The delights of the old town of Riga lie between the Daugave and the Pilsetas canal, bordered to the north by K. Valdemara Street and to the south by 13. Janvara Street. In its maze of little streets are fine restored houses recalling the city’s hist..

These three adjacent houses recall the Hanseatic history of the city when Riga’s merchants prospered. The narrowest of them, n°21, is also the youngest, dating from the 18C. The next was built in 1646 and is embellished by a Baroque doorway added a c..

An unmissable atraction, this museum has nearly a million objects, tracing the nation’s history from its origins to the Soviet era. There is so much to see, it is hard to focus on any one object: archaeological finds from 9000BC; a rich collection of..

Located in the old cathedral chapterhouse which has undergone significant remodelling down the years, notably in 1779 when architect Christoph Haberland designed the column room, this museum deals with the history of the capital and its port in chron..

This museum deals with the periods of foreign domination experienced by Latvia’s capital, largely to the city’s detriment. Gulag deportations of political opponents, the extermination of the Jews, purges of Baltic nationalists in the late 1940s… Thes..

This house bearing the name of its last owner was built in 1695 for a master glazier called Jürgen Helms, and subsequently long occupied by a pharmacy. Following restoration works which have revealed wall paintings, it has been furnished using pieces..

Lying northeast of Riga, this 90 000ha national park encompasses the varied topography of the Gauja Valley. It includes forests, prairies, rivers, lakes and marshland, punctuated by impressive rock formations and caves, not to mention numerous histor..

Known for its bays, 69 sandbanks and islands covered in silver-birch brush, this lake is superb. Several saunas on its shores instil the urge to dive into its waters. A wood is the setting for a designated picnic area. If nobody else is around, walki..

A fine French-style garden is the backdrop for this palace (1735-1765) where the elegance of the exterior is matched by the richness of the interior. The east wing was the setting for public events, while the west wing housed the private apartments o..

After visiting the tourist office on arrival in Kuldiga, don’t leave this street before admiring its fine wooden houses, especially nos7, 10 and 17. A definite photo opportunity.

It took this castle three centuries (13C-16C) to assume its current aspect, but the rooms within offer a longer historical perspective, ranging from prehistory to the 19C and explaining the region’s development through a rich collection of tools, jew..

Beyond the exhibition hall dedicated to the region’s nautical life, the park has fishing boats displayed under awnings, as well as fishermen’s cabins constituting a veritable village (with windmill and beehives). There are explanatory panels in Engli..

This point lying between the Baltic Sea and the gulf of Riga is magical. Cape Kolka seems a world away, in a place where nature’s elements reign supreme. Here the sea is not welcoming, nor is the wind a mere gentle breeze, yet it is a true pleasure t..

The lively and charming heart of Jurmala, Majori has enough shops and restaurants running along Jomas Street to satisfy the most exacting of window-shoppers and gourmets. But a gentle stroll around the area reveals more culturally attractive features..

Covering 87ha of pine forest, this museum founded in 1924 succeeds in reconstructing the prevalent conditions experienced by the various populations living in Latvia’s four main regions. In order to do so, it has amassed a collection of 121 buildings..

In these woods near the mushroom centre of Salaspils, the Nazis ran a concentration camp of 39 barrack buildings which from 1941 to 1944 housed thousands of inmates. Jews and resistance fighters from Riga and elsewhere in the occupied areas were mass..

Smilsu Street will delight lovers of early-20C architecture with its ensemble of buildings encompassing eclecticism and Art Nouveau, as typified by n°2, designed in 1902 by Konstantins Paksens and decorated with peacocks.

Although the cathedral was first built in the 13C, its original appearance has long been obscured by Gothic, Baroque, neo-Gothic and Art Nouveau additions. Beautifully lit by late-19C stained glass windows, the interior has a magnificent carved wood ..

The trade body of merchants known as the Great Guild was all-powerful in the busy port of Riga during its membership of the Hanseatic League. This house was built in the 14C as its headquarters, and down in the basement there remain vestiges from tha..

This large brick church in the Gothic style has had a turbulent history and experienced several phases of rebuilding. Its wooden bell tower, standing lighthouse-like on the Riga skyline, dominates the city at a height of 123m. It naturally draws love..