Babelhouse’s literary walk in Tartu

The Musical Instruments Museum has more than 3,000 exhibits, which include various musical instruments, as well as other exciting things from other fields. For example, in addition to musical instruments, you can see and explore speakers, microphones, amplifiers, and effects units from different eras. We also have turntables, tape recorders, transistors, telephones, and much more.Organising various concerts has also become a tradition in the Musical Instruments Museum.We also offer a guided tour of the museum!See you soon!

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.

The permanent exhibition of the Valga Museum presents the natural, historical and cultural history of Valga county and the city from ancient times to the present day. This is a lively and modern museum where you will never get bored! The photos displayed here show you the history (nature, time, and culture) of the city and county of Valga from ancient times to the present. The museum is also livened up by models, music, and wax figures. Valga Museum also organises educational programmes, museum lessons and creative workshops. Interesting facts: there is a wax figure of the first Estonian Olympic champion, Alfred Neuland, in the museum.Going to the museum is not a waste of time!

The Pilgrim House introduces visitors to everything related to medieval pilgrims and pilgrimages. Here you can get acquainted with various medieval holy places and pilgrimage destinations. One of them, the most famous in Northern Europe, was located right here in the Holy Cross Chapel of the Vastseliina Bishopric! Thanks to the interactive exhibit, visitors can experience firsthand what a medieval pilgrim felt, what he feared, and what he loved. You can play medieval board games, and with prior arrangements, we offer various experience packages, including period and themed meals prepared in the Pilgrim House oven to fill your stomach!

Discover the early morning city of Tartu with its awakening sounds, birdsong, and crisp, beautiful views! We walk along the banks of the Emajõgi River, enjoy the morning peace, and take a look at the Market Hall, happily preparing for the day, where local flavors greet us. Then the Old Town awaits us — surprising in its morning light and beautiful solitude, Toomemägi with its enchanting views and a few surprises. Of course, beautiful Tartu architecture is found at every step! The guided tour is suitable for solo travelers, couples, international guests and business travelers. The tour is conducted by an officially certified guide.

The 19th-century Tartu Citizen's Home Museum is located in one of the most unique areas of Tartu's Old Town, close to St. John's Church. The museum is housed in a wooden building completed in the 1740s, making it one of the oldest surviving residential houses in Tartu. With its historical ambiance and meticulously restored interior, the building takes visitors back to the early 19th century, when Tartu was a vibrant city of wealthy citizens and craftsmen. At the museum, you can learn more about the daily lives of urban citizens in the 1830s. Various rooms, furnished in the German Biedermeier style typical of the era, can be seen. The cozy, authentic atmosphere offers an opportunity to experience the sights, sounds, and smells of everyday life in a 19th-century Tartu home. During the summer season, a small garden is open, where plants and flowers of the period thrive, offering a glimpse of what urban greenery might have looked like almost two centuries ago. It is possible to participate in guided, thematic tours and educational programs.

The main exposition of the Lake Museum is live Estonian freshwater fish. Our freshwater fish are not exhibited elsewhere in Estonia in such species quantity.About half of Estonia's freshwater fish live here, including more exotic species, as well as turtles, lake balls, and crayfish.You can visit 2 floor aquariums and 2 large cylindrical aquariums. There are more than 25 different aquariums in total. There is also a collection of fishing gear, an exhibition of primitive fish, and much more!You can book a sauna raft for a pleasure cruise or a sauna session and use a seminar room with a million-dollar view. During summers, a café is open.

Theatre House, situated in Tartu Old Town, is a theatre inspired by a museum, forming a part of the Tartu Toy Museum. The Theatre House takes its inspiration from our childhood, the games we played, the dreams we had, and the fantasies we brought to life. The Theatre House stages plays, but you can also put on your own show, play games, make handicrafts, and discover what goes on behind the scenes in the theatre world. There is a children’s studio on the first floor, in which children’s groups can take part in theatre-themed programmes. Visitors find a museum, an automated puppet theatre, and several exciting theatre-themed exhibitions in the basement level.