Lithuania
Lithuania's fabled Hill of Crosses is a symbol of defiance as much as a pilgrimage site. More than 100,000 crosses have been planted on this low hill,…
Must-see attractions in The Baltic States
Latvia
Turaida means ‘God’s Garden’ in ancient Livonian, and this green knoll capped with a fairy-tale castle is certainly a heavenly place. The red-brick castle…
Tallinn
This sprawling ethnographic and architectural complex comprises 80 historic Estonian buildings, plucked from across the country and resurrected in…
Vilnius
Stately Vilnius Cathedral, divorced from its freestanding belfry, is a national symbol and the city's most instantly recognisable building. Known in full…
Palace of the Grand Dukes of Lithuania
Vilnius
If you only see one museum in Vilnius, make it this one. On a site that has been settled since the 4th century AD stands the latest in a procession of…
Lithuania
With Soviet-era statues of Lenin, Stalin and prominent Lithuanian members of the Communist Party that once dominated Lithuanian towns lining the forest…
Vilnius
Founded in 1579 during the Catholic Counter Reformation, Vilnius University was run by Jesuits for two centuries. During the 19th century it became one of…
Lithuania
This museum on the site of a former Soviet nuclear missile base is situated deep in the heart of the Žemaitija National Park. The highlight is the chance…
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Western Estonia & the Islands
Majestic Kuressaare Castle stands facing the sea at the southern end of the town, on an artificial island defended by stone-faced earth bastions and…
Vilnius
This former headquarters of the KGB (and before them the Gestapo, Polish occupiers and Tsarist judiciary) houses a museum dedicated to thousands of…
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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…
Vilnius
Climb the creaky stairs into the free-standing belfry of Vilnius Cathedral, once part of the city's 13th-century defences. Towering 57m high, it's one of…
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Latvia
This impressive riverside citadel is enjoying an ongoing renovation that's recreating its historic atmosphere. Look for the restored Nicholas Gate near…
Vilnius
This landmark statue depicts the early unifier of the Lithuanian tribes in the mid-13th century and the country's first king.
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Latvia
The city of Sigulda has done a fine job developing the historic buildings at its core into one unmissable complex. The highlight is the Livonian Order…
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Latvia
Cēsis Castle is actually two castles in one. The moody dark-stone towers belong to the increasingly restored old castle. Founded by Livonian knights in…
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Lithuania
Where the Nemunas, Lithuania's largest river, spills into the Curonian lagoon, it splits into four distributaries: the Skirvytė, the Atmata, the Pakalnė…
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Estonia
Begun by the Danes at the end of the 13th century and strengthened by successive owners including Germans, Swedes and Russians, this castle, along with…
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Lithuania
The Orvydas Garden was the work of stonemason Kazys Orvydas (1905–89) and his oldest son turned Franciscan monk, Vilius (1952–92). The carvings were…
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Lithuania
Stepping across the wooden walkway to Trakai's Gothic castle is like tripping into a fairy tale. The castle is estimated to date from around 1400, when…
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Lithuania
Some 21km north of Vilnius, off the Utena road, is Europos Parkas. Leading contemporary sculptors, including Sol LeWitt and Dennis Oppenheim, show over…
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Vilnius
Katedros aikštė buzzes with local life. In the 19th century markets and fairs were held here and a moat ran around what is now the square’s perimeter so…
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Western Estonia & the Islands
Koguva is an exceptionally well preserved, traditional Muhu village, now protected as an open-air museum. One ticket allows you to wander through an old…
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Lithuania
Housed in Anykščiai’s old station, a couple of kilometres outside the town, this fun museum gives visitors the chance to ride on manual rail cars, a…
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Rīga Ghetto & Latvian Holocaust Museum
Maskavas Forštate, Avotu Iela & Grīziņkalns
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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Lithuania
Housed in a neoclassical palace built by Count Feliksas Tiskevicius in 1897, this revamped museum showcases what is reputedly the world’s sixth-largest…
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Lithuanian Ethnocosmology Museum
Lithuania
This unusual museum explores the cosmos’s connection to cultural ideas of hell, heaven and earth in its bubble-shaped exhibition centre. Dwarfing it are…
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Rīga
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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Vilnius
One of the main branches of the Vilna Gaon Jewish State Museum, the Tolerance Centre is simultaneously a museum of Jewish history and culture, and a…
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Kaunas
Kaunas-based Japanese diplomat Chiune Sugihara (1900–86) saved around 6000 Jewish lives between 1939 and 1940, issuing transit visas to stranded Polish…
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Latvia
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…
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Vilnius
The full name is 'Church of St Johns, St John the Baptist and St John the Apostle and Evangelist', but 'Sts Johns' (plural) will do nicely. Founded in…
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Rīga
A lovingly restored courtyard with several vintage wooden buildings is home to creative cafes, shops and restaurants. It's also home to a fantastic…
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Vilnius
One of two branches of the creative powerhouse of the Užupis Republic, the Galera shows exciting temporary exhibitions by local talent and invites artists…
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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…
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Lithuania
The pride and joy of the region brews over two dozen beers, including the Port of Discovery and Microhistory series. On-tap offerings include a temptingly…
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Western Estonia & the Islands
Pärnu’s long, broad, sandy beach – sprinkled with volleyball courts, pop-up bars, cafes and changing cubicles – is the city’s main draw in summer. A…
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Lithuania
The old granary and stable of the former Plateliai Manor now houses a highly worthwhile museum complex. The granary holds a multistorey exhibition…
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Latvia
Spanning 249m, Ventas Rumba is branded Europe's widest waterfall, though it's far from the tallest. Its subtle beauty becomes compelling the longer you…
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Southern Latvia
These massive gardens draw throngs of visitors each spring when the scores of fruit trees are in bloom. There are apricot, cherry and plum orchards, as…
![Western Siberian Eagle Owl [Bubo Bubo Sibericus] in full flight](https://lp-cms-production.imgix.net/2019-06/531770715_high.jpg?fit=crop&w=360&ar=1%3A1&auto=format&q=75)
