Traveling in Latvia: The Complete 2026 Guide

Riga

Riga holds nearly three-quarters of Latvia’s foreign visitors, and most trips start there. The city was founded in 1201 as a Hanseatic trading post, served as an Art Nouveau showcase between 1904 and 1914, and is now a capital of around 630,000 people. The old town (UNESCO-listed since 1997) covers a walkable grid. Around 800 Art Nouveau buildings cluster in a neighbourhood north of the centre, with about fifty of them protected for their facades alone.

Start in the Old Town. Three Brothers is the tight cluster of medieval houses on Maza Pils Street, the oldest residential buildings in town, all three still standing next to each other. The House of the Blackheads faces the Town Hall, with a gabled roof rebuilt after 1946. St. Peter’s Church spire is visible from most of the centre. Dome Square, with the cathedral and its organ, sits in the middle of it all.

Walk north for the Art Nouveau quarter. Alberta Street is the densest hit: a single block of sculpted facades with masks, vines, and bare-breasted nudes peering down. The Rīga Art Nouveau Museum at Alberta 12 lets you step inside a 1903 apartment with the original floor tiles and door handles still in place. End at the Central Market, five former Zeppelin hangars repurposed into one of Europe’s larger food halls, good for smoked fish, dark rye, and farmer’s cheese. For the full walking breakdown, see the Riga guide.

Gauja National Park

Latvia is 54% forest by land area, one of only five EU countries over the halfway mark, and cut by more than 12,000 rivers and 3,000 lakes (Eurostat). Gauja National Park is the showcase: 90,000 hectares established in 1973, the country’s first and largest, with the 452-km Gauja River carving the valley that defines it. Turaida Castle, Gūtmaņa Cave, and the Sigulda bobsled track all sit within an hour of each other.

Sigulda is the base. It is 50 km east of Riga, with trains every hour or two. The town fits a one-day nature fix: take the cable car across the Gauja valley, walk to Turaida Castle and its sculpture park, then duck into Gūtmaņa Cave (the deepest in the Baltics, with names carved into its sandstone from the 17th century). We have a full Sigulda and the Gauja valley guide.

The coast and Jūrmala

Latvia has about 500 km of Baltic coastline, most of it empty. Jūrmala is the exception. The town runs 33 km along a single stretch of pale sand, backed by pine forest and a string of wooden villas from the early 20th century. Trains reach it in 25–30 minutes from Riga. In summer the beach fills by 11 a.m. In winter the same train still runs, and the boardwalk is yours.

Ķemeri National Park starts just past Jūrmala’s northern edge. Its boardwalks cross raised peat bogs that look like other planets in autumn mist. The old Soviet spa sanatorium in the park’s centre is a strange stop: a working sulphur-spring facility inside a Stalinist building, with day passes for non-guests. The full Jūrmala guide covers the resort town in more depth.

Kuldīga and the west

Kuldīga was added to the UNESCO World Heritage list in 2023, recognising the town’s 17th- and 18th-century wooden houses, the brick bridge over the Venta, and the layout that grew up around both. The Venta Rapid is the draw for most visitors. At about 240 m wide and barely 2 m high, it does not fall so much as fold, and in late spring you can wade across on the riverbed. The town empties after the school groups leave in late afternoon.

Kuldīga is 150 km west of Riga, about a 2.5-hour drive. Rundāle Palace sits roughly halfway, an 18th-century Baroque residence designed by the same architect who worked on the Winter Palace in St Petersburg (Bartolomeo Rastrelli). The palace is worth a 90-minute stop on its own. Beyond Kuldīga, Liepāja is a port city with a working naval air base, a 3-km white-sand beach, and a former military prison you can tour (Karosta). Cēsis, north back toward Riga, is the smaller Gauja base for the park’s quieter end.

Food and drink

Latvian food is rye, pork fat, and what survived the long winters. Three things to order at least once. Rupjmaize (roop-my-eh-zeh) is the dark rye bread, dense and slightly sweet, served with soup, with cheese, and sometimes as dessert with honey. Pelēkie zirņi ar speķi (peh-LAY-key zhir-nee ar shpek-kee) is grey peas stewed with smoked pork fat and onions. It is the national dish and tastes the way it sounds. Jāņu siers is a caraway cheese made for Midsummer and sold year-round at the Central Market. Smoked sprats, salmon, and river lamprey come from the coastal towns.

Riga Black Balsam (Rīgas Melnais Balzams) is a black, bitter herbal liqueur brewed since 1752. Drink it on ice, in hot tea, or in coffee after a long walk. Craft beer has caught up; the taprooms around Miera Street pour some of the best in the Baltics. Farm cider in summer is worth ordering by the glass. Most restaurants close between lunch and dinner (15:00–18:00 is common), so plan around it. Tipping is not required, but rounding up or leaving 5–10% in sit-down places is normal.

Getting around

Riga’s centre is walkable. Trams, buses, and trolleybuses cover the rest, with tickets bought in the Rīgas Satiksme (REE-gas SAH-tiks-meh) app or from a yellow machine at major stops. Bolt works in Riga and is the cheapest ride-hail option. Trains run hourly through the Gauja valley from Riga to Sigulda, Cēsis, and Valmiera, and the route is the scenic way into the national park. Long-distance coaches (Lux Express, Simple Express) link Riga to Jūrmala, Liepāja, Ventspils, and Daugavpils, and on to Tallinn and Vilnius.

Rent a car for Kuldīga, Rundāle, and the western coast. Roads are flat and well maintained, traffic is light outside Riga, and Old Town parking is restricted to residents. Park-and-ride on the edge of the centre and walk in. If you want all three Baltic capitals in one trip, the Grand Baltic Loop itinerary lays out a day-by-day route.

How many days

A week covers Latvia without rushing. Two or three nights in Riga, a day in Sigulda, one on the coast at Jūrmala, then a westward loop through Kuldīga and Rundāle.

Two or three days: stick to a Riga city break (Old Town, Art Nouveau quarter, Central Market, one afternoon at Jūrmala). Four or five: add Sigulda and the Gauja valley, which is the most rewarding short extension. Seven: loop Riga to Sigulda, Cēsis, Kuldīga, Rundāle, and back through Jūrmala, with time for a beach morning and a spa afternoon. Ten or more: push on to Liepāja, Ventspils, and the western coast, or add Tallinn and Vilnius for a full Baltic circuit.