The expansive Esplanāde is a large park dotted with tall trees, wooden benches and open-air cafes. The Latvian National Museum of Art graces it on one side, while the cupolas of the Russian Orthodox cathedral majestically rise on the other. The park used to be teeming with Soviet-era sculpture; the Rainis Statue is the only vestige of that era.
Lonely Planet's must-see attractions
0.3 MILES
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…
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0.55 MILES
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…
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0.48 MILES
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…
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1.07 MILES
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…
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Rīga Ghetto & Latvian Holocaust Museum
0.97 MILES
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…
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3.73 MILES
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…
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Museum of the Barricades of 1991
0.52 MILES
Latvia's independence came after enormous struggles. One of the most remarkable stories involves the barricades built by thousands of citizens around…
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22.03 MILES
These striking pine-covered cliffs loom above a pristine white-sand beach dissected by a glistening stream. This is one of the most enchanting places…
Nearby attractions
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One of the great Latvian writers, Rainis – his pen name – created works that called for independence and have become part of the Latvian identity. He died…
2. Latvian National Museum of Art
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Latvia's main gallery, sitting on the edge of the Esplanāde's leafy grounds, is an impressive building that was purpose-built in a baroque-classical style…
3. Nativity of Christ Cathedral
0.13 MILES
Its polished gilded cupolas gleaming through the trees, this Byzantine-styled Orthodox cathedral (1883) adds a dazzling dash of Russian bling to the…
4. Museum of the Occupation of Latvia
0.14 MILES
This museum colourfully details Latvia’s Soviet and Nazi occupations between 1940 and 1991. Some of the exhibits are disturbing, including first-hand…
0.17 MILES
This small and rather informal space briefly recounts the city’s history of Jewish life until 1945 through artefacts and photography. Rīga’s Jewish…
6. Memorials to Victims of 20 January 1991
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On 20 January 1991 Soviet riot police stormed the nearby Latvian interior ministry, killing five people. The stone slabs serve as a memorial to the…
7. Statue of Rūdolfs Blaumanis
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One of Latvia's greatest writers, Blaumanis (1863-1908) wrote the short story 'In the Shadow of Death.' one of his most famous works. This statue was…
8. Latvian National Museum of History
0.22 MILES
This museum traces Latvian history from the Stone Age to the hipster age. If the exhibits have a temporary feel it's because the museum is meant to return…