Things to do in Riga

Landmark · Centrs

The densest concentration of Jugendstil facades in Europe, much of it designed by Mikhail Eisenstein, and still full of ordinary flats.

Local tip: Look up, then go inside — the Art Nouveau Museum at Alberta iela 12 is a restored apartment rather than a gallery, which is the point.

Food · Behind the railway station

One of Europe's largest markets, housed in five repurposed First World War zeppelin hangars.

Local tip: The fish and dairy pavilions are where locals actually shop. Buy smoked sprats, rye bread and curd, and eat lunch in the pavilion behind rather than in the tourist stalls out front.

Landmark · City centre

A compact medieval and Hanseatic core, walled by the river on one side and the canal park on the other.

Local tip: It is small enough to cross in fifteen minutes and touristy in the middle. Eat one street back, and come in January when it is empty and floodlit.

Culture · Āgenskalns, left bank

A restored block of nineteenth-century wooden buildings that hosts a Saturday farmers' market, concerts and craft fairs.

Local tip: This is where you see the wooden-architecture Riga that most visitors never cross the river for. Saturday morning is the whole point of the place.

Nature · North of the centre

One of Europe's oldest planned garden suburbs, wrapped in pine forest with a lake, a zoo and the Song Festival grounds.

Local tip: The open-air stage seats tens of thousands and hosts the Latvian Song and Dance Celebration every five years — an event that genuinely defines the country, and worth planning a visit around.

Neighborhood · Island in the Daugava

An island of restored wooden houses and modern apartments directly opposite the Old Town, with a river beach on the far side.

Local tip: Ten minutes' walk from the centre and almost nobody goes. The sandy strip on the western shore gives you the best skyline view in Riga with no one on it.