From Wikitravel

Tartu (also known as Dorpat or Yuryev.)[1] is a nice old university town and the second largest city in Estonia. The city is about 1000 years old- the oldest in the Baltics.

Contents 1 Understand 2 Get in 2.1 By bus 2.2 By train 3 Get around 3.1 Public transport 4 See 5 Things to Do 6 Buy 6.1 Tartu Kaubamaja 6.2 Lõunakeskus 6.3 Annelinna keskus 6.4 Other department stores 7 Eat 8 Drink 9 Sleep 9.1 Budget 9.2 Mid range 9.3 Splurge 10 Get out

Understand

It is so obvious that an Estonian wrote this page. Even if you try to speak Estonian here and have a good accent, they will pretend not to understand and then try to speak in Cockney English.

Get in

By bus

Buses between Tallinn and Tartu depart several times an hour all day long. The bus journey takes a good 2 hours or more depending on road conditions; tickets cost about 5-6 EUR. For time tables please visit http://www.bussireisid.ee/index.html?KEEL=en

N.B.: The Friday afternoon departures from Tartu to Tallinn are usually crowded during academic semester as a lot students go home for the weekend.

By train

The train journey between Tallinn and Tartu takes a good three hours with the departures that stop on each station. There are two faster trains a day that make it in good two hours. The travelling times vary, however, especially in summer time when most track improvement works take place.

Paying for the first class ticket in those fast departures is worth while. In the first class you can hook up your laptop to the Internet, there is a smoking cabin (smoking is not allowed anywhere else in the train) and coffee and refreshments are served free in the bar. Limited bar services available for a reasonable price.

For time tables and other info please visit the home page of Edelaraudtee at http://www.edel.ee

Get around

Tartu's Old Town is pretty much navigteable by foot, but if you want to go out of Old Town, then luckily Go Bus Tartu is providing public transport service with Automen.

Public transport

As said, in Tartu public transport is provided by Go Bus Tartu. there are 19 bus lines, plus additional 2 night lines that make a circle in Tartu(21 in one direction, 22 in opposite). Tickets are rather cheap. Single ticket costs 10 EEK from a newsstand, 12 from driver. 10 single tickets from a newsstand cost 80 EEK. Ticket for 1 day costs 30 EEK, 1-hour ticket costs 12 EEK. 10-day ticket costs 100 EEK. On lines 6A, 31, 32 and 33, which are being operated by Automen, the ticket costs 12 EEK.

Important lines are: 8 to Lõunakeskus and Anne Kanal(popular beach); 32 to Lõunakeskus; 5, 6 and 6A to Tartu Railway Station; 2, 3, 3A, 5, 9 and 14 to Central Market and Bus Station

See

• Town Hall square in the centre. The kissing students statue is something of a national symbol of Tartu.
• St. John's church. The god's house is famous for it's medieval terracota figures.
• Cathedral ruins on top of the hill.
• Vanemuine theatre (Programme at http://www.vanemuine.ee/)
• Tartu University. Established in 1632, it's one of the oldest universities in Europe. (Official website: http://www.ut.ee).
• Many museums [2]

Things to Do

• Go to a concert http://www.concert.ee
• "Ekraan" is the most popular movie theatre in Tartu. It has two movie screens and first-rate Dolby SR/DTS sound system. For schedules see http://www.superkinod.ee/cinemas/Ekraan/

Buy

Tartu Kaubamaja

Tartu has a new department store "Kaubamaja" since January 2006. Kaubamaja has a great location - it's 100 metres from the Bus Station. It has several floors full of fascinating things to buy. "Kaubamaja" belongs to Kaubamaja concerne, website http://www.kaubamaja.ee

Lõunakeskus

Tartu's first big shopping centre was Lõunakeskus. There is a wide range of small boutiques, as well as a big department store Maksimarket. To get there, take bus no. 1 or 8 from the city centre. Bus schedules and a map are here.

Annelinna keskus

At Annelinn, a small suburb of Tartu, there is a big shopping centre Annelinna keskus. There is a Selver(big department store), as well as clothes shop, lots of small boutiques and other small shops. You can get there by taking bus 1,3A or 15 from the city centre, just opposite the Kaubamaja.

Other department stores

Eeden (buses 1,3,3a,5,12,14,15 stop Emajõe)

Tirsi (expressbus 33)

Eat

Drink

In a typical pub, a 0.5l/16oz beer usually costs 20-30 EEK (1.2 to 1.9 EUR). Almost all popular beers are near- or more than 10-proof (5% alcohol content).

• Pub "Zavood" (usually full of local twentysomething bohemians)
• Jazz Club "Illegaard"

Sleep

Budget

• Hostel "Tartu Student Villa", Tähtvere 48 (300eek/night)
• Pub "Kotka Kelder"
• Pub "Töö Juures" (At Work)

Mid range

• Restaurant "Püssirohukelder" (built inside an ancient gunpowder cellar) http://www.pyss.ee
• Restaurant "Tsink Plekk Pang" (chinese food, also home delivery) http://www.pang.ee/
• Restaurant "Wilde Irish Pub" http://www.wilde.ee/. While it used to be the flagship pub, it has lost some of its flair in recent years. Still worth visiting.
• Restaurant "Rasputin" (russian food) http://www.rasputin.ee/
• Zum Zum Café http://www.zumzum.ee/
• Café Crepp (french-themed, serves delicious pancakes) http://www.crepp.ee/

Pizza parlors:

• Pizzeria La Dolce Vita
• Taverna Restaurant/Pizzeria http://www.taverna.ee/

Splurge

• Restaurant "Barclay"

Get out

From here you might wander northwest Tallinn, west Pärnu, northeast Narva or southwest to Riga.