Alberta Iela
Like a huge painting that you can spend hours staring at, as your eye detects more and more intriguing details, this must-see Rīga sight is in fact a…
Getty Images/iStockphoto
Latvia
A tapestry of sea, lakes and woods, Latvia is best described as a vast, unspoilt parkland with just one real city – its cosmopolitan capital, Rīga. The country might be small, but the amount of personal space it provides is enormous. You can always secure a chunk of pristine nature all for yourself, be it for trekking, cycling or dreaming away on a white-sand beach amid pine-covered dunes.
Having been invaded by every regional power, Latvia has more cultural layers and a less homogenous population than its neighbours. People here fancy themselves to be the least pragmatic and the most artistic of the Baltic lot. They prove the point with myriad festivals and a merry, devil-may-care attitude – well, a subdued Nordic version of it.
Explore Latvia
- Alberta Iela
Like a huge painting that you can spend hours staring at, as your eye detects more and more intriguing details, this must-see Rīga sight is in fact a…
- Turaida Museum Reserve
Turaida means ‘God’s Garden’ in ancient Livonian, and this green knoll capped with a fairy-tale castle is certainly a heavenly place. The red-brick castle…
- DDaugavpils Fortress
This impressive riverside citadel is enjoying an ongoing renovation that's recreating its historic atmosphere. Look for the restored Nicholas Gate near…
- SSt Peter's Church
Forming the centrepiece of Rīga’s skyline, this Gothic church is thought to be around 800 years old, making it one of the oldest medieval buildings in the…
- SSigulda Castle Complex
The city of Sigulda has done a fine job developing the historic buildings at its core into one unmissable complex. The highlight is the Livonian Order…
- CCorner House
A real-life house of horrors, this imposing fin de siècle building is remembered by generations of Latvians as the local headquarters of the notorious…
- ŽŽanis Lipke Memorial
There is hardly a place in Latvia that can tell such a poignant and optimistic story as this quietly stunning memorial. Žanis Lipke saved over 50 Jews…
- RRīga Ghetto & Latvian Holocaust Museum
The centrepiece of this arresting and challenging museum is a wooden house with a reconstructed flat, like those that Jews had to move into when the Nazis…
- BBiķernieki Memorial
Between 1941 and 1944, the Nazis – aided by Latvians – shot more than 35,000 Jews at 55 different sites in this forest. It is one of several killing sites…
Latest Stories from Latvia
Top attractions
These are our favorite local haunts, touristy spots, and hidden gems throughout Latvia.
See
Alberta Iela
Like a huge painting that you can spend hours staring at, as your eye detects more and more intriguing details, this must-see Rīga sight is in fact a…
See
Turaida Museum Reserve
Turaida means ‘God’s Garden’ in ancient Livonian, and this green knoll capped with a fairy-tale castle is certainly a heavenly place. The red-brick castle…
See
Daugavpils Fortress
This impressive riverside citadel is enjoying an ongoing renovation that's recreating its historic atmosphere. Look for the restored Nicholas Gate near…
See
St Peter's Church
Forming the centrepiece of Rīga’s skyline, this Gothic church is thought to be around 800 years old, making it one of the oldest medieval buildings in the…
See
Sigulda Castle Complex
The city of Sigulda has done a fine job developing the historic buildings at its core into one unmissable complex. The highlight is the Livonian Order…
See
Corner House
A real-life house of horrors, this imposing fin de siècle building is remembered by generations of Latvians as the local headquarters of the notorious…
See
Žanis Lipke Memorial
There is hardly a place in Latvia that can tell such a poignant and optimistic story as this quietly stunning memorial. Žanis Lipke saved over 50 Jews…
See
Rīga Ghetto & Latvian Holocaust Museum
The centrepiece of this arresting and challenging museum is a wooden house with a reconstructed flat, like those that Jews had to move into when the Nazis…
See
Biķernieki Memorial
Between 1941 and 1944, the Nazis – aided by Latvians – shot more than 35,000 Jews at 55 different sites in this forest. It is one of several killing sites…
Guidebooks
Learn more about Latvia
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