Relax in Riga

I visited Riga, the capital of Latvia, for a weekend in the summer.
It is a historial city with a lot of beautiful buildings and the largest city of the Baltic states.

Some call Riga the world capital of Art Nouveau and its historical city center is a UNESCO world heritage site.


Top ten things to do in Riga

1. Take a walk in the old town and admire the beautiful buildings.Take a picture of the Maingaivju (Blackheads) house and the house of Three Brothers, some medieval residential houses. Pass by Smilšu Street 2 and see the goddess figure. It is considered to be the most
   beautiful Art Nouveau sculpture of a woman in Riga.
2. Buy amber and traditional russian wooden dolls on the market in the old town
3. Visit the Latvian Museum Occupations and get some insight to the history
4. Visit the Riga Cathedral
5. Take a walk around the Riga Castle built in 1497 and check out the home of the President.
6. Have pancakes / crépes in the old town
7. Get a fab view of Riga from the tower in the St. Peters church or from the TV-tower.
8. See the Victory monument (a Soviet monument)
9. If you like Wagner visit the Wagner Concert Hall where he used to have concerts when he lived in Riga.
10. Visit the central market, a large food market to see the local food

If you are in to shopping, visit Stockmann, a department store in central Riga
And if you like opera, there is an opera house - The Latvia National Opera- with great prices and operas.
If you are a spa-lover take go to one of the Spas in Riga, maybe the ESPA Spa. Or take the short trip to Jurmala. A spa retreat by the sea. The hotel Jurmala spa looks nice.

Where to stay?

• Clarion Collection Hotel Valdemars
• Radisson Blu Daugava Hotel Riga
• Reval Hotel Ridzene
• Grand Palace Hotel
• De Rome Hotel

Where to eat?

• Fine dining at the Vincents
• Medieval dinner at Rozengrāls
• Finest meat at the Restaurant C.U.T.
• Fine dining at the Grand Palace Hotel restaurant