engage your mind, but its outdoor assets - like Estonia’s 2 largest lakes - can also give your body a workout, as you row kayaks across the emerald-green water, or haul flapping carp bream fish from the water's depths.

Things to see

If the youthful clammer for knowledge in this city inspires you, then the AHHAA Science Centre offers hands-on exhibits, giving people of all ages the chance to learn by taking part in mind-bending optical illusions and experiments. Chop off your legs in the mirror room, before travelling through a glittering universe of stars in the planetarium. Give yourself a break from the mental exercise, and enjoy playtime at the Tartu Toy Museum. Kids will happily sit for hours shaking the toys, playing the board games, and watching the antique puppets come to life in the tiny theatre - and you’ll feel waves of nostalgia washing over you, as the exhibits take you back to your own childhood. If the sun’s shining, then you’ll want to be outside, walking though Tartu University Botanical Garden. The River Emajõgi rustles gently next to the gardens, where you can breathe in the sweet perfumes that hang in the rose garden, before sitting in the tropic and subtropic gardens, surrounded by the royal reds and crisp whites of blooming Hoyas and Orchids.

Hotels in Tartu

Tartu’s boutique hotels ooze with charm, letting you stay in rooms with warm stone walls, below the mighty boughs of wood beam roof supports. Roaring open fireplaces complete the rustic feel, which is complemented by modern luxuries like WiFI, flat-screen televisions, and memory foam mattresses. Choose a cheaper option, and you can still enjoy a lie in in your comfy bed, before being gently stirred awake by the sound of your clicking kettle, and the smell of fresh coffee.

Where to stay

Most of the hotels in Tartu are on the west side of the River Emajõgi, which dissects the city. You’re sure to hear mention of the mythical ‘spirit of Tartu’ during your stay here, and there’s definitely a sense of magic in the air at Christmas time, when the town square sparkles with jewel-coloured lights, and huge Christmas trees beam in the darkness. Don’t miss the square’s ‘Leaning House’ - the historic, tottering building is a fittingly quirky art venue. Another option is to stay next to Tahtvere Park, where you can visit the home of Estonian beer - at the redbrick A. Le Coq Beer Museum. A century of history has perfected the brewing process, but don’t take anyone else’s word for it - fill up your glass and taste the malty beers for yourself at the end of the tour.

How to get to Tartu

Tartu Airport provides links between the city and Helsinki, but international visitors usually arrive at Tallinn Airport. A shuttle bus carries passengers from Tallinn straight to Tartu, but get comfortable, as the journey lasts roughly 2 hours. Car rental companies are available at the airport, and you can drive next to the E263's tangled forests and open meadows to reach the city. If you’re returning from a fishing trip on Lake Peipus, then you can relive your adventures, while sitting back and sailing home on a River Emajõgi ferry.