riga sights , attractions and itinerary

Welcome to the Drink in the Sights Riga itinerary. Here you'll find information on all the best Riga sights and attractions. Plus as it doesn't take too long to visit this Art-Deco paradise I'll also introduce you to the Jurmala. This is an incredible beach town just outside Riga with some of the softest sand you'll ever walk barefoot on. This page also includes my introduction to Sigulda which features all the main sights in the lovely national park close to Riga.

Art-Deco, Gorgeous Beaches, Mooning Cats and an Armadillo. 

'Best enjoyed slow' is the perplexing new tagline for Latvia. Once thought of as a stag/hen do weekend destination maybe this new, more laid back approach is designed to attract a calmer, more gentile tourist. Certainly with the quaintly beautiful coastal town of Jurmala, as well as the gorgeous Sigulda national park, with its quiet walks and little castles Latvia can feel like a place to relax. But is the Latvian Capital Riga really ready to slow down to a snails pace? ​One thing is for sure, there's still lots of things to do in Riga the Art-Deco utopia of Europe. And the bars are still buzzing with locals and tourists alike, as are the main streets and top Riga attractions.

Before we talk about the Riga sights we need to get you there. You can fly to Riga pretty cheaply these days and flights go from London, Manchester, Nottingham and Edinburgh. To get to Riga from the airport take the 22 bus costing 2 euros, or 1.15 if you buy in advance. For the life of us we couldn't find a way to pay before getting on. But for the sake of 85 cents, I'm not going to lose any sleep over it. The bus takes about 30 minutes to get to the centre, and you can just get off the same time everyone else does. Alternatively you can book a transfer through ShuttleDirect and have your driver waiting for you on arrival. Now that we've got you there lets check out the top Riga sights.

Riga Sights

Walking Tour in the old town

To book the Old Town tour click here.

I'm not usually this vague with my suggestions of things to do, but beyond any doubt one of the best things to do in Riga is just to walk around the Old Town, ideally as part of a tour, just to get your bearings and a bit of history. The walk doesn't need to take long, the old town only makes up 0.3% of Riga, but it includes all the main Riga sights. However If you want to see more specific Art-Deco buildings there are separate tours available for that and can be booked here.
The Old Town is full of gorgeous buildings such as the Opera House, The Three Brothers, and the House of the Blackheads. There's also a lovely park that runs right across the town. Maybe Riga really is 'Best enjoyed slow.'

Riga Cathedral

The cathedral built in 1211 is very much the dominant feature of the Riga skyline. Over the years it's also been used as a concert hall and basketball court, mainly because when the Soviets occupied the city they had to find a reason not to knock it down. Admission to the cathedral is three euros, and as an Orthodox Lutheran church it's fundamentally quite dull.
Anyone who remembers their history lessons on the Reformation will know Martin Luther (not king) was not a fun guy, and the protestant branch of the church that followed his teaching reflected this. I'm not saying he didn't have a point, and beyond doubt the Catholic church had gone a bit over indulgent, to say the least. I'm just saying a teaching of faith alone, without pretty things, doesn't make for the best photo opportunities.

Around the Cathedral is a little play area, with lots nice gold statues including a unicorn, a dragon, and my favourite random statue the armadillo. This may be because he's quite cute, or it may be because of the old Dime Bar advert featuring Harry Enfield. 'Crunchy on the outside soft on the inside armadillo's.' Sorry if you're too young or not English and wont have a clue what the advert was. Google it, it's weird. Just for the record Dime bars are now Daim bars, and I don't condone the eating of armadillo's. 

Latvian National Art Museum

This hugely impressive building is a fitting tribute to the quality of work inside. At only 3 euros for the permanent display, or 6 to add the exhibition hall, this museum is pretty well priced. You can easily spend half a day looking at its magnificent interior as well as the art work. I'm a huge fan of museums and galleries been in exceptional buildings, as in my opinion they emphasis, rather than distract from the masterpieces inside. Even If you aren't initially impressed with the work on the first floor, I can assure you the top floor has one or two absolute gems that will soon win you over, and justify the price tag as well as the Latvian National Art Museums place in this Riga itinerary.

Academy of Sciences

You're not going to this huge building to learn anything I'm afraid, although no doubt lots of students do. You're coming here to take a lift straight to the top and look down on the rest of the world. A ticket costs 6 euros, and for that you really do only get the view, but there's only one better in Riga, which we'll get to in my best bars section. From the Academy of Sciences looking one way you'll see the whole of Riga old town. With the huge modern monstrosity of a library across the Daugava River, and the old aircraft hangers which now contain the Riga market. Looking the other way the skyline is dominated by the TV Tower, which looks like a huge spaceship has landed across the river. From up here you really can drink in all the top Riga sights.

Nativity of Christ Cathedral

Heartbreakingly you aren't allowed to take photos in this absolutely stunning cathedral. So you'll just have to take my word for it when I tell you that you have to go inside. It dates back to 1883 and is beyond doubt one of the prettiest Cathedrals you'll ever come across. Inside is a blue and gold paradise, the like of which I don't think I've seen anywhere else. It's free to get in so it wont cost you anything to test my belief that you'll love it, and it's in the centre of town. When it comes to Orthodox churches you just wont find a better, more ornate example than this. Really this is one of the top Riga sights.

Riga Attractions

Before we head out of Riga to visit Jurmala and Sigunda, I want to take a minute to point out a few of the other Riga sights you wont want to miss. These include the House of the Blackheads, the old guild house for unmarried merchants. This is probably the most iconic building in Riga. Outside there is a statue of a Christmas tree. Like nearly every other European country Latvia likes to claim to have invented the tree. Maybe they're right, but my Latvian tour guide was to say the least skeptical. Still this remains one of the star Riga attractions.

​Also keep an eye out for the House of Cats. According to legend the owner placed the bronzed cats with their backs arched towards where the old town hall used to be in protest against the council. It's an interesting use of feline friends to make a rather crude point but I couldn't resist putting it in my Riga itinerary.

The city park is a lovely area to stroll through on a sunny day, and boat trips around it are just as relaxing as they look. The boat trips also come with a guided tour so you know exactly what you're seeing and can be booked here. The park is a large green area with fountains, beautiful flower beds, and some exceptional statues. On top of this some of Riga's best looking buildings are on the edges of the park, such as the Opera House which is truly magnificent.

Meanwhile the two statues I urge you to seek out are the ghoulish Ghost Sculpture, located between the Swedish Gate and the War Museum. And the statue of the Bremen Town musicians, four farmyard animals who escaped slaughter to make their fortune as performers. This statue is by the side of Riga Cathedral. These are among the best Riga sights.

Riga Itinerary Extras

Jurmala

Bike tours of Jurmala from Riga are available here if you want to take a more active approach to the beach.

Jurmala literally translates as seaside, and this absolutely gorgeous seaside town is only 30 minutes away by train. At less than 2 euros each way it's the ideal place to spend a lazy afternoon at the beach. There's a few nice bars around, and the sand was genuinely the softest I've ever walked on. At nearly 20 miles long there's enough room in Jurmala for a lot of tourists, and I imagine at peak season it's packed with holiday makers. Usually beaches aren't my thing, but this one just felt really nice, and not as overcrowded as many around Europe. It's the ideal place to sit back and drink in the Jurmala sights.

Technically Jurmala is a collection of several resorts along the Latvian coastal line, but the one we went to is called Majori. As the train stops at a few resorts you can take your pick, but I'd really recommend getting off at, and staying in Majori. This is the area with the most bars, the most shops, and generally most the pictures you'll see of the beach are taken here. It's a truly beautiful area, with quaint holiday homes and sculptures dotted all around. ​Oh and just to make it perfect there's a giant turtle and you just can't leave that out of a Jurmala travel guide.

To see all of Jurmala you can book a bike tour with transport from Riga here.

If you want to see all of the Baltic States without any hassle have a look at Travelsphere.co.uk. They have an excellent 10 day Baltic Tour including Tallinn, Helsinki, Riga, Vilnius, Turaia, Sigulda and Warsaw . Travelsphere will sort out the transfers, the flights, the hotels, two or three meals a day and the tours for you while you just sit back and enjoy the trip. Check it out here.

Sigulda National Park

A little further away from Riga than Jurmala is the National Park of Sigulda. This takes about an hour on the train or bus, both of which could do with been more regular. Make sure you check the times at the station as Google didn't seem to have a clue, which made getting back to Riga interesting. We took the train and it cost about 2 euros each way.
The first thing to do in Sigulda, or in our case not do is the Tarzan Adventure Park. If you enjoy swinging from trees then by all means go along, but it's not for me. 

Sigulda Old Castle

Instead of pretending to be Tarzan we took a walk to Old Sigulda Castle which isn't far into the National Park. No doubt it's seen better days, but then it was built in 1207. It's well worth taking some time to go round all the ruins. This was clearly a proper castle once upon a time, and it still has some of that old castle charm about it. I'd also say that growing up in England this is very much what I expect a castle to look like, built for war, and with the scars to show it. At only 2 euros to get in it's a pretty cheap Sigulda sight.

From the north tower of the castle you can see for miles across the national park, right over to Turaida Castle, which we'll get to in a minute. Sitting on top of a slope, and with impressive thick walls this castle must have been quite a sight at its peak, and certainly a formidable barrier to invaders. There's just something about medieval castles I can't help but admire, they are a prime example of beauty with functionality. The Old Castle was always going to come first on my Sigulda travel guide.

Walk through Sigulda National Park

To get to the Turaida castle you can either walk for about 40 minutes or take a bus, which isn't particularly regular. My suggestion as usual is to walk. As the trip takes you through a national park it's no great hardship.
On the way you'll come across caves, rivers, Lovely scenery, and in our case a dead snake. I'm pretty sure it wasn't a poisonous one, but if you have a phobia maybe the bus is the way forward for you. There will also come a point where you have to walk through a campsite with a sign outside saying no trespassers. All I'm going to say is we looked for a long time for an alternate route, and after the 5th or 6th set of people walked straight through we gave up and followed with no repercussions.

Turaida Castle

Turaida Castle or the New Castle isn't really a great deal newer than the Old Castle, but it's in much better shape. You know what though? I prefer the old battered one, it felt like an actual castle, while this one feels more like a walled settlement. Maybe it's just because the castle is made from red bricks, rather than white and grey stone it doesn't feel right. But it doesn't matter, it's just personal taste, and the views from the tower are excellent, while the people in costume telling you about the various buildings is a nice touch. The castle only costs 3 euros to get in, and there's quite a lot to see, so it's worth the money, especially after walking all that way. There really is plenty more to do in Latvia once you've done all the Riga sights.

Please also check out my guide to the best bars in Riga.

I hope you enjoyed my Riga itinerary and get to go see all the Riga sights and attractions when you take your trip.

Search Expedia for your Latvia trip using the search box below. If you want anymore help planning your trip to see the Riga attractions feel free to message me. I run a free trip planning service, to find out more click here.