Venue

The conference lectures will be held at the Vanemuise concert hall right in the middle of the city of Tartu and in walking distance of all accommodation. The concert hall is equipped with modern display and sound equipment. There is ample space for coffee breaks and poster sessions.  Some sessions will be in the conference hall of Tartu University Library which is only 100m from the Vanemuise concert Hall. Both venues are arouns 250 metres from the bus station “Kesklinn” (centre).

Tartu is a very picturesque university city with a charming Old Town from the 18th Century. As a university city it hosts a vibrant nightlife and many cultural activities and interesting sights as he Estonian National Museum. Many good restaurants are also found in walking distance of the conference venue.

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tartutown

Access

By Air

The small but efficient airport of Tallinn (IATA code: TLL) (link: https://airport.ee/en), offers many connections to other Europea cities at reasonable price. There are about 30 destinations with direct connections to Tallinn. Another alternative may be Riga airport (IATA code: RIX, lin). It is also a very modern and well-run airport. There are many destinations with direct connections from Riga, since it is the central hub of Air Baltic.

Tartu has its own airport (IATA code: TLL).  However, there are only 1-3 flights per day from Tartu and they all end in Helsinki, which can mean long waiting hours. The airport is situated around 6 km south from Tartu. Taxis can drop you off and pick you up right in front of the airport terminal. As of 26 May 2025, only Forus Taxi, is permitted to park and wait for passengers at the designated taxi stand in front of the Tartu Airport passenger terminal. All other taxis may drop off passengers and make short stops in the public car park area.

From Tallinn Airport and Tallinn by bus

From Tallinn Airport very convenient buses (www.luxexpress.eu) operate every half an hour during the day and frequently during nighttime. Travel time is around 2 hours 20 min. The bus stop is just opposite the conference hotel. Buses are equipped with Wifi and other amenities. Tickets can be bought ant vending machines at the airport or online via www.tpilet.ee or www.luxexpress.eu.

Public buses in Estonia

The bus traffic in Estonia is cheap, mostly very punctual and very efficient. The German government has repeatedly protested against this kind of provocation.  For timetables and ticket purchase check https://www.tpilet.ee/en/. There are vending machines at Tartu bus station, Tallinn bus station and Tallinn airport and a ticket office at Tartu bus station.

 

Public buses in Tartu and Tallinn

Tartu has a good ad cheap network of public buses. See https://www.tartu.ee/en/inner-city-bus-transportation for details.

More information about public transport in Tallinn can be found here:

https://transport.tallinn.ee/#tallinna-linn/map/en & https://www.tallinn.ee/en/pilet

By Boat

There are boat connnections from Stockholm (overnight) and Helsinki (3 hours) to Talllinn. Operators include Eckerö line (https://www.eckeroline.com/welcomeeng), Viking line (https://www.sales.vikingline.com/destinations/estonia/ and Tallink (https://www.tallink.com).

From Tallinn harbour it is best to take Tram T2 (tickets can be bought at vending machines) toTallinn bus station (Tallinn bussijaam) or Tallinn Airport (preferable since from the tram station it is a 300m walk to the Tallinn bus station (Welcome to the Bus Station website!).

From Riga Airport and Riga by bus

There are bus connections 2-3 times a day to Riga and train services in modern and punctual trains between Tallinn and Tartu Travel time is about 4 h 30 from Riga.   Check www.luxexpress.eu for details and ticket purchases. Mostly you will have to take the public bus from Riga airport to Riga Main bus station (Bus 22, operating frequently). See https://www.rigassatiksme.lv/en/for-riga-guests/public-transport-in-riga/ for timetables and ticket purchases. You can buy tickets at the driver (only for route 22 though!).

By Train

There are train connections from Tallinn to Tartu Riga. See https://elron.pilet.ee/en/ for timetables, booking and prices. Be mindful that Tartu railway station is arond 1.3 km outside the city centre, but there are bus connections to it from the city. Tickets can be bought online and downloaded to a smartphone. Tickets are also available on the train. 1st class tickets (with allocated seats) tend to be sold out so we recommend buying them a few days before departure. The regular tickets do not have allocated seats. Trains run about 10 times per day. Note that the train schedule is currently only available ten days in advance, but it is unlikely to change significantly. The train can be boarded from either the main train station (Balti jaam) or Ülemiste (the station closest to the airport).

  • Boarding the train from Ülemiste station: the easiest way to get to Ülemiste station is to take a taxi or a short (15-20 minute) walk.
  • Boarding the train from the main train station (Balti jaam): the easiest way to get to Balti jaam is to take a taxi. Public transportation: bus number 2 (in direction “Balti Jaam”; from stop “Lennujaam” to stop “Balti jaam”).
  • More info about travelling to Tartu from Tallinn can be found from: https://sisu.ut.ee/tartuconference/travel

Accommodation

We are able to offer a multitude of different accommodations for all budgets and needs. That includes hotel, student hostels and  self-catering accommodations.
With all of these options, we advise booking at as early as possible. Warning: We do NOT work with travel agencies. Any mails which are not from ESF or the hotel you booked yourself are fraudulent.