Riga Favorites

Favorite thing: This is a general tip to Riga. Find your own free copy of "Riga This Week magazine". It will give you plenty of information on restaurants, event, hotels, shops... and the information is up to date.

I found my copy from the lobby of our hotel.

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Favorite thing: The Daugava River is 1000 km long, but only the last 350 km pass through Latvia. Here in Riga the Daugava has been the main artery of transport and life for hundreds of years. For the tourist the river has quite some fascinating aspects as well:

- fascinating bridges
- lovely walks on both banks of the Daugava
- river cruises (see my transportation tip)
- exploring the harbor

Fondest memory: Spending the last money on a one hour river cruise on the Daugava!

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Favorite thing: The Historic Center of Riga was enlisted as a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1997. Here is what the official website explains about this decision:

"Riga was a major centre of the Hanseatic League, deriving its prosperity in the 13th–15th centuries from the trade with central and eastern Europe. The urban fabric of its medieval centre reflects this prosperity, though most of the earliest buildings were destroyed by fire or war. Riga became an important economic centre in the 19th century, when the suburbs surrounding the medieval town were laid out, first with imposing wooden buildings in neoclassical style and then in Jugendstil. It is generally recognized that Riga has the finest collection of art nouveau buildings in Europe."

quoted from UNESCO official website

Fondest memory: Exploring all these beautiful sites with our local tour guide on hubby's birthday!

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Favorite thing: When preparing a trip to Riga, the following links might be helpful for you:

- http://www.riga-life.com

- http://www.latviatravel.info

- http://www.virtualriga.com

- http://www.rigatourism.com

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Favorite thing: Hubby and I really love aerial views, so we found three spots that are excellent for this:

- the Skyline Bar in the Hotel Latvija (see my restaurant tip)
- the tower of St. Peter's Church (unfortunately closed until October 2007)
- the TV Tower (which we did not visit, though)

When in Riga, be sure to try at least one of these locations - you will be rewarded with a fabulous view!

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Favorite thing: The currency in Latvia is Lati. Lati has greater value the Euro so when I got in the exchange office and changed 10Euro and got one paper banknote and a few coins at first i thought I was duped. But then I saw the prices in the shop-windows and they were, like, 0,05 Lati. And you can have a decent meal for a 4-5 Lati....

Anyway, picture shows what I got for 10 Euro.

Favorite thing: Below few words that you can use while traveling in Latvian:

Arrive: Pienâk
Depart: Atiet
What is the time, please?: Trîs biletes uz Tallinu, lûdzu
Where i can pick up my luggage?: Kur es varu sanemt manu bagâpu?
Where is the closest money exchange point?: Kur ir tuvâkais valûtas mainas punkts?
I would like to order a taxi please: Es gribçtu pasûtît taksometru, lûdzu
Please take me to ... hotel: Man, lûdzu, uz viesnîcu ...
How much does it cost?: Cik tas maksâ?
Hello: Sveiki
Good day: Labdien
How are you?: Kā tev iet?
Yes: Jā
No: Nē
Goodbye: Uzredzēšanos
Please: Lūdzu
Thank you: Paldies
My name is...: Mani sauc ...
Sorry: Atvainojiet
Right: Pa labi
Left: Pa kreisi
Straight: Taisni
Street: Iela

Favorite thing: Spacious, clean city, and full of character.

Fondest memory: The town of Riga in Latvia, is a nice, clean and spacious city. Much development has taken place since its independence from Russia in 1991. 40% of the population is Latvian, 40% is Russian and the rest is made up of various nationalities. The amount of space in European capitals is always impressive compared to the UK. Nowhere looks over crowed. We stayed in a centrally located hotel called the Metropole, a 4 star hotel, very close to the old city, which is very pleasant and has elegant bar and dining areas.

Much of the history is comparatively recent history, hence a city tour by mini bus consists of a short ride over Timma bridge to the new part of the city and back to the old Riga to look at some of the architecture and this, for £10.00 per person for an hour, is rather steep compared with other city tours than you might experience! Nevertheless, it is an attractive city and has many fine churches and buildings. The streets of old Riga are charming and full of character, and it is a pleasure to walk and explore.

A building built for Stalin in the early part of last century stands prominently over the city, and used to be a hotel for Market Farmers when it was first built, but now serves as a building of science. We went to the top of the building for an arial view of the city. A guide accompanies you for about 15 minutes, giving you a brief history of the building and of the city, and then you are left to your own devices to wander around at your leisure. There are several museums in Riga, including the War Museum and Museum of Occupation. These are worth a visit, and some of them have free admission There is a huge daily market in the city, and hours can be spent walking round this vast area of fruit, fish, food, clothes, souvenirs, and everything you can think of. The fruit is in abundance and so wonderfully fresh and cheap.