With a hefty international reputation as one of the finest opera companies in all of Europe, the national opera is the pride of Latvia. It's also home to the Rīga Ballet; locally born lad Mikhail Baryshnikov got his start here. Performances happen most nights of the week.
Latvian National Opera
Lonely Planet's must-see attractions
0.7 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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0.23 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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0.72 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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1.17 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
0.57 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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3.76 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
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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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22.36 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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Built in 1924 as a gentle way to encourage Rīgans not to be late for work, this clock is a popular meeting place, carrying the branding of a popular…
0.16 MILES
Affectionately known as ‘Milda’, Rīga’s Freedom Monument towers above the city between Old and Central Rīga. Paid for by public donations, the monument…
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This quirky museum houses a collection of porcelain assembled in now-defunct local porcelain factories from Soviet times. One was run by Russians hailing…
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A 13th- to 19th-century amalgam of Gothic and baroque styles, the church was first mentioned when the citizens installed catapults on its roof and…
5. Latvian National Museum of History
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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…
6. Museum of Decorative Arts & Design
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The former St George’s Church houses a museum devoted to applied art from the art nouveau period to the present, including an impressive collection of…
0.22 MILES
A branch of the National History Museum, this exhibition involving interactive multimedia technology covers the period of the third Atmoda (national…
8. Vērmanes dārzs (Vērmanes Garden)
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From Brīvības, pass the swirls of colour at the 24-hour flower market along Tērbatas iela to find the inviting Vērmanes dārzs. During the summer months,…