Things to do in Klaipėda
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Teatro Aikštė
Little of German Klaipėda remains but there are some restored streets in the oldest part of town wedged between the river and Turgaus aikštė. Pretty Teatro Aikštė is the Old Town focus, dominated by the fine classical-style Drama Theatre (1857). Hitler proclaimed the Anschluss (incorporation) of Memel into Germany to the crowd on the square from the theatre's balcony.
In front tinkles a fountain dedicated to Simon Dach, a 17th-century Klaipėda-born German poet (1605-59), who was the focus of a circle of Königsberg writers and musicians. On a pedestal in the middle of the water stands Äennchen von Tharau (1912), a statue of Ann from Tharau sculpted by Berlin artist Al…
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Švyturys Brewery
Reservations are essential for tours of Klaipėda's Švyturys Brewery , rebuilt after WWII. Švyturys is the big-brand beer to drink. Tours of 1½-hour duration depart at noon Wednesday and Friday.
Brewed in Klaipėda by Lithuania's oldest operating brewery (since 1784), the market leader comes in eight types ranging from the light fresh golden Gintarinis to the old-style unfiltered Baltas (shake before opening) and the strong, dark, amber-coloured Baltijos. Danish beer giant Carlsberg Breweries bought a controlling stake in Švyturys in 1999 and four years later scooped Utenos into its corporate fold, managing the two breweries under controlling company Baltic Beverages Ho…
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Curonian Spit National Nature Museum
The Curonian Spit National Nature Museum is in three wooden houses, incorporating the birds and mammals, plants and insects, and landscape sections of the museum painted yellow, green and brown.
About 700m further north are old fishing vessels, including three Baltic Sea fishing trawlers built in the late 1940s and a 1935 kurėnas (a traditional 10.8m flat-bottomed Curonian sailing boat used for fishing). Next door, the Ethnographic Sea Fishermen's Farmstead, with its collection of traditional 19th-century buildings (the granary, dwelling house, cellar, cattle shed and so on) proffers a glimpse of traditional fishing life.
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Kurpiai
It is quite incredible really: this Old Town jazz club with cobbled terrace and dark old-world interior has been around for years, opening its doors way before all the postindependence bars and restaurants mushroomed. Yet it remains not just the best place to eat in Klaipėda, but one of Lithuania's best bars too. (Hell no - it's the best.) A Klaipėda legend, not least because of 'Lithuanian Louis Armstrong' Kango and his amazing sax life, Kurpiai is the spot to come for funky live jazz nightly while sampling tender, juicy steaks and fish dishes. It heaves at weekends so get in well before 21:30.
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Klaipėda Castle Museum
West of Pilies gatvė are the remains of Klaipėda's old moat-protected castle. The Klaipėda Castle Museum inside the one remaining tower tells the castle's story from the 13th to 17th centuries.
To get to the museum, walk through the Klaipėda State Sea Port Authority building and a ship-repair yard. Incredibly, this rundown ramshackle yard is the first thing the 20,000 passengers a year who step off luxury cruise ships in Klaipėda see! The cruise ship terminal (www.ports.lt) shares the castle site.
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Martynas Mažvydas Sculpture Park
In true Lithuanian style, Klaipėda is studded with great sculptures, including 120-odd from the late 1970s in the Martynas Mažvydas Sculpture Park and a monumental 3.5m one in granite of the geezer the park is named after - Martynas Mažvydas, author of the first book published in Lithuanian in 1547 - on Lietuvninkų aikštė.
Martynas Mažvydas Sculpture Park was a German cemetery in the 1820s.
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Mary Queen of Peace Church
There is no higher spot from which to survey the city than atop the 46.5m tower of Klaipėda's Mary Queen of Peace Church. The enormous concrete church was built in 1957, shut by the Soviet authorities the moment it was complete in 1960 and used as a concert hall until 1988, when the church was reconsecrated and Mass celebrated for the first time. Book a visit through the tourist office.
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Lithuanian Sea Museum
Equally crowd-pleasing are the sea lion and dolphin shows at the Lithuanian Sea Museum, 1.5km from the passenger ferry landing (for Old Castle Port ferries) at the tip of the peninsula. Seals dance on the rocks and sea lions splash around in the moat around the 19th-century fort in which the aquarium is housed.
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Anikės Teatras
Just about the only restaurant with a terrace truly plump on Teatro aikštė, this theatrical dining spot with lavish interior is a Klaipėda must-dine. European is served in the teatras; Lithuanian in the adjoining kuršiai.
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Clock Museum
All manner of clocks - from Gothic to nuclear - tick inside the Clock Museum. Carillon concerts are held in its back yard on summer weekends at noon; the 48-bell carillon is in the 44m bell tower of the neighbouring neo-Gothic post office.
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Elcalor
With purpled-out windows, Elcalor in Old Town (entrance on Jono gatvė) is Klaipėda's Latin soul. Bands play on Friday and DJs mix Latin, Latin pop and Latin House on Saturday. Entrance (over 21s) includes a free drink.
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Čili Kaimas
A chain it might be, but Čili Kaimas deserves recognition on two counts: (a) for its smoked ears, potato pudding and other hearty Lithuanian fodder (b) for its atmospheric setting in a great Soviet-era cinema.
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Onyx
A spiral staircase whirls trendy young punters up to mezzanine seating at this chic café with flat-screen TV and an overdose of steel. With no terrace to speak of, it's very much a winter hang-out.
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Klaipėda University
Klaipėda University is magnificent. Founded in 1991, it's located in red-brick 19th-century Prussian military barracks, home to the 3rd Coastal Division when Estonia was part of the USSR.
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Picture Gallery
Liepų gatvė - home to the Picture Gallery with works by Lithuanian expressionist painter Pranas Domšaitis (1880-1965) - was called Adolf-Hitler-Strasse for a brief spell.
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Pėda
A stylish cellar adjoining an art gallery (entrance around the corner), this old-timer is ideal for light evening snacks, sweet-centred blyneliai and live jazz at weekends.
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Senoji Hansa
This café sits wedged on a wooden decking terrace in the middle of a cobbled street with enviable Theatre Sq view. The chef's lunchtime dish of the day is a gastronomic steal.
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Bambola Pizza
An eatery Klaipėda is famed for in Lithuania, Bambola is a fantastic pizzeria touting over 40 different picos, a retro brick interior and busy street terrace.
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Žvejų Baras
Old Town boasts several traditional beer bars, including Žvejų Baras. Has riverside terraces overlooking Meridianas, it's an old sailing ship turned bar.
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Scandal
Scandal is a brash American dream, part Wild West, part Mae West, where charcoal-grilled steaks are as big as states. The spare ribs and brownies are legendary.
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Memelis
This red-brick brewery-restaurant by the river has been in operation since 1871. Interior is old-style beer hall; outside is industrial-feel riverside terrace.
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Black Cat Pub
Cushioned wicker chairs beneath trees make the Black Cat Pub a pleasant bar to drink at away from traffic fumes. Look for the Guinness sign and feline outside.
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Boogie Woogie
This hugely popular but by no means spectacular food factory serves American and European fodder amid pop memorabilia set to get guests tapping their toes.
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Baroti Gallery
The Baroti Gallery is partly housed in a converted fish warehouse (1819). Its exposed-timber style, called Fachwerk, is typical of German Memel.
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Baltų Lankų
Best bookshop in town with excellent website and Internet access, on top floor of the red-brick and glass-fronted Mega Plaza shopping centre.
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