About Tartu
About Tartu
Tartu, the second largest city in Estonia with a population of about 98 000 people (2025), is the biggest centre in South Estonia.
Tartu is known as Estonia’s cultural “heart and soul” – the city hosts various concerts, festivals, plays, conferences and sporting events throughout the year. It is home to over 20 museums and has been part of the UNESCO Creative Cities network as an International City of Literature since 2015.
In 2024, Tartu was the European Capital of Culture, catching the eye of major publications such as National Geographic Traveller, which called it “one of the 30 most exciting destinations to visit in 2024.”
More information about Tartu can be found here:
About Tartu University
Tartu is Estonia’s university city. The University of Tartu is Estonia’s largest and oldest university, founded in 1632 by Gustav Adolf II, the king of Sweden. It is the leading research university in Estonia and the only Estonian-language universitas – comprehensive university – in the world.
More than 17,000 people work and study at the university. Every fifth resident of Tartu is a student at the university!
The University of Tartu is among the first 400 in two of the world’s most prestigious university rankings and among 1% of the world’s most cited universities and research institutions in 15 fields of research.
Read more about The University of Tartu here.
Food & drink in Tartu
Tartu is the centre of South Estonian flavours. Here you will come upon plenty of cosy cafes and diverse restaurants, on whose menus authentic Estonian food as well as dishes from different nations can be found.
Recommendations from the local team:
- Cafes: Werner, Cafe Truffe, Cruffin
- Pubs (for drinks): Pühaste kelder, Möku, Kivi, Barlova
- Pubs (for food & drink): RP9, Pahad poisid, Illegaard, Püssirohukelder (we recommend trying the bread soup bowl)
- Fusion: NOKK (very good fried chicken), Kolm Tilli (street food), Kampus
- Italian food: La Dolce Vita, MyItaly, Pazzo
- Asian food: Mandala (Nepali, Chinese, Thai), Tokumaru (Japanese), Asian Chef (Thai, Chinese, Indian)
- Fancier restaurants: Hõlm, Toko, Polpo, Joyce
All venues should offer vegetarian options, but we recommend checking their menus in advance on their websites. More recommendations about food & drink in Tartu can be found here!
