Must-see attractions in Kaunas

  • Ninth Fort

    Kaunas

    Lithuania's dark 20th-century history is poignantly told here, 7km north of Kaunas. Begin in the sombre, church-like gallery with striking stained glass…

  • MK Čiurlionis National Museum of Art

    Kaunas

    One of Lithuania's oldest and grandest galleries, Kaunas' leading art museum (founded 1921) is the place to acquaint yourself with the dreamlike paintings…

  • Sugihara House

    Kaunas

    Kaunas-based Japanese diplomat Chiune Sugihara (1900–86) saved around 6000 Jewish lives between 1939 and 1940, issuing transit visas to stranded Polish…

  • Museum of Devils

    Kaunas

    This museum is devoted to the Devil, Lucifer, Satan, the fallen angel, the seducer, the cajoler, with over 3000 statuettes, carvings, masks and other…

  • Kiemo Galerija

    Kaunas

    Artist Vytenis Jakas moved into this courtyard over a decade ago and turned it into an ever-evolving art project, creating murals and transferring onto…

  • Choral Synagogue

    Kaunas

    Built in 1871, the only functioning synagogue of those that survived since 1941, and one of the few remnants of Kaunas' once-strong Jewish community, this…

  • Pažaislis Monastery

    Kaunas

    Built by Camaldolese monks in the 17th century, this striking baroque monastery lies 9km east of central Kaunas, on a promontory jutting into the Kauno…

  • House of Perkūnas

    Kaunas

    With ornate arches and turrets rippling from its brick facade, this late-15th-century mansion is a treasure of Kaunas' late-Gothic architecture. Built by…

  • Lietūkis Garage Massacre Memorial

    Kaunas

    This small memorial in the courtyard marks the spot where, on June 27, 1941, during the first days of the Nazi occupation of the city, Lithuanian …

  • Open-Air Museum of Lithuania

    Kaunas

    The open-air museum consists of re-created 18th- and 19th-century villages representing Lithuania’s main regions (Dzūkija, Aukštaitija, Suvalkija,…

  • Town Hall

    Kaunas

    Old Town's tallest tower (53m) rises from Kaunas' Town Hall, an elegant white layer-cake of a building. Built in the mid-16th century, the hall has served…

  • Kaunas Picture Gallery

    Kaunas

    This branch of the many-tentacled Čiurlionis museum exhibits works by 20th-century Lithuanian artists, including a particularly poignant Lithuania In…

  • St Michael the Archangel Church

    Kaunas

    The Soviets turned this blue-domed neo-Byzantine church, which fills the sky so dramatically at the eastern end of Laisvės alėja, into a stained-glass…

  • Maironis Lithuanian Literary Museum

    Kaunas

    Even travellers unenthused by turn-of-the-20th-century literature will be enchanted by this museum dedicated to Lithuanian luminary Maironis (aka Jonas…

  • Christ's Resurrection Basilica

    Kaunas

    There's an austerity, symmetry and simplicity to this white-washed concrete cathedral, built over a period of 70 years from 1934 onwards, though its…

  • St Francis Xavier Church & Monastery

    Kaunas

    The southern side of Rotušės aikštė is dominated by rosy-pink late-Baroque facade of the St Francis Xavier Church, college and Jesuit monastery complex…

  • Vytautas Church

    Kaunas

    Known in full as Vytautas the Great Church of the Accession of the Holy Virgin Mary, this red-brick church is one of the oldest in Kaunas. Built by…

  • Mykolas Žilinskas Art Gallery

    Kaunas

    This art museum on three floors is based on the private collection of Mykolas Žilinskas, but is now operated by the National Čiurlionis Art Museum. The…

  • Kaunas Photography Gallery

    Kaunas

    There's always an interesting temporary exhibition on at this gallery, such as Integration, an interesting juxtaposition between obscure, dimly lit…

  • Field of Sacrifice

    Kaunas

    The Field of Sacrifice – a name engraved on paving slabs in front of the City Garden – is a tragic tribute to the 19-year-old Kaunas hero Romas Kalanta,…

  • Aleksotas Funicular

    Kaunas

    This historic funicular at the southern end of Aleksoto Tiltas (Aleksoto Bridge) dates from 1935 and the viewing platform at the top affords great rooftop…

  • Kaunas Museum for the Blind

    Kaunas

    The catacombs of St Michael the Archangel Church are set up to let you experience a short spell as a person without sight.

  • Tadas Ivanauskas Zoological Museum

    Kaunas

    With over 250,000 specimens spread over three floors, this museum covers the animal kingdom from the imposing taxidermy mammals (bison, muskox, big cats,…

  • Presidential Palace of Lithuania

    Kaunas

    This handsome 19th-century building was the seat of government for the Republic of Lithuania between the wars. Restored to its original grandeur, it now…

  • Sts Peter & Paul Cathedral

    Kaunas

    With its single tower, this church owes much to baroque reconstruction, especially inside, but the original 15th-century Gothic shape of its windows…

  • Vytautas the Great War Museum

    Kaunas

    Maintained by the Lithuanian Army, this museum keeps exhibitions on the history of weapons, Lithuanian military history, the period of the Grand Duchy and…

  • Kaunas Castle

    Kaunas

    A reconstructed tower, sections of wall and part of a moat are all that remain of 14th-century Kaunas Castle, an important bastion against Teutonic…

  • Statue of Maironis

    Kaunas

    Maironis was the pen name of Kaunas priest and poet Jonas Mačiulis (1862–1932) whose writings helped to awaken the country’s nationalist longings in the…

  • Jan Zwartendijk Memorial

    Kaunas

    This untitled installation by Giny Vos, unveiled in 2018, is a memorial to the Dutch diplomat Jan Zwartendijk, who saved thousands of Jewish lives during…

  • Statue of Man

    Kaunas

    The statue of ‘Man’ in front of the Mykolas Žilinskas Art Gallery was modelled on Nike the Greek god of victory; it caused a storm of controversy when its…

  • St George's Church

    Kaunas

    This 15th-century church and monastery has been ruined and rebuilt several times over the centuries, and served both Napoleon and the Soviets as a…

  • Kaunas Mosque

    Kaunas

    This small mosque is one of four in Lithuania and the only one made of brick in the Baltics, constructed here to replace the original wooden mosque from…

  • Maironis's Tomb

    Kaunas

    The mausoleum of Kaunas Cathedral holds the remains of Maironis, Lithuania's beloved patriot/priest/poet.

  • Museum of Deportation & Resistance

    Kaunas

    The Museum of Deportation & Resistance documents Lithuania's struggles with foreign oppression, between 1940 and 1990. The spirit of resistance was…

  • Aukštieji Šančiai Cemetery

    Kaunas

    Beloved Lithuanian pilots Steponas Darius and Stanislovas Girėnas died on 15 July 1933, just 650km short of completing the longest nonstop transatlantic…

  • St Gertrude's Church

    Kaunas

    This late-15th-century Gothic gem is tucked in a courtyard off Laisvės alėja. Its red-brick crypt overflows with burning candles, prompting a separate…

  • Vytautas Magnus University

    Kaunas

    Once known as the University of Lithuania, this is one of the country's leading tertiary institutions. It was first founded in 1922 and refounded in 1989…