Two Days in Latvia’s Capital City of Rīga – What to See and Do

Disclaimer: This is not a sponsored post, I paid for this trip myself. All recommendations are my own.

Our visit to Rīga, Latvia’s capital city, was the final stop of our two week self-drive holiday around the sights of Latvia. We had been staying in the coastal resort town of Jūrmala, a short drive from Rīga. To avoid the stress and expense of driving and parking in Rīga, we returned our hire car to the airport and took the cheap and regular bus into the inner city.

Rīga is a large sprawling city where a third of Latvia’s population lives. The city lies on the Gulf of Rīga at the mouth of the Daugava river where it meets the Baltic Sea. Rīga features a UNESCO World Heritage historic city centre with stunning Art Nouveau/Jugendstil architecture as well as rustic 19th century wooden architecture.

We were staying in an apartment in the heart of Rīga’s old town, Vecriga. When we arrived, the sun was shining so we headed out to explore as much as we could in the time we had. This city is a very popular tourist destination, so the tourist centre was bustling with tour groups and groups of guys who come here for a cheap lads weekend and bachelor parties, so it can get rather rowdy, especially in the weekends.

Day 1 in Rīga

Coffee and a Souvenir

When we arrived in Rīga we stopped for refreshments at the lovely boutique souvenir store and cafe called the Latvian Design Store which shares it space with Look At Rīga (Rātslaukums 7 entrance from, Svaru iela, Centra rajons, Rīga, LV-1050, Latvia). If you are trying to avoid the usual tacky plastic souvenirs, then visit the Latvian Design Store for some beautifully made items. Your family and friends will love you for it.

House of Blackheads

Rātslaukums 7, Centra rajons, Rīga, LV-1050, Latvia

This famous landmark in the Old Town was built during the 14th century for the Brotherhood of Blackheads, a guild for unmarried merchants and shipowners. Sadly, the building was bombed during the WWII and then demolished by the Soviets. However, it was rebuilt in 1999.

St Peter’s Church

Reformācijas Laukums 1, Centra rajons, Rīga, LV-1050, Latvia

Rīga is quite a flat city, so there are not many high places to look out over the city, so we headed up St. Peter’s Church spire to enjoy a panoramic view of Rīga from the viewing platform at a height of 72 metres (236 ft). There is a small entry fee to get up to the viewing platform and it is via a rather slow lift, but the views were worth it. The church was originally built in 1209, but it has seen a lot of changes since, so very little remains of the original structure. It’s feature is the rooster wind vane which has had to be replaced seven times. They have the previous one on display which came down when the tower collapsed. The current rooster was gilded in gold for the 800th anniversary of the church. The church bells play the Latvian folk song ‘Rīga dimd’ five times a day on the hour.

Statue – Town Musicians of Bremen

Pēterbaznīcas iela, Centra rajons, Rīga, LV-1050, Latvia

Behind St Peter’s church is a cobbled area that has a few market stalls and a statue of the “Town Musicians of Bremen”. It’s from a folktale by the Brothers Grimm. It depicts the four animals – a donkey, dog, cat and rooster – standing on each other’s backs as they peered into a house of feasting robbers. Our walk lead us past the shopping mall, Galerija Centrs, where they were holding a local artisan market in the atrium. We stopped by to grab ourselves some delicious homemade items for lunch.

Bastejkalna Park, Kronvalda Park, Esplanāde and Vērmane Garden

Riga’s inner city has a cluster of beautiful parks. First is the large Bastejkalna park with its canal running through the heart of it. In the park is the stunning Latvian National Opera House designed by architect Ludwig Bohnstedt, the Fountain Nymph, the romantic love lock bridge, and sculptures. Then there is the Esplanāde with its Nativity of Christ Cathedral, with its shiny gold domes, and the Latvian National Museum of Art.

The Freedom Monument

Central District, Riga, LV-1050, Latvia

In the centre of Bastejkalna park is the Freedom Monument which honours the soldiers killed during the Latvian War of Independence (1918–1920). It is considered an important symbol of the freedom, independence, and sovereignty of Latvia. The copper figure of Liberty sits at the top, whom the locals call Milda, holding three gilded stars in the air. During the day they have a changing of the guard every hour.

The Powder Tower (War Museum)

Smilšu iela 20, Centra rajons, Rīga, LV-1050, Latvia

The medieval Powder Tower was originally one of Riga’s fortification wall towers, originally called the Sand Tower. It was originally built in 1330 but has been reconstructed several times. In the 17th century it was renamed the Powder Tower as it was used to store gunpowder. Now it is used to house the War Museum.

The Swedish Gate

Atgriežu iela, Centra rajons, Rīga, LV-1050, Latvia

The Swedish Gate was erected in 1698 as a part of the Rīga Wall to provide access to barracks outside the city wall. This is a wonderful area to explore the historic buildings of Rīga through the narrowed cobbled streets until eventually you get to the castle.

Riga Castle

Pils laukums 3, Centra rajons, Rīga, LV-1050, Latvia

The castle sits on the banks of the River Daugava. It was originally founded in 1330 but was rebuilt between 1497 and 1515 but further extended in 1641 by the Swedes when they took control of the castle. Over the 17th and 19th centuries it was reconstructed and in 1938 it became the residence of the Latvian government. Now it is the official residence of the President of Latvia so it is not open to the public. It is surrounded by several beautiful churches including Our Lady of Sorrows Church, St. Saviour’s Anglican Church and St. Mary Magdalene Roman Catholic Church. Nearby on Aklā iela is a little medieval themed alley with the restaurant Lasite (Aklā iela 2 pie, Pils iela 13, Rīga, LV-1050, Latvia) which serves authentic medieval food.

The Three Brothers (Latvian Museum of Architecture)

A short walk from the castle is another famous Rīga landmark, The Three Brothers. These three buildings were supposedly built by three men from the same family, but each were built over different centuries – 15th, 16th and 17th, so each have a unique historic style. They now house the Latvian Museum of Architecture.

Dome Square

Dome square is named after the medieval Riga Dome Cathedral. The large square is surrounded by beautiful buildings from the 19th and early 20th century. There are lots of interesting streets that lead off from the square to explore. I loved the Hobbywool store (Mazā Pils iela 6, Centra rajons, Rīga, LV-1050, Latvia) with gorgeous traditional knitted items and they also sell some knitting kits to create multi-coloured mittens that looked rather complicated with multiple knitting needles.

Līvu Laukums and The Cat House, The Great Guild and The Small Guild

We were pretty tired by now so we wandered over to the beautiful garden in nearby Līvu laukums. It was a gorgeous sunny afternoon and there was some outdoor bars where we enjoyed a drink and took in the wonderful surrounding buildings including The Cat House, The Great Guild and The Small Guild.

Street Fries Kitchen

We had dinner at Street Fries Kitchen (Riharda Vāgnera iela 18, Centra rajons, Rīga, LV-1050, Latvia) which serves delicious burgers. They also have a range of other yummy looking items including pancakes and waffles.

Day 2 in Rīga

Kalnciema kvartāls

Our second day in Rīga was a Saturday, so we visited Kalnciema Quarter Market. It’s a traditional farmer and artisan market which takes place every Saturday, 10:00 – 16:00. During December the market is also open on Sundays. I loved this market, the goods on sale were of high quality and it had a really lovely laid back friendly local feel to it. It was a gloriously sunny day so we sat in the small onsite garden eating the delicious homemade items we purchased. They sell everything from farm produce, arts and crafts to home baked goods and jewellery. They also put on activities for kids.

Latvian National Museum of Art

The Latvian National Museum of Art was the only museum we managed to get to. Entry was free and its located in a beautiful, grand old building. I was surprised to find hardly anyone there when we went, but there were several couples getting their wedding outfits photos taken. It has a really good range of work and an interesting history of how this artwork was saved during the war and returned.

Hand Made kitchen

We stopped for a late lunch at the Hand Made Kitchen (Tērbatas iela 14, Centra rajons, Rīga, LV-1011, Latvia) which is exclusively Latvian produced food, even their soft drinks were Latvian. This place is known for its delicious dumplings with a range of fillings to choose from. You can also purchase dumplings to take home and prepare. I particularly liked the seafood varieties. If you don’t feel like dumplings, then there are other meals to be had as well as amazing fluffy pancakes which we divulged in.

Alberta Street

To see beautiful Art Nouveau architecture, we headed to Alberta Street. Surprisingly this street was built over a short period from 1901 to 1908. The buildings are breathtaking, and we spent some time just staring up at them enjoying the details of each building. This street is in a trendy area of Rīga and also has a lot of nice shops and cafes. On our walk back into the city we wandered through the streets and also found a lot of the traditional wooden slat houses here as well.

Rīga Central Market

Rīga Central Market is huge because it is housed in what was once a military hanger. It is a really popular place to shop and you can get all of your groceries here as well as speciality items spices and locally produced alcohol. There is also a hall dedicated to bars and restaurants and you can get a variety of food here from pizza to ramen.

Latvian Academy of Sciences Observation deck

A short walk from the Central Market is the impressive building of the Latvian Academy of Sciences Akademijas laukums 1, Rīga, LV-1050, Latvia. Built during the Soviet era in honour of the Communist leader Stalin. The construction of the building began in 1951, but it was completely finished only in 1961. It now houses the Latvian Academy of Sciences, but for a small fee visitors can head up the stairs to enjoy the panoramic views from the observation desk.

Easy Wines

For our final meal in Rīga we headed to a franchise called Easy Wines (Audēju iela 4, Centra rajons, Rīga, LV-1050, Latvia). My husband and I both love wine, so we really loved the concept of this restaurant. There is also a beer version of this place as well and we have seen a few of these in other parts of Europe but had not yet tried it. Apparently the restaurant started in Rīga. Basically they have a large selection of wines including red, white, rosé, and dessert. They provide you a card that keeps track of how how much you drink so they can charge you at the end of the evening. You take your glass up to the bar and select your wine and then put the card in the machine and it automatically dispenses wine. I really loved that I got the chance to try a variety of wines, and some really expensive ones that I wouldn’t normally get to try because buying a bottle is so expensive. The food was really excellent as well, so this place was really a highlight for us and I would definitely visit one of these restaurants again if I got the chance.

Museums

If you have more time than we did, or you experience bad weather, then there are plenty of museums to keep you entertained

• National History Museum of Latvia – Where you can learn more about the history of Latvia.
• The Ethnographic Open Air Museum of Latvia – We really wanted to visit this open air museum, as we drove past it on our way from the airport to Sigulda. It is an opportunity to see how Latvian’s used to live and it is in a beautiful river setting. It’s about a 30 minute drive from the city though and about 50 minutes on the bus.
• Museum of the Occupation of Latvia – This tells the story of those living in Latvia during its occupation in the the Second World War 1940 – 1991.
• Latvian War Museum – At this museum you can learn more about Latvia’s military and political history.
• Riga Motor Museum – For those passionate about cars.

Recommended Accommodation Options in Rīga

Search available accommodation in Rīga

Budget

• Amber Rooms
• Allure Rooms & Coffee
• Tree House

Moderate

• St. Peter’s Boutique Hotel
• Colonel Suites & Apartments
• Boutique Hotel KRISTOFS

Luxury

• Relais Le Chevalier
• Sherlock Art Hotel
• Grand Palace Hotel – The Leading Hotels of the World

Practical Tips for Visiting Rīga

• How to get to Rīga from the airport: The airport bus stop is directly in front of the terminal check-in hall. The timetable of bus No. 22 is available here.
• How long should I visit Rīga for? We enjoyed two days in Rīga and there was plenty to do.
• Tourist Information centre: Riga Tourism Information Centre is located Centra rajons, Rīga, LV-1050, Latvia and Kaļķu iela 16, Centra rajons, Rīga, LV-1050, Latvia.
• Language: Latvian is the official language of Latvia. Latgalian, Ukrainian, Belarusian and Russian are also spoken. Most younger people we came across spoke excellent English, particularly at the tourist sites. But do try your hand at a few Latvian words:
  • Hello – Sveiki (Svekee)
  • Please – Lūdzu (LOO-dzoo)
  • Thank you – Paldies (PUHL-dyehs)
  • Yes – Jā (yahh)
  • No – Nē (neh)
  • Excuse me – Atvainojiet (UHT-vay-noh-yeht)
  • I’m sorry – Piedodiet (pyeh-DOH-dyeht)
  • Goodbye – Atā (UH-tahh)
  • Where is the toilet? – Kur ir tualete? (koor eer TWAH-leh-teh?)

• Currency: Euro. Most places accepted card for payment, however, there are quite a few smaller places that only accept cash, so I recommend taking some cash with you.
• Tipping: Not required.
• Electricity: The electrical current is 230 volts AC. Wall outlets generally take the European two round prong plugs. However, you are better off purchasing a worldwide adaptor that can be used in Latvia as well other countries. At least then you can potentially get some further use out of it on future vacations. If you’re taking a number of electronics with you, then I would recommend purchasing a couple of these adaptors.
• Driving in Latvia: In Latvia they drive on the right hand side and all vehicles must have their lights on day and night. In built-up areas speed limits are 50 km/h and 20 km/h in residential areas. On normal roads car speed limits are 90 km/hr and 100km/hr on dual carriage ways. There are a lot of speed cameras in Latvia and they are hard to spot as they are a modern slim grey design. There will be a warning sign directly before it, but they are easily missed. They carefully monitor speeding in Latvia as we witnessed a number of drivers being stopped by police, so watch your speed.
• Navigating: Use Google’s free Offline Maps which allows you to access free maps for navigating that can be used offline i.e. you don’t need WIFI, data, or roaming to be able to use them. Follow this detailed guide on how to use Googles Offline Maps.
  • Using your phone as a GPS will drain your battery quickly, so use a portable battery charger which you can use to charge your phone and any other USB chargeable devices.
  • If you prefer a paper map, then purchase a Latvian road map before you go. At least it’s reliable and won’t run out of battery or malfunction like the electronic options!