MissViaggio in Riga

07 March 2022

When visiting Vilnius, it's easy to squeeze in a trip to Riga as well. And you might be surprised, but I found a really amazing gluten-free bakery in a quiet part of the Latvian capital.

11:00 AM

We skip breakfast and head straight for a free walking tour that starts at St. Peter's Church, one of Riga's landmarks. It's freezing cold, but it looks like the sun will come out soon. That's promising. During the next 1.5 hours we learn a lot about Riga. Surprisingly, Riga is full of German influences, because in the Middle Ages Riga was part of the Hanseatic Union, which united merchants from the Baltic countries and Northern Germany. We even find a sculpture of the "Bremen Town Musicians", a gift from the twin city of Bremen.

How to Travel from Vilnius to Riga?

The easiest way to travel from Vilnius to Riga is taking the bus. Ecolines operates several times per day between Vilnius and Riga. The bus trip takes about 4 hours and usually costs between 8 and 18 euros. Departure from Vilnius: Bus station (Autobusų stotis) at 22 Sodu St. Arrival in Riga: International bus station (Autoosta) at 1 Pragas St. (iela).

13:30 PM

After the free walking tour, our tummies are telling us to find something to eat. Not that easy in Riga, to be honest. Finally, I find The Street Burgers, a place just a few blocks from the Freedom Monument. Their falafel patty is gluten-free, so I order the falafel burger without bread, but wrapped in lettuce. I'm glad to get something to eat and to warm up.

15:00 PM

The Old Town of Riga is really charming which is why we decide to walk through the picturesque streets (even though the icy wind increases). If you pay attention, you will discover many funny or unusual things on the roofs or facades of buildings. For example, on Liven Square you will find a house with a horseshoe between the windows. Legend has it that once a horse of Tsar Peter the Great lost a horseshoe when it arrived in Riga. The tsar was so angry about this that he threw the horseshoe away from him and through the window of a residential building. The owner of the building wanted to demand compensation, but when he learned that the horseshoe belonged to the tsar, he decided to nail it to the facade for good luck.

On Liven Square you will also see a yellow Art Nouveau building with black cats on the roof. Legend has it that it once belonged to a rich merchant who was not accepted into the largest guild. To show his disapproval, he had black cats made and placed on the roof, but with their backs to the front. Whether he managed to renegotiate after the cat incident is not known. But one thing has changed since then, the cats are now looking in the right direction.

What to Do in Riga?

Look for the "Three Brothers", three houses standing side by side. Legend has it that these houses were built by men of the same family, but in different centuries.
Take a look at the Freedom Monument, a granite obelisk almost 43 meters high with a copper woman on top holding three stars above her head and facing the west. It was financed exclusively by donations and is intended to commemorate the Latvians who lost their lives during the struggle for independence.
Visit the central market with its five imposing market halls. Every day, several thousand people come to buy fresh goods and haggle, sometimes fiercely, at the 3,000 market stalls.
Admire the facade of the House of Black Heads, which is located in the center of the Old Town in the middle of the Town Hall Square. It served as a meeting place and event venue for the Brotherhood of the Black Heads, a guild of unmarried merchants, shipowners and foreigners living in Riga.
Stroll down Alberta Street and admire the facades of each Art Nouveau building, decorated with figurative sculptures and overhanging balconies. You can combine it with a visit to Better bread and buy some gluten-free goods.

15:30 PM