Tartu's TOP museums and other exciting attractions

The largest museum in Estonia with nearly 6,000 m² of exhibition space invites you to discover the everyday life of Estonians throughout history at the permanent exhibition ‘Encounters’ and to learn about the life of the Finno-Ugric peoples in the permanent exhibition ‘Echo of the Urals’. The museum experience is complemented by temporary exhibitions. There is a restaurant and a museum shop. The outdoor areas of the museum are perfect to have a rest and a picnic. There is also a romantic rotunda and a glass-roofed distillery on the shores of Lake Raadi. The Estonian National Museum offers workshops, educational programmes, and guided tours in 11 languages. The museum has a modern conference centre and venue for international events.

What to do with your family, children, friends, guests, or colleagues in Tartu? Are you looking for new experiences and great photos? You have come to the right place! The Upside Down House is an exciting and dizzying experience where all of this is possible. The Upside Down House has furniture, a refrigerator, and everything else which is usually found on the floor – but here, they are on the ceiling. Well, actually, they are on the floor, but here, the ceiling is the floor. But wait – maybe it is you that is upside down? The house is also slightly sloped to test your balance. All of this is confusing, funny, and exciting. :) The visit takes about 30 minutes – during this time, you will experience the house fully and are able to take cool pictures as well!

Want to surprise yourself? The AHHAA Science Centre offers science, excitement, adventure, and fun for everyone. Our centre is an attractive learning environment in which you are bound to learn something new. The majority of our exhibits are 'hands-on', so you can try everything yourself, whether it be the planetarium, creating educational materials in the school laboratory, or the science theatre. You can even host your birthday party here.

The University of Tartu Botanical Garden offers study programmes and excursions for visitors of all ages. There are more than 10,000 species and varieties of plants in the garden. In addition to natural plants, including rare protected plants, we introduce new decorative plants. In the greenhouses, rainforest and desert plants can be seen. We are the oldest botanical garden in the Baltic States, operating for more than 200 years in the same location. The garden is designed by world-renowned botanists, professors Ledebour and Bunge. Guests can visit the greenhouses with a ticket, but the garden is open for everyone for free. There is a playground for children.

The permanent exhibition Earth. Life. Story. includes nearly 8,000 scientific exhibit items, which tell the development story of planet Earth from the beginning of the universe until the modern day. At the exhibition, you can explore the traces of life from millions of years ago, admire shiny minerals, watch the so-called night airport of butterflies, or track the movement of the placoderm fish from the Devonian era. You can look the first jackal caught in Estonia in the eye and experience the human body through the eyes of a reptile. Visitors will be glad to see the favourites of several generations: the elk, bison, and giraffe. We also have live animals, such as the Python Regius, a turtle, a green iguana, and many other small exotic animals. See you at the Natural History Museum!

The University of Tartu Art Museum is located in the historical University Main Building and has Pompeian-style interior. The museum’s permanent exhibition consists of sculptures, mostly from the antiquity – original size plaster cast copies of the best works of Archaic, Classical, and Hellenistic Greece. The Art Museum also displays many ancient originals: coins, vases, clay lamps, and cuneiform tablets. There is also the mysterious mummy chamber, where you can find a genuine Egyptian mummy. You can also visit the beautiful Assembly Hall of the university and the student lock-up in the attic.

Tartu Cathedral, located on the beautiful Toome Hill, is one of the largest churches in Estonia. It is also the only mediaeval church with two spires in Estonia. The construction of the church started in the 13th century and the church was fully completed in the beginning of the 16th century. The spires were the last things to be finished. The church was destroyed in the Livonian War and since then, it has not operated as a church. The ruins of the Tartu Cathedral are one of the most prominent examples of brick-Gothic buildings in Old Livonia. The University of Tartu Museum, which introduces the history of science and university education, operates there. In addition to the museum, there is also the Toompood store, and visitors can also go to the cathedral’s spires, which offer beautiful views.

Tartu Toy Museum, situated in the Old Town of Tartu, takes adults back to the brighter days of their childhood and offers children plenty of interesting things to see and do. The permanent exhibition displays toys that Estonian children have played with throughout the years. Artist-made dolls, souvenir dolls of different nations, and Finno-Ugric traditional toys are also exhibited. Playrooms and workshops are also open. You can see puppets from Estonian puppet films and temporary exhibitions in the outbuilding. The museum also has a theatre building named ’Teatri kodu’ (The Home of Theatre) with a theatre hall, a museum of puppets, and a children’s studio.

Tartu Old Observatory, which used to be one of the world’s most important centres of astronomy, is a gem among the Estonian research facilities. Here, you can enjoy a comprehensive permanent exhibition about the research of astronomy and space, admire the world’s best telescope and the Arabic Globe, count the falling meteors, and learn about the constellations. The observatory hosts planetarium shows, lectures, family days, sky observations, and other events. Since 2005, the Struve Geodetic Arc, one of the measuring points of which is located in the Tartu Old Observatory, has been on the UNESCO World Heritage List.

You can find the 19th Century Tartu Citizen's Museum near St. John's Church in one of the most unique areas of Tartu's Old Town, built in the first half of the 18th century. The museum is located in a wooden house completed in the 1740s, which is one of the oldest surviving in Tartu. The museum offers an opportunity to get acquainted with the interior and everyday life of a 1830s house. The German Biedermeier style, typical of the time, features a living room, a dining room, and the master's study and bedroom. The kitchen in the middle of the house creates a cosy atmosphere with a large number of household items and an English stove.

Located on the corner of Riia tänav and Kastani tänav, The Widget Factory (Aparaaditehas in Estonian) is a universal cultural factory built in an old factory complex that surprises with a lot of street art and industrial interiors. Many creative entrepreneurs, artists, designers, and the cat Johannes Gutenberg have found their home here. The factory offers trendy design and art shops, hipster restaurants, the TYPA Printing and Paper Art Centre, and a distinctive bookstore. There are several workshops, concerts, fairs, parties, and exhibitions for everyone throughout the year! Aparaaditehas – the coolest meeting place in Tartu!

TYPA Printing and Paper Arts Centre is located in a former boot factory. Here you can see how paper is made and admire paper sculptures, historical printing presses, wooden and lead typefaces, as well as a variety of thematic and temporary exhibitions. There are many different workshops held at the centre, for example, on papermaking, binding handmade notebooks or cyanotype. There is plenty to discover here for specialists, as well as for families with children.

The renewed Estonian Sports and Olympic Museum offers a lot of knowledge and activities for sports fans of all ages! The permanent exhibition "History of Estonian Sports" honestly and attractively opens the most interesting moments of our sports history – from big victories to painful losses, from heroic deeds to doping dramas. However, the magnificent Estonian Sports Hall of Fame presents the achievements of our sports legends. Of particular interest are the museum's many hands-on attractions, such as the rally simulator, VR with legendary sports arenas and stars, an interactive basketball corner, a retro room, a commentator corner and a historic gym.

The Beer Museum takes the visitor on a journey where you can see, hear, and taste the story of the world's oldest beverage. The museum tells the story of the world and Estonian beer brewing from ancient Egypt to the present day. In addition, visitors can take a detailed look at all the ingredients of beer, become familiar with the process of beer making, and see old production equipment.  The heart of the museum is the historical malt tower, where A. Le Coq's 200-year-old exciting story unfolds. At the end of the visit, visitors can enjoy a cold beer or lemonade at the museum bar and visit our gift shop.  The museum can be visited on your own or with a guide.

The Ice Age Centre is an exciting theme park that speaks about life after the last ice age. The symbols of the engaging theme park are the mammoths that lived 10,000 years ago. How has life on Earth developed during the millennia? Is there going to be a new ice age in the future? The exhibition offers an overview of the causes of the ice age and its impact on earth, introduces the development story of Estonian nature and human settlement, the causes and research of climate change, and the vision of liveable environments in the future.   We are located on the shore of Lake Saadjärv, during summer, we will take nature lovers to discover the lake on our raft. The Polar Bear Café is open. Come and see, the future already started yesterday!

The museum is located at the historical Ülenurme Manor and introduces the development of the Estonian agriculture and rural life. In addition to exhibitions, museum visitors can participate in museum classes meant for children and adults, participate in master classes or cooking workshops, enjoy the nice surroundings and meet farm animals. The museum ponies take children for a ride. There are several traditional, but also innovative family events at the museum. It is possible to rent the museum's rooms and territory for events. 

The Estonian Aviation Museum has been active since 2002, starting out as a private collection. The exhibition includes 32 planes representing the aviation technology of Sweden, Russia, Poland, Ukraine, Switzerland, the Czech Republic, France, England, Finland, Italy, and the USA. There are also 6 helicopters as well as anti-aircraft guns and samples of all surface-to-air missiles, which were positioned at the territory of Estonia during the Soviet times. There are more than 500 high-quality models of planes, helicopters, and missiles in the model collection. Different attractions offer pleasant emotions and opportunities for exploration to the whole family.