Riga Travel Guide

 49 Reviews   In Riga still some fragments of old defensive wall left and it proves Riga was once medieval and well equipped defensively city. Some fragments of red wall you can see near Jacob's barracks - in one side of street barracks are, and in another - the wall with Swedish gates. It seems, Riga once had... 

 40 Reviews  The House of Blackheads is well worth a visit, but was closed to the public when we were there in March, 2011. From information on the internet, the outside is the main attraction of this building. Dating back to the 14th century with a Dutch early 17th century facade, it was virtuallydestroyed by... 

 31 Reviews  The street of Elizabetes Street has a park on one side, and quite a few Art Nouveau buildings on the other side. It is one of the best streets to see the art work. Be careful when walking, as the Tram crosses the street, and then runs through this park. What I liked straight away, was the use of... 

 20 Reviews  We found people in Riga pleasant and helpful but reserved, and we found it difficult to get a sense of the people until we visited the main fresh produce market. This is magnificently housed in a number of redundant Zeppelin hangers along the waterfront - one of several instances where we came... 

 48 Reviews  Located in the city centre, this seems to be a focal point for the nation from time to time. It is surrounded by parkland and was being well tended to by cleaners who were sweeping the streets. The monument was unveiled on 18 November 1935. The monument commemorates the fallen for the Latvian War... 

 19 Reviews   These residential buildings are charming, looks so much to be medieval. It is said, these three brothers (Tri Brali) are best examples of medieval buildings in Riga. The three brothers are different in years they exist too. The eldest brother is from 15th century and it is the oldest stone dwelling... 

 15 Reviews   This building looks very medieval and romantic, but, for real, it was built not for defense, but to celebrate the Scandinavian occupation of Riga (1698). So, in my opinion, it was good gift for people living and visiting Riga, as this one object now is the famous must see place when coming to Riga. 

 26 Reviews  I decided to view this museum as I had previously visited the Freedom Museum in Estonia..The museum was Established in 1993 to show what happenend here in Latvia during the years of Occupation from 1940 till 1991 firstly by The German Army and then The Soviet Occupational Forces. Life for Latvians... 

 37 Reviews   Entering Dome Square we can see big, gothic, old Riga Cathedral. It was built in 1211, mostly in the first years of Riga existence. It is the largest Cathedral in the Baltic States and was founded by Latvia's Teutonic conquerors. The Cathedral was reconstructed few times; the tower became bigger... 

 22 Reviews  It is easy to be cultured in Riga. Like most former socialist countries, enormous emphasis was placed on promoting and popularising the performing arts, and one of the happy outcomes of this focus is that 'culture' is not seen as being the sole preserve of a priveleged elite. Looking at the tourist... 

 19 Reviews  More of a palace cum castle than what you'd expect of a traditional medieval stronghold, although it retains some elements, like a flag bedecked tall round tower. The front of the castle, that looking out over Pils square, isn't too impressive, and easily overlooked, although it does hold the... 

 23 Reviews   It is only one defensive tower that survived in Riga - it houses the Museum of war. Tower looks big enough, could be hard to attack :) In 14th century this tower was the one of many towers around the city. In XVII century it was used as gunpowder warehouse. After attacks of Swedes and Russian it... 

 13 Reviews   It is worth to see, just walk near the Daugava river bank and watch how big that river is, how nice bridges around, modern buildings. Especially I liked architecture of bridges - Vansu bridge, Akmens bridge… and it is so much time to go though bridge from one side of river to another, but worth... 

 20 Reviews  (work in progress) We were particularly touched by the Russian Orthodox cathedral in Riga, the largest Orthodox church in the Baltics. This lovely building has had a turbulent history, being converted to a Lutheran church under German occupation, restored to Orthodoxy on Latvian independence in 1921... 

 16 Reviews   Not every house has a cat in the roof :) But in Riga - yes, it is :) The house surely has the Cat name after two black cats put on the roof. The owner of the house turned cats’ tails into the Guild hall to protest, but later he had to turn it back. I have to admit - great way to protest. 

 8 Reviews  The Musicians of Bremen Statue is strategically placed between three major churches in Riga, Saint Peter's, Saint John's and Saint George's churches. The German city of Bremen, by the way, is twinned to Riga and the statue is a 1990 gift from the german town It is a bronze statue with the figures... 

 6 Reviews  If you fancy something of a change from the city, then I can very well recommend a visit to the water park at Jurmala. It must be a good 20 miles out of town, but you can get there very quickly and cheaply by utilising the shared minibus system (see transport tip). It's certainly not cheap at 11... 

 12 Reviews  Just outside the main square of Ratslaukums is the somewhat controversial statue to the Latvian Red Riflemen. As you might be able to tell from the reference to Red, and the sharp contours of the socialist realist style, this is a monument built to celebrate Soviet heroes. But the riflemen were... 

 6 Reviews  I will confess up front that I am a complete sucker for 'skansen' type museums, so the fact that we made a beeline for the open air ethnographic museum just outside Riga should come as little surprise. The museum is set in attractive woodland by a lake just to the east of Riga. Buildings that are... 

 6 Reviews and 115 Opinions  This year - hotel Ridzene again. The main hotel's advantage is its very quiet location in the very...