Top Riga Region hotels
St. Peter's Church Riga
62 Reviews St. Peter's Church [1209], is named after Saint Peter. A rather plain looking Church on the outside, it's built of stone which probably saved the Church from being devastated by the fire that burnt...
See All 801 Things to Do in Riga
Old Town Riga
53 Reviews Bastion Hill was a beautiful garden that was a real pleasure to walk through. The landscaped garden was begun in 1881, and is very pretty, as a brook with many waterfalls runs through the Park, and...
See All 801 Things to Do in Riga
35 Reviews This building was a different, brightly coloured design. It was an apartment house and shop, and is known for the blossoming foliage-shaped corner with a stylised sun above. Designed in 1903 by...
See All 801 Things to Do in Riga
House of Blackheads Riga
41 Reviews Unfortunately, the lovely "House of Blackheads" I was viewing today, was not old, it was only completed in 1999. World War II, and because the House of Blackheads was one of the most impressive...
See All 801 Things to Do in Riga
Central Market Riga
22 Reviews Riga Central Market, one of the largest markets in Eastern Europe, is visited daily by 80,000 to 100,000 people. It was wow! How big is this place, certainly the biggest Market I have ever been to!...
See All 801 Things to Do in Riga
Freedom Monument Riga
49 Reviews The Freedom Monument is a symbol of freedom, sovereignty and an independent Latvia. The Monument honours soldiers killed during the Latvian War of Independence (1918–1920). This impressive monument...
See All 801 Things to Do in Riga
Three Brothers Riga
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...
See All 801 Things to Do in Riga
Swedish Gate Riga
16 Reviews The Old Town of Riga used to be surrounded by walls on all sides, but now-days, not much is left. The Invaders tore must of them down in the 1800s. The Swedish Gate is an attractive city gate, so...
See All 801 Things to Do in Riga
Museum of the Occupation of Latvia 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...
See All 801 Things to Do in Riga
Dome Cathedral Riga
38 Reviews The Dome Cathedral is the largest place of worship in the Baltics The foundation stone of the Dome was laid in 1211, when Bishop Albert had a great plan of building a church, a monastery, some more...
See All 801 Things to Do in Riga
National Opera Riga
23 Reviews The National Opera House is set in a lovely position overlooking some very nice Parks and gardens. The Theatre is affectionately known as “The White House,' and when viewing it, I could see why! An...
See All 801 Things to Do in Riga
Powder Tower Riga
24 Reviews This lovely old tower with Ivy growing over the red bricks, was once used for storing Gun Powder. Built in the 14th century, the building is now part of the Museum of War, with displays including...
See All 801 Things to Do in Riga
20 Reviews Riga Castle was built in 1330 in the old Town as the residence for Master of Livonian Order. Originally the castle was fortress-like 3 story building with an inner courtyard and four towers. Since...
See All 801 Things to Do in Riga
Daugava River Riga
15 Reviews The Railway Bridge connects the two banks of Riga that are divided by the Daugava River. I happened to see this Bridge when I was having a look at the central markets. The Bridge was built in 1872,...
See All 801 Things to Do in Riga
Orthodox Cathedral Riga
21 Reviews The Nativity of Christ Cathedral is surrounded by a lovey park. Built in the Neo-Byzantine style between 1876 and 1883, during the period when the country was part of the Russian Empire, it is the...
See All 801 Things to Do in Riga
Cat House Riga
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...
See All 801 Things to Do in Riga
Latvian Riflemen Monument Riga
13 Reviews The Red Riflemen Monument is another impressive monument and also a very controversal! The monument was built in 1970, to honor the Latvian red Riflemen who guarded Lenin during the Russian...
See All 801 Things to Do in Riga
Musicians of Bremen Monument Riga
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...
See All 801 Things to Do in Riga
Latvian Ethnographic Open Air Museum Riga
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...
See All 801 Things to Do in Riga
Jurmala Beach Riga
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...
See All 801 Things to Do in Riga
Bastejkalns Park Riga
9 Reviews Coming over Bastion Hill you’re greeted by an outdoor dance floor filled with energetic couples. Welcome to Bastejkalns Park. A little further on you come to Lover’s bridge (second picture) where...
See All 801 Things to Do in Riga
Laima Clock Riga
12 Reviews Hard to say for me why Laima clock is famous in Riga, but anyway it was nice to see how it looks. This clock was donated by Laima chocolate manufacturer, and the main thing people like it as it is...
See All 801 Things to Do in Riga
Academy of Sciences Riga
13 Reviews The Academy of Sciences was a building that caught my attention, as it looked something like the American Empire state building! This tall building was built between 1953 and 1956, as a gift from the...
See All 801 Things to Do in Riga
10 Reviews Located next to each other in Riga, is the Small and Great Guild Halls, both impressive buildings. The Great Guild [1354], was a Merchant's organization for German merchants. The first building from...
See All 801 Things to Do in Riga
Bastion Hill Riga
7 Reviews Bastejkalns is one of the parks that surround Old Riga Town. Bastejkalns in translation to English mean The Bastion Hill, so from the name we can guess that this place was very significant for the...
See All 801 Things to Do in Riga
A black cat tops the roof of this house and gave it its name. About 100 years ago the owner of the building was excluded from the powerful Big Guild across the road . In a gesture of revenge he ordered the cat to be turned around, backside up, as an insult to his enemies. They were turned around after a lengthy court battle and he was eventually admitted to the Guild
The latvian red riflemen. I know that some latvian people doesn´t like it a lot but to me is an interesting monument. St´Peter, Blackheads this monument and the occupation musseum are very close each other.
In the old part of town in Riga is a group of buildings called the Three brothers.The oldest house called the White Brother is the most medieval and dates back to the 15th century. The year of the middle Yellow Brother is 1646. The date is written on the facade and the Green Brother is the youngest. It was constructed in the middle of the 18th century.
Go up to the observation platform built on the top of the tower you can enjoy a wonderful bird's eye view of Riga. This church was mentioned for the first time in 1209. In that time it was meant to be the main church of the town.
Going to this church is a must because the if you go up the top you get a fantastic panoramic view of this wonderful city.The Church was mentioned first in 1209 as the merchants church and it served as their meeting place, as well. It was a Catholic church until 1523, when during the Reformation it turned Lutheran. The Church gained its present look during several centuries. At the end of the 17th century the main facade of the Church gained a Baroque look by city building master R.Bindenschuh. The tower of the church was destroyed the several times, last time it burnt down in 1941. St.Peter church was restored in 1954-1973.
Of course the old town is a magnet for tourists - always is, anywhere in the world. If you've seen a few, you know what to expect - large squares, beer tents, great architecture, pigeons, vendors, tourists...not that this is bad. I can hang out in these places for a while, and Riga's old town is fairly large with lots of quiet corners, including the one pictured.
I was surprised not to see more toursists at the Central Market. It is adjacent the main bus station and is one of the most expansive and interesting I've ever seen. It is a huge cathedral to food. Among the delights are a million kinds of bread, a store with 100 kinds of halvah (!), a delicious farmhouse cheese who's name I don't know. The food goes on for miles it seems. I've seen some markets in my day and this is one of the absolute best.
Outside St. Peter's Church you can see this sculpture featuring a rooster sitting on a cat, sitting on a dog, sitting on a donkey (although it looks like a pig to me). The sculpture is based on one of Grimm's Fairy Tales, the Bremen Town Musicians. To read the fairy tale, click on the link belowThis statue is a gift from Bremen (which also has a statue of Roland in their town square, is it the same Roland) which also has similar statue in the town.
The Museum tells a story of the occupation of Latvia from 1940 to 1991.From the German to the Soviet times. I think every visitor to Riga should look at the exhibition, it will make you think, and understand a little more about the world we live in...
Konventa seta in English means “The Courtyard of Convent”. This is very pretty place in the very centre of Old Riga (Vecriga). There are many narrow short small streets and you can research each corner of this place by yourself.
Best Eastern Centra Hotel Riga Riga
7 Reviews and 252 Opinions We had an opportunity to travel somewhere with my husband for two nights. As we have 3 small kids,...
Reval Hotel Ridzene Riga
6 Reviews and 116 Opinions This year - hotel Ridzene again. The main hotel's advantage is its very quiet location in the very...
Albert Hotel Riga
4 Reviews and 407 Opinions Despite no plausable connection with the late great Mr Einstein The Albert Hotel is a shrine to the...
Reviews and photos of Riga Region attractions posted by real travelers and locals. The best tips for Riga Region sightseeing.
Q: Sveiki! I need an advice. my departure from Riga airport at 11.30, but bus arrived (internetional, from belarus) only at 8.10....
A: You should have no problem. Yes, traffic can be bad, but by 0900 it seems to clear out. I used Municipal bus and as I recall, it took about 30 minutes from the stop near...
Read 2 Replies
