Riga is the capital and largest city of Latvia, hosting around a third of the entire population of the country. The city is located near the mouth of Daugava river, which flows into the Baltic Sea, and it is the main tourist destination of Latvia, as well as its most important economic and cultural center.
The city houses a beautiful historical center, which includes traditional houses and Art Nouveau buildings, and is listed among the UNESCO World Heritage sites. Here are some of the most well-known tourist attractions of the city, while other iconic buildings and some interesting museums are also located outside the center.
Best times to visit Riga and how to get there
Riga has a humid continental climate, with cold winters and mild summers. Temperatures often go below zero between December and March, and can drop to even -25 °C in the coldest days. The best time to visit Riga is summer, when the average temperature stays around 18 °C, while the hottest days can have temperatures over 30 °C. Rain is common throughout summer, and the city often experiences snow during winter. Fog is also quite common in autumn.
The Riga International Airport, located just outside the city, is the main airport in Latvia and the largest in the Baltic states, with connections to several cities across all of Europe. Riga is also well connected to other European destinations via bus, with frequent service to Tallinn in Estonia and Vilnius and Kaunas in Lithuania. Reaching the city is also easy for tourists who come by car, as it is located along the Via Baltica European route, which connects Tallinn with Kaunas, Warsaw, and Prague, passing through Riga.
However, reaching Riga by train is a bit more complicated. The Riga Central Station is the main railway hub in the country, but it mainly connects the city with other domestic destinations. It is possible to reach Riga by train from Tallinn, changing trains in the border town of Valga. Since December 2023, a daily train runs between Riga and Vilnius. The rail network of the Baltic states is currently being extended with the construction of Rail Baltica, a new railway that will connect Tallinn to Warsaw via Riga and Kaunas. Riga also has a port, with ferries connecting the city to other destinations on the Baltic Sea, such as Stockholm.
Position of Riga in Latvia (edited from a work by Maximilian Dörrbecker, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0).
History of Riga
The area around the mouth of the river Daugava has been inhabited since ancient times, and Riga began to develop as a small trading center in the Early Middle Ages, when it was inhabited by the Livonians, a Finnic tribe. The city grew over the centuries, and was visited by German merchants and Christian missionaries. After the missionaries failed to convert the Livonians to Christianity, Pope Innocent III declared a crusade against them. A German bishop named Albert arrived in Latvia as part of the expedition, and moved the seat of the Livonian bishopric to Riga in 1201. This event is now traditionally considered as the founding of the modern city of Riga.
Riga grew rapidly, with the construction of churches and the expansion of its trade network, and the city joined the Hanseatic League in 1286. Riga flourished during this time, but the importance of the Hanseatic League waned over the centuries. During this time, Riga was the capital of the Livonian Confederation, which was nominally a vassal of the Holy See. However, the outbreak of the Livonian War brought an end to the Livonian Confederation in 1561, and Riga became a free imperial city of the Holy Roman Empire. Since 1582, at the end of the Livonian War, Riga was ruled by the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. However, the city was later taken by Sweden in 1629.
During this time, Riga was one of the largest cities under Swedish rule, and retained a great deal of autonomy. Riga was taken by the Russian Empire in 1710, during the Great Northern War, and became the capital of the Russian Governorate of Livonia. By the end of the 19th century, Riga had developed into one of the largest industrial hubs in the Russian Empire, but its population was still mostly German-speaking, and the city used German as its language of administration. Only in 1891 Russian became the official language of the Baltic states, and by the end of the century Latvians became the main ethnic group in the city.
As more Latvians moved to Riga, the city became the center of the Latvian National Awakening, a movement that opposed German dominance and Russian rule over Latvia. This led to the declaration of independence of Latvia at the end of World War I in 1918, with Riga serving as the capital of the new country. After the Latvian victory in the Latvian War of Independence, the country was recognized by the Soviet Union in 1920. During the interwar period, Riga was a vibrant city, more linked with Western Europe than Russia, but everything changed with the outbreak of World War II.
In 1940, the Soviet army invaded and occupied Latvia, and thousands of Latvians were killed and deported. Riga was then occupied by the army of Nazi Germany, which forcibly moved to Germany the Baltic Germans that had inhabited the city for 700 years. At the end of World War II, Latvia was once again under Soviet occupation. During the Soviet period, thousands of Russians moved to Riga, in an attempt to change the ethnic composition of the city. As a result, Latvians were only 36.5% of the population of Riga in 1989, while the percentage of Russians reached 47.3%.
With the fall of the Soviet Union, Latvia restored its independence in 1991. Since then, the country has moved closer to Western Europe, removing Soviet monuments, and joining the European Union in 2004. Now, Latvians are once again the main ethnic group of the city, and make up around half of Riga’s population, while the percentage of Russians fell to around 35%. Meanwhile, Riga has developed as a cheap tourist destination, and its old town was designated as a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1997.
House of the Blackheads
What to see and do in Riga
The main attractions of the city can be found in Old Riga, or Vecrīga, the historical center. This area is centered around the Town Hall Square, which houses the beautiful House of the Blackheads. Originally erected during the 14th century, this building used to host the most important merchant guild of the city, the Brotherhood of Blackheads. The building was adorned with elaborate Mannerist decorations in the 17th century, but it was unfortunately destroyed in 1941, during a battle between the German and Soviet armies. The current structure was built after Latvia regained its independence, and was inaugurated in 1999.
Curiously, this place is the site of the first decorated Christmas tree, which was placed outside the House of the Blackheads in 1510. A plaque on the ground in the Town Hall Square marks the place where the Christmas tree was placed. The Town Hall Square is also adorned with a statue of Saint Roland, and obviously also hosts the city’s town hall. One side of the square hosts the Museum of the Occupation of Latvia, which is dedicated to the history of the city between World War II and 1991. Meanwhile, the Fashion Museum in Riga, the only museum dedicated to fashion in the Baltic states, is located just behind the House of the Blackheads.
Just east of the Town Hall Square is the Lutheran St. Peter’s Church, the oldest church in the city. It was erected in the early 13th century, and was later reworked a few times. An elevator allows visitors to reach the top of the spire, from which a great view of Riga can be enjoyed. The smaller St. John’s Church, also a Lutheran church, was erected in various phases between the 13th and 17th century, and it is located just behind St. Peter’s Church. Nearby are also the Latvian Museum of Decorative Arts and Design and the Riga Porcelain Museum.
Saint Peter’s Church
Northwest of the Town Hall Square is instead the Riga Cathedral. Built in the early 13th century, this is one of the most recognizable landmarks in Latvia. This Lutheran church features various decorations and monuments, and was reworked several times over the centuries. The complex of the cathedral hosts the Museum of the History of Riga and Navigation, a rich museum dedicated to the history of the city and seafaring. A large square is located on the northern side of the cathedral. Here is the Art Museum Riga Bourse, which houses the largest collection of foreign artworks in the Baltic states, including several archaeological findings from Ancient Egypt and the Middle East.
At the western end of the old town, near the Daugava river, is the Riga Castle. Erected in the 14th century, the structure was rebuilt several times, and now serves as the residence of the President of Latvia. The Riga Castle also houses some museums, such as the Latvian Museum of National History, dedicated to local history. Next to the castle is the Catholic Our Lady of Sorrows Church.
The northern part of the old town features several historic buildings, including the Large Guild and the Small Guild, which were erected in the 19th century in Gothic Revival style. Just next to the Large Guild is the Cat House, which is curiously adorned with cat statues on its roof. Another historic building here is the complex known as The Three Brothers. These three adjacent buildings are the oldest houses still standing in Riga, with some parts dating from the 15th century.
The Three Brothers
Nearby is St. James’s Cathedral, the main Catholic church of the city. This church was built in Gothic style during the 13th century, and was later reworked. Antoher church, the Catholic St. Mary Magdalene’s Church, is located in front of the cathedral. The Latvian Parliament is just next to St. James’s Cathedral, but it is not open to visitors. A nearby road hosts the Swedish Gate, a historic city gate built in 1698.
Along the same road are some sections of the ancient walls of Riga, which lead to the Powder Tower, a defensive tower built in the 17th century on the site of an older medieval structure. Adjacent to the Powder Tower is the Latvian War Museum, a museum of local military history. Other museums in the old town include the Riga Film Museum and the Latvian Sport Museum, dedicated to local cinema and sports, respectively.
At the eastern edge of the old town is the 19th-century Latvian National Opera, the main theater in the city. This area features a park that partly surrounds the historic center of Riga, and includes a canal. Here is the historic Laima Clock, a popular meeting spot erected by a local chocolate manufacturer. At the center of the park is the large Freedom Monument. Erected in 1935, this is one of the national symbols of Latvia, and it is dedicated to the fallen soldiers of the Latvian War of Independence.
Freedom Monument
Continuing along this road, another large park houses some attractions, such as the Cathedral of the Nativity of Christ, which was built in the 19th century and it is the main Orthodox church in the city. This park also houses the Latvian National Museum of Art, the largest art museum in the country. Its collection includes thousands of artworks from Latvian and Baltic artists, spanning several centuries. Next to the museum is the building of the Art Academy of Latvia. Around this area is also a museum dedicated to the local Jewish community, while the Lutheran St. Gertrude Old Church is more east.
The entire area north and east of the old town of Riga is richly adorned with Art Nouveau buildings, which feature many elaborate decorations. In fact, one third of the buildings of the center of Riga feature this style, and the city hosts the largest concentration of Art Nouveau architecture in the world. These buildings were mostly erected at the start of the 20th century, when the city was expanding rapidly.
Southeast of the old town is the Riga Central Station. Just behind the station is one of the most curious structures in Riga, the Riga Central Market. This is one of the largest markets in Europe, and it is composed of various pavillions built in the 1920s by reusing old German Zeppelin hangars, adorned with Art Deco and Neoclassical decorations.
A bit more east is the huge building of the Latvian Academy of Sciences, erected during the Soviet period. This building features a panoramic terrace which offers a great view over the city. Around this area are also the ruins of the Choral Great Synagogue, which was erected in 1871 and burned down in 1941. Now it serves as a Holocaust memorial.
More attractions can be found on the west bank of the Daugava river. Just across the river from the Town Hall Square is a beautiful modern building known as Castle of Light, which hosts the National Library of Latvia. Nearby is the Victory Park, a park which used to host a massive Soviet monument, which was demolished in 2022, after the Russian invasion of Ukraine. This part of the city hosts the neighborhood of Āgenskalns, known for its historic wooden architecture. This neighborhood also houses the University of Latvia Botanical Garden, the oldest botanical garden in Latvia.
The Castle of Light, hosting the National Library of Latvia
The Riga Radio and TV Tower, the tallest of its kind in the European Union, is located on a narrow island in the Daugava river. Built in the 1980s, it has a height of 368.5 meters, and features a public observation platform at 97 metres, from which the entire city and the Gulf of Riga can be seen. Further away from the city center is the Riga Zoo, located north of Riga inside Mežaparks, a huge park near a lake. This park offers various attractions, including the Mežaparks Great Bandstand, a large open-air venue used for concerts and events.
Going even further from Riga, there are several historic cities and attractions not far from the Latvian capital, including the seaside resort of Jūrmala and the medieval town of Sigulda. Riga is a good starting point to visit all of Latvia, and other notable destinations such as Cēsis, Daugavpils, Kuldīga, Ventspils, and Liepāja can be reached easily by train or bus.