Sights in Rīga
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Central Market
Located in five huge hangars behind the bus station, this colourful, Soviet-style market is one of the largest in Europe and has Rīga's cheapest produce.
A 1330 manuscript provides the first written reference, alluding to the market near the Dome Cathedral being moved to what is now called 'Riflemen Square', east of Akmens Bridge, where it remained until 1570, when it was moved to the banks of the Daugava to facilitate trading along the river.
The market stayed on the Daugava for more than 350 years. By the mid-1600s when Rīga, then under Swedish rule, outgrew Stockholm, the market flourished with over 1000 merchants trading goods from all over the region.
In 1930 the m…
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Latvian Ethnographic Open-Air Museum
Located way out on the outskirts of the city, the Latvian Ethnographic Open-Air Museum is a Rīga essential. The dozens of farmhouses, churches and windmills on the grounds provide a record of bygone country life. The National Fair of Applied Arts (early June) and several festivals are held here. Take bus No 1 from the corner of Merķeļa iela and Tērbatas iela to the Brīvdabas muzejs stop.
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Freedom Monument
Over the canal from Līvu Laukums you'll find the Freedom Monument. During the Soviet years the Freedom Monument was off-limits, and placing flowers at its base was a crime for which people were deported to Siberia.
Topped by a bronze female Liberty holding up three stars facing west, representing three regions of Latvia - Kurzeme, Vidzeme and Latgale - it bears the inscription Tēvzemei un Brīvībai (For Fatherland and Freedom).
During the Soviet years the Freedom Monument was off-limits, and a statue of Lenin, facing the other way down Brīvības iela, was placed two blocks east. Lenin was removed on the night of 20 August 1991, after the collapse of the Moscow coup atte…
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Lido atpūtas centrs
With an ice-skating rink and its own outdoor ethnographic park, it's a huge draw for Latvian families. From the bus station it's an easy 15-minute ride out to the 'Lido' stop on tram 7.
If you want to sample Latvian food look no further than the wildly popular buffet-style Lido restaurants. The chain's flagship enterprise is the gargantuan, amusement park-like Lido atpūtas centrs, where you can easily get lost amid endless buffet rows of pork knuckle, potato pancakes, fried cabbage and, oh, about a thousand other dishes.
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Museum of the Occupation of Latvia
Both the Soviet and Nazi occupations of Latvia during the last 65 years are chronicled in the chilling yet spirited Museum of the Occupation of Latvia. A gaggle of young tour guides gives free tours in English, and there's also a worthwhile one-hour audio guide available. Here you can also buy historical books on the occupation and dissident memoirs translated into English.
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St Peter's
Rīga's skyline centrepiece is gothic St Peter's, thought to be about 800 years old. Don't miss the view from its famed spire, which has been rebuilt three times in the same baroque form. Legend has it that in 1667 builders threw glass from the top - the number of pieces it broke into was the number of years it would stand. It landed on straw and didn't break, and a year later it burned down. The spire's current incarnation dates to 1973.
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Swedish Gate
Towards the centre of Old Town, look for Trokšnu iela, Old Rīga's narrowest street. It leads to the Swedish Gate, which was built into the city walls in 1698 to celebrate Swedish occupation. East of that is the round 14th-century Powder Tower, the only survivor of the 18 towers in the old city wall and home to the War Museum.
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Līvu Laukums
This square, near the busiest entrance to Old Town along Kaļķu iela, features beer gardens by summer and an outdoor ice rink by winter. The square is overlooked by the Great Guild which faces the yellow-painted Cat House on Meistaru iela 19 that adorns many a postcard.
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National Museum of Art
Across the Esplanāde park is the National Museum of Art, where pre-WWII Russian and Latvian art is on display among the Soviet grandeur of ruched net curtains, marble columns and red carpets.
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Museum of the History of Rīga & Navigation
The Museum of the History of Rīga & Navigation is in a cloister next to Dome Cathedral. The gruesome mummified hand of a criminal and the 16th-century executioner's sword are highlights.
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St Roland
A statue of Rīga's patron saint, St Roland, stands between the House of Blackheads and the Town Hall. It's a replica of the original, erected in 1897, which now sits in St Peter's.
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Museum of Decorative & Applied Arts
The absorbing Museum of Decorative & Applied Arts, in a restored 13th-century church, presents an eccentric melee of Latvian textiles, china and tapestry.
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Jewish Community Centre
The Jewish community centre shares a building with the 'Jews in Latvia Museum', which recounts Latvian Jewish history from the 16th century to 1945.
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Warehouses
The entire area south of St Peter's square is a fine place to wander. For a picturesque ramble, head over to the 16th- and 17th-century Warehouses.
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St Jacob's Cathedral
Heading north from busy Doma laukums (Dome Square), you'll spot St Jacob's Cathedral, with an interior dating back to 1225.
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Russian Orthodox Cathedral
Just north of the Freedom Monument is Esplanāde park and the fabulous 19th-century Russian Orthodox Cathedral.
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House of Blackheads
The House of Blackheads was originally built in 1344 to house the Blackheads' guild of unmarried foreign merchants.
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Rīga Castle
In Old Town's northeast corner, medieval Rīga Castle now houses the president and a couple of museums.
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Synagogue
Wander the area south of St Peter's square and you'll find the only Old Town Synagogue to survive the war.
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War Museum
The violent history of this tiny nation is depicted in photos and war relics at the War Museum.
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Mentzendorff's House
You can see how wealthy Rīgans once lived at 17th-century Mentzendorff's House.
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Three Brothers
Near the Dome Cathedral are the Three Brothers, Rīga's oldest stone houses.
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Paul Mandelstamm's Apartment
For a fix of Art Nouveau, check out Paul Mandelstamm's apartment.
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