Latvia
Riga
A Hanseatic old town ringed by one of the world's great Art Nouveau districts.
Riga is Latvia's capital and the largest city in the Baltics, set on the Daugava a few kilometres from the Gulf of Riga. Its walled-in medieval Old Town of spires, merchant houses and the rebuilt House of the Blackheads is only half the story: the streets beyond hold one of the world's great concentrations of Art Nouveau buildings, with Alberta iela the showpiece. Add a vast market in former Zeppelin hangars, a lively bar scene and the beaches of Jūrmala half an hour away by train.
Suggested stay
2–4 days
Language
Latvian, Russian
Currency
EUR
Timezone
UTC+3
Why you'll love Riga
Art Nouveau whole streets of sculpted facades, faces and towers, much of it built in a decade-long boom around 1900
The Old Town cobbled lanes, Gothic churches and medieval houses packed inside the line of the old walls
The Central Market smoked fish, rye bread and pickles sold from five giant hangars built for Zeppelins
Summer by the sea long light evenings in the parks and canal-side gardens, and Jūrmala's sands a train ride away
Best time to visit
May-Sep
17-24° days
56.949° N, 24.105° E
UTC+3 · Europe/Riga
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Weather & when to go to Riga
Month by month: typical highs and lows, rainfall and rain days.
✓ Best May-Sep
Cards tinted by calculated verdict · big number = typical daily high, small = low · hover for conditions
When to avoid Riga
November to March is cold and dark, with short days, ice underfoot and a damp wind off the gulf; January and February are the deep freeze. December still draws visitors for the Christmas market on Dome Square and Riga's claim to the first Christmas tree, but come for that, not the weather. Around midsummer the city empties as locals head to the countryside for Jāņi.
Top things to do in Riga
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House of the Blackheads and Town Hall Square
history culture arts 👍 PopularThe ornate gabled guild hall of the Blackheads, a brotherhood of unmarried merchants, was destroyed in 1941 and rebuilt from the original plans in the 1990s. It faces the rebuilt Town Hall and the Roland statue across the Old Town's main square.
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St Peter's Church - ride up the spire
history scenic 👍 PopularThe Gothic brick church's tall spire has burned and been rebuilt several times. A lift climbs to a gallery with the best panorama over the Old Town's roofs, the river and the Art Nouveau quarter beyond.
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Riga Cathedral - the Dome and its organ
history culture artsThe largest medieval church in the Baltics, founded in the thirteenth century, with a cloister and a celebrated nineteenth-century organ that is still played in concerts. Dome Square outside is the heart of the winter Christmas market.
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Three Brothers, the Swedish Gate and the Cat House
historyWalk the Old Town's quieter lanes past the Three Brothers, a row of medieval houses from three different centuries, the Swedish Gate cut through the old wall, the Powder Tower and the Cat House with its arched-back cats on the roof.
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Alberta iela and the Art Nouveau quarter
culture arts history ⭐ Highly recommendedA single street of extravagant facades, many by Mikhail Eisenstein, with screaming masks, sphinxes and peacocks. The Riga Art Nouveau Museum preserves a period apartment inside, and Elizabetes iela and the Quiet Centre around it carry on the show.
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Riga Central Market - the Zeppelin hangars
food culture arts 👍 PopularOne of Europe's largest markets, laid out in five hangars moved here from a First World War airship base. Each pavilion has its trade: meat, dairy, smoked fish, bread and vegetables, with stalls spilling out between them.
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The Corner House - the former KGB headquarters
history ⭐ Highly recommendedThe Soviet secret police ran Latvia from this Art Nouveau corner building on Brīvības iela. Guided tours lead down to the basement cells and the interrogation rooms, and an exhibition tells the story of the occupation years.
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Freedom Monument and the canal parks
history scenicThe copper figure known as Milda holds up three stars above the boulevard dividing the Old Town from the new, with an honour guard at its foot. Around it the city canal winds through Bastejkalns and the Esplanade gardens, ideal for a summer stroll.
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Latvian Ethnographic Open-Air Museum - farms by Lake Jugla
culture arts historyWooden farmsteads, windmills, churches and fishing huts gathered from every region of Latvia, set in pine forest on the shore of Lake Jugla on the city's edge. Craft fairs fill it in summer.
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Latvian food and Riga Black Balsam
foodTry grey peas with fried bacon, dark rye bread, smoked fish, cold pink beetroot soup in summer and kvass. Finish with Riga Black Balsam, a bitter herbal liqueur sold in stone bottles and often mixed with blackcurrant juice.
Best areas to stay in Riga
$ Budget $$ Mid-range $$$ Premium
Old Town (Vecrīga)
First-time visitors $$$Medieval lanes, spires and busy bars
Explore hotels in Old Town (Vecrīga) →
Quiet Centre (Klusais centrs)
Couples and design fans $$Art Nouveau streets and embassy calm
Explore hotels in Quiet Centre (Klusais centrs) →
City Centre (Centrs)
Convenience seekers $$Boulevards, cafes and hotels
Explore hotels in City Centre (Centrs) →
Āgenskalns and the Kalnciema Quarter
Local feel $Wooden houses across the river
Explore hotels in Āgenskalns and the Kalnciema Quarter →
Live nightly prices from Booking.com, Agoda and others, centred on Riga
Getting to & around Riga
Getting there
Fly into Riga International Airport, about 10 km from the centre
Flight
Riga International Airport (RIX)
A city bus runs from the terminal to the centre in around 30 minutes, and a taxi or ride-hail reaches the Old Town in about 20 minutes.
Coach
Riga International Coach Terminal
International coaches from Tallinn, Vilnius and further afield arrive beside the Central Market, a short walk from the Old Town
Train
Riga Central Station
Domestic trains from Jūrmala, Sigulda, Cēsis and other Latvian towns arrive at the edge of the Old Town
Ferry
Riga Passenger Port
An overnight ferry links Riga with Stockholm
Cruise
Riga Passenger Port
Cruise ships berth on the Daugava within walking distance of the Old Town
Getting around
Walking
The Old Town, the Art Nouveau quarter and the Central Market are all within an easy walk of each other
Free
Tram
Trams cross the river to Āgenskalns and run out along the main boulevards
TBC
Trolleybus and bus
Fill the gaps, including the airport bus and the run out to Lake Jugla
TBC
Taxi and ride-hailing
App rides are widely used and usually the simplest way to book a car
TBC
Day trips from Riga
Jūrmala
Half dayBeach resort
A long strip of white sand and pine forest on the Gulf of Riga, lined with carved wooden villas. Get off at Majori for the pedestrian street and the beach.
Getting there
train
About 30 min by train
Sigulda and Gauja National Park
Full dayCastles and river valley
A wooded sandstone valley with the red-brick tower of Turaida Castle, the ruins of Sigulda's medieval castle, Gutmanis Cave and a cable car swinging across the river.
Getting there
train | bus
About 1-1.5 hr by train or bus
Rundāle Palace
Full dayBaroque palace
Rastrelli, architect of St Petersburg's Winter Palace, built this baroque and rococo palace for the Duke of Courland, with gilded state rooms and formal French gardens.
Getting there
car | tour
About 1.5 hr by car or tour south
Ķemeri National Park
Half dayBog boardwalk
A boardwalk loops across the Great Ķemeri Bog past black pools and stunted pines to a lookout tower, beyond the far end of Jūrmala.
Getting there
train | car
About 1 hr by train or car west
A little history of Riga
Bishop Albert founded Riga in 1201 as a base for the crusade against the pagan Baltic peoples, and German merchants soon made it one of the richest towns of the Hanseatic League, trading between Russia and the West along the Daugava. Sweden took the city in 1621 and it became the largest in the Swedish realm, before Peter the Great captured it for the Russian Empire in 1710.
By the late nineteenth century Riga was a booming industrial port, and the building rush around 1900 produced its Art Nouveau streets. Latvia declared independence in 1918 with Riga as its capital. Soviet occupation in 1940 was followed by German occupation and war damage that destroyed the House of the Blackheads, then almost half a century of Soviet rule. In 1989 a human chain called the Baltic Way ran through Riga linking Tallinn and Vilnius, and independence was restored two years later.
Bishop Albert founds Riga
Riga joins the Hanseatic League
Sweden captures the city
Russia takes Riga during the Great Northern War
Latvia declares independence, with Riga as its capital
The Soviet Union occupies and annexes Latvia
The Baltic Way human chain passes through Riga
Latvia restores its independence
Riga's historic centre is inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site
Know before you go
Payment
Cards everywhere
English
Widely spoken
Wifi
Reliable
Power
Type C / F
230 V, 50 Hz
Dialing
+371
The months our climate read flags to avoid: the wettest, lowest-rated weather of the year.
FAQs about Riga
▸ When is the best time to visit Riga?
May to September is the time to go, with mild days, long light evenings and outdoor terraces in the Old Town. April and October are cool shoulder months. November to March is cold and dark, though December brings the Christmas market to Dome Square.
▸ How many days do I need in Riga?
Two days covers the Old Town, the Art Nouveau quarter and the Central Market. Allow three or four to add the Corner House, the open-air museum and a day at Jūrmala or in the Gauja valley at Sigulda.
▸ Where is the best Art Nouveau in Riga?
Alberta iela is the showpiece, a single street of Mikhail Eisenstein facades, with more along Elizabetes iela and Strēlnieku iela nearby. Look up as you walk the Quiet Centre: around a third of the buildings in central Riga are Art Nouveau.
▸ Is Riga expensive?
It is cheaper than the Nordic capitals and usually a little cheaper than Tallinn. Restaurants and bars on the main Old Town squares charge more than those a few streets away in the centre or across the river.
▸ Can I reach the beach from Riga?
Yes. Trains run to Jūrmala's string of seaside stations in about half an hour, and Majori is the usual stop for the beach and the resort's pedestrian street. The sea is cool even in high summer.
▸ Did Riga have the first Christmas tree?
Riga claims that the Brotherhood of Blackheads decorated a tree on Town Hall Square in 1510, and a plaque marks the spot. Tallinn makes a rival claim for an earlier tree, and the two cities have never settled it.