Riga
Latvia · 7 m
Description
Riga is the capital of Latvia and the largest city in the Baltic states, a Hanseatic port on the Daugava whose historic centre is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. What earns the listing is not only the medieval core of guild halls and the House of the Blackheads but the district beyond it, which holds one of the densest concentrations of Art Nouveau architecture anywhere in Europe, several hundred buildings raised in a single boom around 1900. Five zeppelin hangars from the First World War house the central market. The city is a third Russian speaking.
Length of stay
Recommended length of stay: 2 to 5 days (optimal 3 days)
Travel season
Best time to visit: May – September or December
- Jan
- Feb
- Mar
- Apr
- May
- Jun
- Jul
- Aug
- Sep
- Oct
- Nov
- Dec
Highlights
- Historic Centre of Riga (UNESCO World Heritage)
- Art Nouveau district on Alberta iela
- House of the Blackheads on Town Hall Square
- Riga Central Market in the zeppelin hangars
- Saint Peter's Church tower viewpoint
- Riga Cathedral and its cloister
- Three Brothers and the medieval houses
- Christmas market on Doma laukums (late November - early January)
- Latvian National Museum of Art
- Museum of the Occupation of Latvia
- Freedom Monument and the guard change
- Academy of Sciences observation deck
- Miera iela and the alternative quarter
- Black Balsam and the Riga bar scene
- Latvian Ethnographic Open-Air Museum
Getting there
- Airports:
- RIX
- Train stations:
- Rīga Central
- Seaport:
- Reachable by ship or ferry