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| Rātslaukums Square |
Riga (Rīga in Latvian, Rīgõ in Livonian, ווילנע in Yiddish, Вильна in Russian) is
a 698,529
inhabitants city and capital of Latvia at the mouth of Daugava river.
This city is the most populated in Latvia (having a third of its total population) and in the Baltic
countries. Riga's historical centre is a UNESCO World Heritage Site due to its Art Nouveau and 19th century wooden architecture. In
2014 Riga was the European Capital of Culture.
How do I arrive to Riga?
Riga is
the most important city in Latvia so there are many way to
arrive there from all over the country and the neighbour ones.
- Plane:
there are many international flights to Riga International Airport. To go from
the airport to the city, there are buses (number 22, each 30 minutes) and taxis. It's 13 km west from the center of the city.
- Boat: there are ships from Riga to other countries like Stockholm (Sweden), with a frequency of 3-4 times every week.
- Train:
there are train routes from Riga to all over the country because it's the center of the Latvian railway net. Using it is specially recommended when going to eastern destinations meanwhile the west of Latvia isn't practical and efficient at all. There are also available trains to Russian destinations like Moscow (daily, aprox. 16 hours), St. Petersburg (daily, aprox. 15 hours) and Belarussian ones, Minsk (daily, aprox. 12 hours).
- Bus: from Riga Bus Station has frequent connections with all the cities of Latvia. As an Latvia's capital city it has connections with other
countries like Lithuania, in particular with Vilnius (13 daily buses, aprox. 4 hours) and Kaunas (3 daily buses, aprox. 5.5 hours), or Estonia, concretely with Tallinn (buses every hour, aprox. 4.5 hours) and Pärnu (buses every hour, aprox. 2 hours 45 minutes).
- Car: Riga is the center of Latvia and having a car can make you reach many different destinations such as Jūrmala (aprox. 30 minutes), Saulkrasti (aprox. 45 minutes), Gauja National Park (aprox. 55 minutes), Bauska and Jelgava (aprox. 50 minutes), Valmiera (aprox. 1 hour 30 minutes), Ventspils (aprox. 2 hours 30 minutes), Liepāja (aprox. 2 hours 45 minutes) or Daugavpils (aprox. 3 hours). The visitor can also arrive to Riga from other neighbouring countries such as Lithuania, from cities like Šiauliai (aprox. 1 hour 55 minutes), Panevėžys (aprox. 2 hours 5 minutes) or Vilnius (aprox. 3 hours 40 minutes); or places in Estonia like Valga (aprox. 2 hours 10 minutes), Tartu (aprox. 3 hours 15 minutes) or Tallinn (aprox. 4 hours).
Once
in Riga the best ways of moving in the city are using public transport. In
the old city, bike or just walking are the best ways to move, because
they are usually pedestrian streets and most of the places are close ones from the others. Bus
service goes from 5:30 am to 24 pm and their prize is 1.15€ (buying them in the machines or in newsstands), but there are city cards which reduce
you pay.
History
River Daugava has been a trade route since antiquity, part of the Vikings' Dvina-Dnieper navigation route to Byzantium, but the first inhabitants of what is now Riga were the Livs, in the 2nd century. Under Vikings' control Riga became a center of their trade and in the 12nd century the first German traders start arriving here. With them it started the Christanisation of the population, first peacefully (with St. Meinhard, which built Ikšķile) and then forced (with bishop Berthold and the crusade declared by Pope Innocent III). In 1200 Albert of Riga arrived and proclaimed himself bishop of Livonia, defeating the Livs and creating the Livonian Order to defend the territory (which was a principality of the Holy Roman Empire). Riga became part of the Hanseatic League in 1282, becoming economically developed, going afterward into the sphere of influence of Holy Roman Empire, then the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, Sweden (being its largest city till 1710) and the Russian Empire, where it became the third most important city after Moscow and St. Petersburg and was the birth place of the Latvian National Awakening. In those years the population was most composed of Baltic Germans, till the 19th century proccess of Russification and the inmigration of Latvians from the countryside to Riga. In the 20th century the mayor George Armistead beautified Riga with Art Nouveau building and façade and it became the cosmopolitan city it's nowdays. Riga was invaded first by the Soviet Union, then by Nazi Germany and after it, again by the Soviet Union (till Latvia independence in 1989). In this period the composition of Riga changed due to the Soviet mass deportations and the Nazi atrocities, specially in Riga Ghetto. After WW2, the building of old Riga started being restored and, as a consecuence of the Soviet occupation, the number of Latvian residents started decreasing till reaching a 36% in 1989. In the beginning of the 21st century the number of tourists increased (because of low cost airlines arriving here) and then Riga was selected as a
2014 European Capital of Culture, along with Umeå (Sweden).
Riga's top 10
If you have little or you just don't want to visit all Riga, here's a list of the 10 places you can't miss in Riga.
- House of the Blackheads.
- Walking down Alberta iela.
- Arsenāls Exhibition Hall.
- Riga Lutheran Cathedral.
- Art Museum Riga Bourse.
- Riga Central Market.
- The Freedom Monument.
- Latvian National Museum of Art.
- Three Brothers.
- Žanis Lipke Memorial.
What can I visit in Riga?
These are Riga's main attractions:
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| House of the Blackheads |
- House of the Blackheads (10-18 Tue-Sun; 6€/ 3€ adults/ retiree, students and kids): 14th century Gothic building which was used as home of German single trades guild. It was destroyed during WW2 but very precisely rebuilt in 2002 for Riga's 800th anniversary (because its drawings survived) and it's used as Latvia's Presidente residence.
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- Riga's Monument to Christmas Tree: monument that conmemorates what is probably the first Christmas Tree in the world. It was done by the Blackheads in 1510, who decorated a fir tree and then burnt it down.
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| Mentzendorff House |
Museum of the Occupation of Latvia (11-18; voluntary donations):
museum which shows the occupation of Latvia first by Germany and then
by the Soviet Union from 1939 to 1991 and provides a view that enables
to understand Latvia nowadays. In front of it there's Latvian Riflemen Monument, a controversial monument homaging this division of the Red Army in 1918.
Mentzendorff House (11-17 Wed-Sun; 3€/ 1.50€ adults/ kids): late 17th century house which belonged to a rich glass German trader that enables how was life back then. It also has contemporary glass art and temporal expositions. It's possible to buy a combined ticket for Mentzendorff House, Museum of the History of Riga and Navigation and Latvian Museum of Photography (8€ /5€ /2€ adults/retiree and students/kids).
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| St. Pētera Lutheran Church |
- St. Pētera Lutheran Church (10-19 Tue-Sat and 12-19 Sun from May to Aug; 10-18 Tue-Sat and 12-19 Sun from Sep to Apr; 9€/ 7€/ free adults/ students/ kids): 800 years old Gothic church (what makes it one of the oldest medieval monuments in the Baltics countries) with stark decoration and a tower with a stire, one of the symbols of Riga's skyline. From the tower there are great views of the city.
- Museum of Decorative Arts and Design (11-17 Tue-Sun; 5€/ 2.50€/ 2€ adults/ retiree and students/ kids):
museum about artistic objects like furniture, tapestries or pottery
from Art Nouveau period to our days. It's located in former St. George
Church, the only building remaining from the period of Riga's
foundation.
- The Small Guild: Neo-Gothic building was erected in the 1860s in a project by architect Johann Felsko to house the craftsmen's guild.
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Cat House
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- Museum of the Popular Front of Latvia (10-17 Tue-Sat; free): this modern department of the National History Museum of Latvia focuses on the Third Atmoda or National Awakening during perestroika period, leaded by Dainis Ivans. It also highlights the cooperation between Baltic countries in that period like Baltic Way in 1989.
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- Riga Film Museum (11-18 Tue-Fri, 11-17 Sat; 3.50€/ 1.80€ adults/ retiree, students and people under 18): museum holds various exhibitions that display different aspects of cinema art, actors and film history. It's the only of its kind in Latvia.
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| Riga Lutheran Cathedral |
Riga Lutheran Cathedral (11-18 Tue-Sat; 12-17 Sun; 2€/ 1€ adults/ reduced):
largest medieval church in the Baltic countries founded in 1211. It has
mixture of Gothic and Baroque styles and several tombs on the ground
(which are said to have caused cholera outbreak in 1709).- Art Museum Riga Bourse (10-18 Tue-Sun; 6€/ 3€/ 2€ adults/ retiree and students/ kids): museum
placed in Riga Bourse with an excellent art collection with paitings
(like Winter Landscape by Claude Monet, Portrait of Friedrich Wilhelm Brederlo by Louis-Léopold Boilly or Portrait of William II, Prince of Orange-Nassau by the workshop of Anton van Dyck), Japanese and Chinese pottery and a mummy.
- St. Pestītāja Anglican Church: Neo-Gothic church built by Johann Felsko in request of Armistead family (the one former major George Armistead belonged to).
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- Museum of the Barricades of 1991 (10-17 Tue-Sat; free): small museum that shows the final years of the USSR, when Soviet
authorities sent troops into Riga to overthrow the elected Latvian
government.
- Three Brothers (9-18 Mon; 9-17 Tue-Thu; 9-16 Fri; free): these three buildings represent perfectly the diversity of styles in Old Riga. House nº17 is 600 years old (oldest in the city) and characteristic feature is the size of the windows (in the past taxes were paid depending on them).
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Riga Catholic Cathedral
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- St. Marijas Magdalēnas Catholic Church (6:30-18 Tue-Sun): Baroque style church that was built during the 14th century. It was built for the Cistercian nuns installed in Riga.
- Literature and Music Museum of Riga: museum that plays tribute to a long rage of Latvian musicians and writers.
- Sāpju Dievmātes Catholic Church (7:30-18 Tue-Sun): church built 1765, the first one in Riga after the Protestant Reformation reached Latvia. It was used by the Poles and Lithuanians.
Sāpju Dievmātes Catholic Church
- Riga Castle: 13th century castle built as headquarters of the Livonian Order. It has suffer modifications many times and nowadays it's used as the residence of the President of Latvia.
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| Arsenāls Exhibition Hall |
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- Swedish Gate: 17th century gate (only one in Riga) which was built when it was part of Sweden.
- Latvian War Museum (10-18 from Apr to Oct; 10-17 from Nov to Mar; free): museum about the military history of Latvia since Medieval Age placed in the only remaining tower from Riga city walls, from the 14th century.
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National History Museum of Latvia (10-17 Tue-Sun; 3€/ 1.50€ adults/ reduced): interesting museum that gives a very good idea of Latvian history, useful to understand better the country. Unfortunately its information isn't fully translated.
- The Freedom Monument: bronze monument built by Kārlis Zāle in 1935. It's representation of Libertas has 3 stars, symbolizing Kurzeme (Zemgale is included in this one), Vidzeme and Latgale. There's a modest changing of the guard at 9 and at 18.
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Riga Russian Orthodox Cathedral
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Riga Russian Orthodox Cathedral (7-19): Neo-Byzantine style cathedral designed by Nikolai Chagin and Robert Pflug between 1876 and 1883, with decorations made by the firm of August Volz. It is the largest Orthodox cathedral in the Baltic provinces and was built with the blessing of the Russian Tsar Alexander II. During WW1, it was turnt into a Lutheran church when German troops occupied Riga but when back being an Orthodox church with independent Latvia. In the early 1960s Soviet authorities closed down the cathedral and converted its building into a planetarium, restored since Latvia regained independence in 1991.
- Vērmane Garden: park with a beautiful market of flowers, small shops and an open-air amphitheatre.
- Riga Art Nouveau Museum (10-18 Tue-Sun; 5€/ 3€ adults/ retiree and students): museum located in the architect Konstantīns Pēkšēns' house (also in Art Nouveau) that helps to understand all about this artistic movement.
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| Alberta iela |
Janis Rozentāls and Rūdolfs Blaumanis Museum (11-19 Wed and 11-18 Thu-Sun from Jun to Aug; 11-18 Wed-Sun from Sep to May): apartment where used to live one of the most important Latvian painters, Janis Rozentāls, and its wife, the Finnish singer Elli Forssell. His friend Rūdolfs Blaumanis, a famous Latvian writer, lived here as well.
Museum of the Jews in Latvia (11-17 Sun-Fri from May to Sep; 11-17 Sun-Thu from Oct to Apr; donations): exposition which shows life of the Jewish in Riga before WW2 through pictures and objects. Unlike the Jewish community in Vilnius, Riga's one was very integrated in the city life.
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- St. Ģertrūdes Old Lutheran Church: Neo-Gothic red-bricked church built entirely in the late 19th century. The church is nicknamed old due to the veracity of the interpretation of Gothic architecture that make it seem a medieval creation. The church used to be very linked to the German Lutheran community in Latvia. It's considered one of the best points in Riga to make photographies at sunset and has one of the best organs in the city.
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| Latvian Academy of Science |
Kim? (14-18 Tue-Fri; 12-18 Sat-Sun; 3€/ 1.50€ adults/ retiree and students): art gallery with experimental art using new technologies.
- Latvian Academy of Science (9-22; 5€/ 1€ adults/ kids): Sovietic style tower buit in the 1950s, inspired in some similar buildings in Moscow. It provides the best views of whole Riga from the balcony located in the 17th floor.
- Riga Central Market (8-17): market which dates back to the 16th century placed in an airship hangar since 1930 and is the largest in bazaar in Riga and in Europe. It allows you to get in touch with local life, buying souvenirs and get cheap food. The market has also a large open-air area, dealing mostly with fresh food and fresh local fruit and vegetables. There are also nice cafes here.
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Latvian Holocaust Museum
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- Riga Ghetto and Latvian Holocaust Museum
(10-18 Sun-Fri; donations): small museum placed in a house where Jews
had to move when Nazi Germans created Riga Ghetto, with mockups of all
the Latvian synagogues that used to exist in Riga, documents and photos
of the history of the ghetto and the population who died during
Holocaust.
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Jēzus Lutheran Church: 19th century church which is the largest wooden classical building in Latvia. It was first built in the 17th century but rebuilt many times since then.
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| National Library of Riga |
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- Latvian Railway History Museum (10-17 Tue-Sat; 3.50€/ 2€/ free adults/ retiree and students/ people under 18): small museum that exhibits trains from Soviet era.
- Wooden architecture of Āgenskalns: nice part of Pārdaugava district with old wooden buildings, which date back to the 18th-19th centuries.
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Victory Monument
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- Victory Park: park with the controversial Victory Monument, a monument built after WW2 by the Soviet authorities to conmemorate the victory in the war. It's the biggest of its time in Latvia.
- Eduards Smiļģis Theater Museum
(11-18 Tue-Fri; 3€/ 0.70€ adults/ reduced): museum located in the eccentrically house
of Eduards Smiļģis (former director of Riga Daile Theatre) that shows more about his life.
- Lutera Lutheran Church: Neo-Gothic style church with massive iron chandeliers.
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| Žanis Lipke Memorial |
- Žanis Lipke Memorial (12-18 Tue-Fri; 10-16 Sat; donations): museum in homage of Žanis
Lipke, a Latvian worker which getting a job in the German army managed
to save more than 50 Jews from the ghetto, hiding them in his house.
- St. Mārtiņa Lutheran Church: church from 1850s with a beautiful red-brick façade and located among trees. Its decorations are quite plain.
- Botanical Garden of the University of Latvia (10-21 from May to Aug; 10-19 in Sep and Apr; 10-16 from Oct to Mar; 4.90€/ 3.90€/ 2.90€ adults/ retiree and students/ people under 18): large botanical garden with a broad and well-cultivated collection of plant species, being a beautiful place to have a walk. There's a Butterfly House where the visitor can experience free-flying tropical butterflies.
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Riga TV Tower
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- Riga TV Tower (16-22 Mon-Fri, 10-22 Sat-Sun from May to Sept; 10-17 Mon-Sat from Oct to Apr; ): 368 m high tower that stands on three legs and is the tallest tower in the European Union. It has an observation deck at a height of 97 m with nice views of Riga.
- St. Alberta Catholic Church: Neo-Baroque church from early 20th century whose interior was partly designed in 1950s (despite the restrictions to religious imposed in the Soviet Union).
- Riga Aviation Museum (10-16 Sat-Sun; 7€): museum at the airport of Riga that can entertain the visitor while waiting for the plane with its rare aircraft.
- St. Pāvila Lutheran Church: Neo-Gothic church from
1885 that was located in the center of Riga's main industrial
neighborhood. It's mural paintings are from 1930s and are a perfect
example of the art of independent Latvia before WW2.
- Water Twin Towers: nice water towers were built in 1897 and were the first water towers built in Riga. Next to them is located Matīsa Cemetery, that has an interesting monument to the Latvian
revolutionary heroes of the Russian Revolution of 1905
built in 1950s.
- St. Franciska Catholic Church: gorgeous Neo-Gothic church built in 1892 that has a copy of Giotto's mural paintings in the Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi in Assisi (Umbria, Italy).
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St. Jāņa Priekšteča
Russian Orthodox Church
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- Visu Svēto Russian Orthodox Church: Neo-Romanesque church built around 1880 and, unlike other orthodox churches in Latvia that are typically Russian, this one has a Latvian personality.
- Grebenshchikov Old Believers' Church: Byzantine style church with a modest exterior and an Art-Nouveau tower with the only golden dome in Riga. The building is the world's largest Old Believers' church, housing a congregation of 25,000 people.
- St. Jāņa Priekšteča Russian Orthodox Church: church whose construction started in 1913 and was finished when Latvia became independent. This led to a strange mix of styles rendering the church a rare example of modernist architecture implemented in an Orthodox temple.
- Old Jewish Cemetery of Riga: huge cemetery that was established in the early 18th century. After all local Jews were exterminated by the Nazis, the Soviet government destroyed the remaining gravestones and converted the area into a Park of Communist Brigades. Now there is a small Jewish memorial.
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Ethnographic Open-Air
Museum of Latvia
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- Riga Forest Cemetery.
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Salaspils Memorial Ensemble
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Near Riga there are many day trips from Riga, like Jūrmala, Dobele, Bauska, Gauja National Park or Ķemeri National Park, but in the way to Daugavpils, by Daugava River, there are also interesting things to do. Salaspils (Kirchholm in German), a 17,621 inhabitants town that is 20 km south from Riga. The main sightseeing point is Salaspils Memorial Ensemble, monument and former concentration camp created by the Nazi Army in WW2, where many Latvian leftwingers, Soviet soldiers and Jews were inprissioned (many of them died because of the tough conditions). Another interesting point in the town is the National Botanic Garden (9-20 from Apr to Sep; 9-18 from Oct to Mar; 3€/ 2€ adults/ retiree and students), garden with the riches plant collection in the Baltic countries. Only 35 km from Salaspils by Daugava river there's the 6,328 inhabitants town of Lielvārde (
Lennewarden in German). The main reason to stop here is discovering Andrejs Pumpurs Museum (10-17 Tue-Sat; 10-15 Sun; ), museum which provides information (play his role or simulate its battles) about the main Latvian national hero, Lāčplēsis, created by the writer Andrejs Pumpurs. Other interesting things in the town are the Lielvārde Castle Ruins from the 13th century or the Lutheran, Catholic and Orthodox churches.
Where can I buy in Riga?
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| Sakta Flower Market |
Riga has the biggest offer in Latvia to go shopping, bying souvenirs and many other things. Gadatirgus (Riga craftswork festival) takes place in the park Vērmanes dārzs the first weekend of June. Some popular places to buy are Sakta Flower Market (Tērbatas iela 2a). Hobbywool (Mazā Pils iela 6) and Art Nouveau Riga (Strēlnieku iela 9) are good places to buy souvenirs or things to take back home. Talking about clothes some of the nicest and most popular places are the shoe shop Elina Dobele (Mednieku iela 7), Riija (Tērbatas iela 6/8) and Pienene (Kungu iela 7/9) to purchase kerchieves and perfumes. In case you'd like to buy culture (books or music) some suggestions could be UPE Record Store (Vaļņu iela 26) or Robert's Books (Dzirnavu iela 51), Kafka (Vaļņu iela 26) and Jāņa Sēta (Elizabetes iela 85A), store which is specialised in travel books. Other places are like the adventure store Gandrs (Kalnciema iela 30) or the liquor chain Latvijas balzams.
Where can I eat in Riga?
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| Riga Central Market |
The gastronomic offer in Riga is quite
important and giving tip or apkalpošana is almost compulsary (around 10%, sometimes included in the price). In case you have low budget some recommendations are supermarkets (like Rimi) or markets such as Riga Central Market or Kalnciema kvartāls, the buffet restaurant chain Lido (with many restaurants in Riga, for example, in Tirgoņu iela 6 and Ģenerāļa Radziņa krastmala 76); the coffee shops MiiT Coffee (Lāčplēša iela 10), Vilhelms Ķuze (Jēkaba iela 20/22), Index Cafe (Antonijas iela 12), Lauvas Nams (Brīvības iela 82) and the bakery arbOOz (Dzirnavu iela 34A). Some cheap international restaurants are the Russian restaurant XL Pelmeņi (Kaļķu iela 7) and the modern Austra (Krišjāņa Barona iela 41/43). If you want to spend a bit more, the medium price suggestions could be Among internationa food restaurants these are some: modern food restaurant Fazenda Bazar (Baznīcas iela 14), Siļķītes un Dillītes (Nēģu iela 7), restaurant specialised in fish; cafe Osiris (Krišjāņa Barona iela 31); the restaurants Vecmeita ar kaķi (Mazā Pils iela 1), Ķiploku krogs (Jēkaba iela 3/5) and the Georgian restaurant Aragats (Jura Alunāna iela 2A). High budget allows you to know and taste some of the following gastronomic experiences: 3 pavāru (Stiklių gatvė 10), a modern European food restaurant; Dome Fish Restaurant (Miesnieku iela 4); Gutenbergs Rooftop Restaurant (Doma laukums 1), traditional Latvian food with great views; cafe Galerija Istaba (Krišjāņa Barona iela 31A), which is also an art gallery; restaurant Vicents (Elizabetes iela 19); Rozengrāls (Rozena iela), a Latvian restaurant. In the international category of expensive restaurants appear Restaurant Bergs (Elizabetes iela 83/85); Indian Raja (Skārņu iela 7) and Tēvocis Vaņa (Smilšu iela 16), were Russian food is prepared. The city has also a vast pubs and clubbing offer, with bars like Kaņepes kultūras centrs (Skolas iela 15), Skyline Bar (Elizabetes iela 55), Cuba Cafe (Jauniela 15), Piens (Aristida Briāna iela 9a - 2), Taka (Miera iela 10); breweries such as Folkklubs Ala Pagrabs (Peldu iela 19), Egle (Kaļķu iela 1a) or Labietis (Aristida Briāna iela 9a) or The Left Door Bar (Antonijas iela 12).
12:37
Banknotemaniac
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