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...
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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...
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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...
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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...
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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!...
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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...
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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...
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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...
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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...
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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...
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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...
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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...
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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...
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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,...
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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...
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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...
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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...
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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...
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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...
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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...
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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...
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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...
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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...
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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...
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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...
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Set in former hangars, the central market of Riga is the "stomach" of the Latvian capital. Fresh and smoked foish from the baltic sea, local fruit and vedgetables as well as other food are on sale in the market halls. just around it, scattered between old traditional merchant houses, a bazar has established. Traders and clients seem to be Russians mainly, and aside from food outside of the halls all kind of household stuff, clothing, cds or dubious origin etc are for sale
The fountain near the House of Congress. This fountain is very beautiful in the night. Each water spout has the light and the colours of light change. Very romantic place for summer evenings and nights.
It is the Castle of President ? the buiding where Latvian president?s office is. Latvian President is Vaira Vie Freiberga. She came to Latvia in 1998, before this year she lived in Canada. The Castle of President was the Castle of Pioneers when the Latvia was the part of USSR (1945-1991).
The most popular daytrip from Riga is to Sigulda. You can take either the train or bus, we opted for the bus which took a little over an hour.I've posted all my travel tips and photos over on my Sigulda page so if you're itching to know more, go over there and look :-)
The origins of this structure date back to the 14th century, when a building was put up for the needs of city officials and tradesmen. The so-called Blackheads Society, whose patron was St. Mauritius, took over the building in the 15th century, although the name “Blackheads House” dates back only to 1687. In 1713, the society won full ownership rights to the building. It once contained one of the world’s richest collections of silver objects. The building was destroyed during World War II, but on June 29, 1995, the foundations for the structure that is seen today were laid. A memorial capsule was inserted into the foundations. Work on the restoration was completed in 1999.
You can find this statue, known as Milda as you are crossing from the old section of Riga to the new. It was unveiled in 1935 and was designed by Karlis Zale. Around the base of the sculpture you can see friezes of Latvians singing, working and fighting for their freedom. In Milda's hands you can see three stars representing the three historical regions of the country: Kurzeme, Vidzeme and Latgale. The changing of the guard takes place every hour from 9:00-18:00.
Built at the beginning of the 14th century, not much remained after it was destroyed by invading Swedish troops in 1621. It was rebuilt in 1650 with thicker walls to protect the gunpowder inside. At the end of the 19th century a German student fraternity bought the building.Today it houses part of the War Museum.
You can develop serious neck strain in Riga looking up at all of the beautiful art nouveau architecture. Although you find it throughout Riga, the main area is outside of Old Town, the most breathtaking example of Art Nouveau architecture in Riga has got to be the Stockholm School of Economics.I put some more photos under my travelogues.
The two black cats at the top of this building are now facing forward but the story has it that the owner originally placed them so their rears were facing the guild hall across the road, in defiance of the guild since they denied him entry.He was eventually admitted to the Guild on the condition that he turn the cats around to a more appropriate position.
Everything in Town Hall square seems to be a replica of the original as most of the square was destroyed in WWII.This is also true of the statue of Roland, Riga's patron saint. The original was erected in Town Hall Square in 1897, but was moved to St. Peter's Church after it was damaged in WWII. It was decided that the original statue was too precious to return to the square unsheltered from the elements, so a replica is what you see.So, is the original still in St. Peter's?
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...
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