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Riga
About Riga
Riga is the capital of Latvia and is the largest city in the Baltic states. It is situated on the Baltic Sea coast on the mouth of River Daugava, and serves as a major cultural, political and commercial centre in the Baltics. The Historic Centre of Riga, once one of the most important trade centers of the Hanseatic League, has been declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The city well known for its Jugendstil architecture (Art Nouveau).
Local highlights
Explore the city
- Go visit Old Riga with its cobbled stone streets and beautiful buildings
- See some of Riga’s Art Nouveau architecture like the Stockholm School of Economics
- Laima clock located next to the Freedom Monument
Explore its museums and historical sights, such as
- House of Blackheads
- St. Peter's Church-the tower has an observatory platform where you can enjoy a wonderful view of Riga
- Three Brothers-medieval Riga dwelling houses
- Cat House-the house named after the two black cats perched on the roof
- Dome Cathedral- the 13th century cathedral and the largest in the Baltics with its impressive organ of 6 718 pipes
- Dominican monastery
- Great and Small Guild- Gothic Guild houses now turned into a concert hall and a cultural center
- Powder Tower-with the cannonballs
- Riga Castle- the 13th century castle nowadays is the President's residence
- St. George's Church-it houses the Museum of Decorative and Applied Art
- St. Jacob's Church-one of the oldest churches in Riga
- St. John's Church
- St. Peter's Church
- Swedish Gate-added to the cities fortification wall during the Scandinavian occupation
Highlights in the vicinity
- Sigulda 53 km from Riga, in the Gauja river valley, with its nice Turaida Castle and Museum Reserve
Good to know
- No. of inhabitants: 732 Thousand
- Timezone: UTC +2
- Weather: average temperatures of +17 °C in July and -5 °C in January.
- Police tel.nr. 02/112
- Riga City Information Centre Riga-tel. nr. 704 43 77
Local transport
- Taxis-Licensed cabs have yellow number plates and are metered. Unlicensed taxis can turn off the meter-be sure to agree on a price before the ride.
- Trams, trolley buses and minibuses are very affordable and good
Inbound transport
- Nearest airport: the airport is some 8km south-west of the Riga city centre
- Bus and train stations are located right on the edge of Old Riga
- Ferries: harbor is about 1km north of Old Riga. Ferry connections to Stockholm (Sweden) and Lubeck and Kiel (Germany). Faster connections to Sweden via Ventspils to Vestervik (Sweden) and Liepaja to Karlshamn (Sweden)
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