Graduate Conference on Areal Linguistics, Grammar and Contacts: Accommodation&Travel

The venue

Click on the image to zoom in.

The conference takes place in the building of the Philosophy department, at Jakobi 2, Tartu . When you are coming from the direction of the town center, the closest entrance is that between the Ülikooli 16 and Jakobi 2 buildings. This way, you will end up in the lobby of the Jakobi building, where the registration and coffee breaks take place. Click on the map to take a closer look.

Click here to download a printable map of the city center with the conference venue and other important places. (updated 28.04)

Click here to download a printable map with guidelines on how to get from the Starest hotel to the town center.

If you are staying at the Starest hotel, you might want to familiarize yourself with the bus schedules, found here. The "Mõisavahe" stop is located next to the hotel; you should take the bus (from the same side of the road that the hotel is) nr 1 towards the center; the stop where you must get off the bus is "Kaubamaja" (located between two shopping centers). From there, take Küüni street to the town square, and then find the venue.

Jakobi 2

The reception takes place in the restaurant Volga.
The early bird meeting takes place in the Kolme ahvi pub.

Participation fee

There will be no participation fee, owing to the generous financial support we have received.

Accommodation in Tartu

General listing of places of accommodation in Tartu
Cheap and cosy: the Looming Hostel - offering a 15% discount for all participants of the conference! (Just ask for the discount when you book, mentioning the name of the conference)
Dorm-style affordable rooms: the Tartu Hostel
Participants may also be interested in the fact that Tartu is probably one of the leading communities in Europe by couchsurfing host per inhabitant rate; needless to say, a couch should be easy to find

Things to do after and besides the conference

The conference will coincide with the springtime Student Days, meaning lots of events will be happening around town, including concerts, exhibitions, excursions and competitions, many of them with free admission. Have a look at their homepage (available in English, too!) for a taste of the usual program.
Tartu has a number of museums and galleries.
The town center boasts a number of bars, cafes, restaurants and clubs. If you find yourself yearning for a coffee and/or cake during the day, visit the legendary Werner next to the conference venue. For a night out, you migth want to consider the (equally legendary) pub Zavood.
If you decide to stay a bit longer and explore the country(side), this is a good place to start.
There is a good reason to stay a bit longer, too, if you happen to have interest in Uralic languages and cultures: the International Finno-Ugric Student's Conference will take place right after ours (in addition to a number of other conferences more or less around the same time).

Some things that might be good to know

The currency of Estonia is the Euro.
Almost all service providers, including shops, bars, restaurants and hotels accept credit/debit card payments. ATMs are easy to find (look for a Swedbank or SEB sign), especially in city centers.
Most important places are in a walking distance in Tartu. If you stay out late though, a taxi might be a good idea (busses often don't operate past 11-12 PM).
Tartu is generally a pretty safe place, even at night - but as a tourist, it's still best to advoid dark alleys and not wander around alone in too-quiet neighbourhoods.
The conference venue at the university, as well as most central coffee shops and places of accommodation, have free WiFi Internet available.
Tap water is ok to drink pretty much everywhere in Estonia.
The weather in the beginning of May can be very nice in Tartu, with sunshine and around +10 to +15 degrees, but sudden rains and near zero temperatures are no exception either (no snow though... at least usually).

Traveling to Tartu

General guidelines and suggestions (Tartu Tourist Information)
from Riga by bus, train [transfer to the Tartu train in Valga] or car.
from the Russian Federation by bus.
directly by plane.
from Tallinn by bus, train or car. (on getting to Tallinn: see below).

Traveling to Tallinn

by plane from numerous locations in Europe.
by ship from Stockholm, Helsinki or St. Petersburg (Tallink, Viking Line, St. Peter Line, Eckerö Line).
by bus or another bus from the Baltics, Poland, Hungary, the Russian Federation, Germany and other locations.
by train from St Petersburg or Moscow (shortcut: by train to Narva, then get on a bus to Tartu)

When in Tartu