Latvia
This modern centre provides a good introduction to local Livonian culture, including their love of berries, songs and their unique red-checked wool socks…
Must-see attractions in Latvia
Russian Orthodox Church of Transfiguration
Latvia
The hilltop Russian Orthodox church of Transfiguration was built by the von Sievers at their family cemetery (like many Germans on Russian service they…
Latvia
This renovated 16th-century wood building is now home to the Tourist Information Centre. Outside, a statue popular for selfies portrays Evalds Valters, a…
Latvia
The garden is dotted with sculptures dedicated to epic Latvian heroes immortalised in the dainas, poetic folk songs which are a major Latvian tradition.
Latvia
Stately and stolid, this 1875 structure was home to Kuldīga’s Jewish community until the Holocaust. It now houses the town's library and arts centre.
Latvia
Dating to 1283, St Simon's shelters medieval burial tombs, an altarpiece, The Temptation (1842), a pulpit from 1739 and an 1886 pipe organ.
Latvia
Kurzeme’s oldest wooden house – built in 1670, reconstructed in 1742 and renovated in 1982 – stands on the northern corner of Pasta iela.
Latvia
The new town hall, built in 1860 in Italian Renaissance style, is at the southern end of Rātslaukums.
Latvia
A forlorn site close to the centre where the Nazis killed over 1000 Jews in July 1941.
Latvia
Churches of four main local Christian denominations congregate near each other on a small hill dissected by busy 18 Novembra iela. Lutherans flock into…
Latvia
More grotto than cave, this 19m-deep fissure in the earth is most famous for its role in the tragic legend of the Rose of Turaida. Most tourists visit to…
Latvia
Located 5km outside of town along the unpaved Krasta iela, Riežupe Sand Caves feature 460m of labyrinthine tunnels that can be visited by candlelight…
Latvia
The sprawling, crumbling Krimulda estate includes a neoclassical manor house from 1822, whose proud columns look out onto modest gardens. Inside you can…
Latvia
Built by German crusaders in 1399 to protect the eastern front of the Livonian Order, the castle has been in ruins since 1775. Today the melange of…
Latvia
For centuries, life in Kurzeme revolved around seafaring and fishing. Occupying vast parkland territory, this museum features a collection of fishing…
Latvia
You can't miss the Hotel Ķemeri. Known as the ‘White Ship’, it was built during Latvia’s brief period of independence in the 1930s, and has one of the…
Latvia
Opened with great pride in 1939, this art deco-ish cultural centre hosts gatherings of Liv descendants (the Liv Festival on the first Saturday in August…
Jūrmala
Local Russian artist Vitaliy Yermolayev runs this studio out of his home and dabbles with a secret recipe for glow-in-the-dark paint by creating portraits…
Rīga
The shipping yard behind the Central Market is the latest district to benefit from a generous dose of gentrification. These crumbling brick warehouses…
Latvia
The Castle Watchman’s House was built in 1735 to protect the ruins of the Livonian Order Castle. Legend has it that the house was the site of executions…
Latvia
The small stone memorial commemorates poor Maija Roze, otherwise known as the Rose of Turaida – a character in Sigulda's romantic legend.
Rīga
Set in a hilly pine forest in Mežaparks, Rīga National Zoo has a modest collection of animals, including an assortment of tropical fauna, as well as the…
Latvia
Visitors can learn about the handicrafts of Kurzeme in this 18th-century school building. Watch local artisans spin yarns (literally) and clay bowls,…
Maskavas Forštate, Avotu Iela & Grīziņkalns
It would be a classical-style Lutheran church like many others if it wasn't made entirely of wood, which makes it a unique architectural gem that…
Latvia
The town’s oldest street is lined with dozens of charming brick facades constructed by wealthy Yiddish merchants several hundred years ago.
Jūrmala
On the main road 5km west of Majori, this gaudy beachfront Soviet-era sanatorium resembles a giant, beached cruise ship that’s been mothballed since the…
Latvia
Right from the outset when you're handed a lit candle in a glass lantern, it's clear that this isn't an ordinary museum. At its centre is Cēsis Castle,…
Latvia
The large old castle hill (pilskalns), 2.5km north of town on the western bank of the Venta, was the fortress of Lamekins, the Cour who ruled much of…
North Vidzeme Biosphere Reserve
Latvia
A pristine, 4500-sq-km domain that is roughly 6% of Latvia’s total land share and inscribed in Unesco’s ‘Man and the Biosphere’ program. The vast reserve…
Southern Latvia
Tērvete Nature Park protects three ancient mounds, including the impressive Tērvete Castle Mound, which was abandoned by the Semigallians after several…
Latvia
Beyond Jūrmala's stretch of celebrity summer homes lies a verdant hinterland of drowsy fishing villages, quaking bogs and thick forests. At the end of the…
Latvia
Built as hunting palace by Latvia's most celebrated Englishman, Rīga mayor George Armitstead, Jaunmoku Castle looks like a fantasy themed on his father's…
Nicholas Evangelical Lutheran Church
Latvia
Built in 1835 on stately Rātslaukums, this church isn’t ‘St Nicholas’ because the house of worship was named for Tsar Nicholas II when he donated loads of…
Southern Latvia
The museum is dedicated to the man who wrote down (or composed) the story of Lāčplēsis - half-man, half-bear and Latvia's main national hero.
Monument to Krišjānis Valdemārs
Latvia
The monument is dedicated to the Latvian writer and educator who empowered thousands of Latvian peasants by setting up the first naval school.
Latvia
This theme park grew out of a set built for Aigars Grauba's film Rīgas sargi and continues to be used by film makers.
