Here is a full guide to the beautiful city of Riga, with everything you need to know!

Riga is the capital of the beautiful country, Latvia. It is only a small city compared to London and Paris. Despite it only being small, one-third of the Latvian population actually lives in Riga!

When visiting the city, you can quite easily get around the Old Town on foot. The city is known for its wooden buildings, art nouveau architecture, and beautiful medieval Old Town. It is one picturesque city to visit! Especially when you get a sprinkle of snow, just like we did!

We visited Riga in December, as part of our European Christmas Market adventure. It was a great time to visit. Not only do you get to see the beautiful city, but you also get to see how the Latvians like to celebrate Christmas. To read more about Riga at Christmas, please check out my other blog: Christmas Markets in Riga.

*Please note, any prices I mention below, where the prices at the time we visited in 2019, and may have changed!

Getting To and From The Airport

Getting to and from the airport is easy enough. There is a choice between a bus, minibus, or taxi. The bus is the cheapest option and the taxi is the quickest option. We choose a taxi to save us from having to pull our suitcases from the bus station to our hotel. A one-way ticket will cost you around €1.50 on the bus.

If you take the cheapest option, catch Bus 22. The bus departs every 10 to 20 minutes and will take you around 30 minutes to get to the centre of Riga. The bus will drop you off on the edge of the Old Town.

You can catch Minibus 222, which takes you the same time as Bus 22 to get into the centre. I am not sure where the minibus drops you off or how frequently they are.

To get a taxi to the centre will cost you between €15 and €20 and cash is needed. Be careful, often the taxis will rip you off if they know you are a tourist. The best option is to install the app Bolt onto your phone and use them. Bolt is a company like Uber. You know how much the journey is going to cost, you do not need cash as you pay on your phone with your bank card and it works out cheaper too. If you are a first-time user of Bolt, you can use this code: GK7TU. This will get up to €10 off your first ride. Using the Bolt code, our journey only cost us €4.

Accommodation

There are so many lovely places to stay in the city. We stayed at the Wellton Centrum Hotel & Spa. It was a beautiful spa hotel, located right in the heart of the Old Town and a 10-minute walk away from the main train station. An average night costs around £45. This includes access to the spa and free breakfast. If I ever return to the city, I will happily stay at this hotel again.

Where To Eat

I have not tried every place to eat in Riga. These are just my recommendations, from the places we experienced, whilst in the city:

Firewood

Firewood is a cozy, little Latvian restaurant, located in the Old Town. The menu is full of traditional Latvian food. We tried fried rye bread with garlic sauce for starters, followed by sausage and sauerkaut for mains. Alex had a traditional Latvian dish made with pork. It was all delicious! To drink, Alex was brave enough to try the Latvian coffee. A strong coffee with a shot of strong liqueur. It certainly gives you a kick on one small sip!

Lido

Lido is a Latvian chain restaurant, selling local cuisine. There are plenty of them dotted all around the city. We went to the one located in the Old Town, next to Dome Square. It was very busy, we only just got a seat. I’ve heard some of the others are a little quieter to visit. It’s a place where you self-serve yourself. You fill your plate with whatever you fancy and pay for it at the till, before finding a table to sit at. I enjoyed some grilled chicken, mash, and veg.

Table 7

Table 7 is a lovely, modern restaurant, located in the Old Town, not far from the Town Hall. The food was absolutely delicious. I had turkey and couscous. It was full of so much flavour. To drink, Alex was brave enough to have the Latvian coffee. A strong coffee with a shot of strong liqueur. It certainly gives you a kick with one small sip!

Sight To See

The Old Town in Riga may only be small, but it doesn’t mean there is not a lot to see! The town is compacted with lots of impressive buildings to photograph, walks in parks to enjoy, and streets to get lost down.

Here are my ‘must-sees’ on your visit to Riga:

Riga’s City Hall

Riga’s City Hall is their town hall. It’s located in the picturseque Town Hall Square and is the home to the Riga’s City Council.

House of the Blackheads

One of my favourite looking buildings, the House of the Blackheads is located in the Town Hall Square. The original building was built during the 14th century, for the brotherhood of the Blackheads. Sadly, during World War II, it got bombed, destroying a part of the building. The reminding part of the building, which was still standing, was then got destroyed by the Soviets. Luckily, in 1996, a group of more than 5000 people, joined together to rebuild it. In 1999, the rebuild of the House of the Blackheads was completed. Today, it is a museum showing the history of the Kings and Queens in Latvia and the former president.

Three Brothers

The Three Brothers consist of 3 houses. The houses together, form the oldest complex of dwelling houses in Riga. The oldest house out of the 3, is number 17. This house was built in the 15th century. The other 2 houses were built much later, in the 17th and 18th centuries. Today, you can step inside one of the 3 houses, number 19, and visit the Latvian Museum of Architecture.

Trokšņu iela

Trokšņu iela is a very interesting, narrow street in Old Town Riga. I’ve added it to my list, as I thought it was such a pretty, little street to see.

The Swedish Gate (Zviedru Varti)

The beautiful Swedish Gate, or as the locals call it, Zviedru Varti, was erected in 1698. It once used to be part of the great Riga Wall. It was designed to provide access to barracks, outside the city wall. Sadly, today, there is only one remaining gate in the city.

Jauniela Street

Jauniela Street is meant to be Riga’s most beautiful street! A street full of old, colourful buildings! A street with so much character! Sadly, I did not take any photos of it to share with you. But it’s defintntly a street to add to your list!

Riga Cathedral

Riga Cathedral is one of Riga’s most recognisable landmarks! The Cathedral is the seat of the Archbishop of Riga, and one of the oldest sacred buildings of the medieval period in Latvia. It is truly impressive to see! With 2-metre thick walls, it holds one of the biggest organs in Europe. A crazily, massive 6,718 pipes organ!

Nativity Cathedral (Kristus Piedzimsanas)

The Nativity Cathedral, or as the locals call it, Kristus Piedzimsanas, is a Russian Orthodox cathedral. It was built between 1876 and 1883 when the Russian Empire was under rule. It’s beautiful!

Riga Castle

Riga Castle is a beautiful castle! The castle is located on the beautiful banks of the River Daugava. It was founded in 1330, but the structure was then thoroughly rebuilt between 1497 and 1515. Today, it is one of the largest medieval castles in Latvia! It houses the residence of the President of Latvia, and therefore sadly it is not open to the public.

The Freedom Monument

The Freedom Monument is a memorial, honoring the soldiers, which were sadly killed during the Latvian War of Independence. Today, itis considered as a very important symbol of the freedom, independence, and sovereignty of Latvia.

St Peter’s Church

St Peter’s Church is the tallest church in Riga! The tall tower was built in the 15th century but sadly collapsed in 1666. A new tower was built in 1690, but in 1721, the tower was sadly struck by lightning and burnt down. This tower was then rebuilt for the 3rd time, but again, it sadly got destroyed, during World War II.

In 1967, the renovation of the tower began for the 4th time! This time, they decided to go with a metal construction. Not only that, but an elevator was also built! Building the elevator meant that the galleries could now be used as great sightseeing platforms. Thankfully, today it is still standing!

The tower is a whopping 123.25 meters high. You can head up to the second gallery, at a height of 72 meters, which provides stunning views across the city. Sadly, we did not get a chance to go up. It’s open Tuesday to Saturday from 10 am to 6 pm, Sunday from 12 noon to 6 pm, and closed Mondays. Admission costs €9 for adults and €7 for students.

If you are thinking a bout going up the tower, I’ve read that it’s very cold at the top! So make sure you wrap up warm!

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Further Reading

My book, How I Tamed the Wolf, Living with Lupus is available on Amazon via this link:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B09M73X2JQ/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_MWAF58981F0VVMNRV1WN

Other travel guides you may like:

A guide to Vilnius: A Guide To Vilnius