Things to Do in Riga: Sights, Stories and Hidden Corners

Start with the Old Town. The House of the Blackheads on Town Hall Square is a rebuilt merchant guild house with an ornate facade; next to it stands St. Peter's Church, whose tower has a lift and a platform with a view over the rooftops. Dome Square is the heart of the Old Town, and the Three Brothers, three joined houses from different centuries, are the oldest residential group in the city.

After the Old Town, head to the Art Nouveau district in the quiet centre and Riga Central Market, five huge pavilions by the railway station, built on old Zeppelin hangar frames. These four places in one day give you an honest cross-section of Riga.

Riga Old Town is small and dense, so it's best taken on foot. The streets are winding and often cobbled, so bring comfortable shoes. A single loop can link Town Hall Square, Dome Square, the Three Brothers, the Swedish Gate and the Powder Tower, with no leg longer than ten minutes.

Our self-guided walk arranges these stops in a logical order with a story along the way, so you're not wandering without a plan.

Riga has one of Europe's largest collections of Art Nouveau architecture, with estimates of around 800 buildings in the centre. Many were designed by Mikhail Eisenstein, father of the film director Sergei Eisenstein. His facades, crowded with masks, flowers and lion heads, are concentrated on Alberta and Elizabetes Streets.

While you're there, step into the Riga Art Nouveau Centre at Alberta Street 12, an apartment-museum with an original interior and a spiral staircase that is worth seeing from the inside.

Riga has a museum for almost every interest. The Latvian National Museum of Art holds the largest collection of Latvian art. The Museum of the Occupation of Latvia and the Corner House cover the Soviet and Nazi years without gloss. The Museum of the History of Riga and Navigation is the oldest public museum in the Baltics, founded in 1773.

If time is short, pick one history museum and one art museum rather than trying to fit them all in. They are also the answer if you want things to do in Riga in winter or on a rainy day.

Beyond the Old Town, Riga turns quieter and more local. The Kalnciema Quarter across the river is a cluster of restored wooden houses with a market on Saturdays. Miera Street is the neighbourhood of small cafes and workshops. The warehouses of the former Spikeri quarter by the market are now galleries and restaurants.

These districts show how people in Riga actually live today, away from the main tourist routes. They are the cool things to do in Riga once the big sights are ticked off.

Riga is a good base for short trips. Sigulda in the Gauja Valley is about an hour away by train, with a castle, a cable car and trails. Jurmala, with its beach and wooden houses, is only 25 km. Cesis, with its medieval castle, is about 90 km to the northeast.

All three are reachable by public transport, so you don't need a car.