Insight Guides Pocket Riga (Travel Guide eBook)

By Insight Guides

Insight Guides Pocket Riga

Let us guide you on every step of your travels...
The definitive pocket-sized travel guide.

Compact, concise and packed full of essential information about where to go and what to do, this is the ideal on-the-move travel guide for exploring Riga. From top tourist attractions like the Dome Cathedral, the Swedish Gate, Central Market and the Freedom Monument, to cultural gems, including the Open-Air Ethnographic Museum, the Art Nouveau District and St John's Church, plan your perfect trip with this practical, all-in-one travel guide. 

Features of this travel guide to Riga:
- Inspirational itineraries: discover the best destinations, sights and excursions, highlighted with stunning photography
- Historical and cultural insights: delve into the city's rich history and culture, and learn all about the Great Guild, the Riga Circus, the Powder Tower and the architect Mikhail Eisenstein and his son, the filmmaker Sergei Eisenstein.
- Practical full-colour map: with every major attraction highlighted, the pull-out map makes on-the-ground navigation easy
- Key tips and essential information: from transport to tipping, we've got you covered
- Covers: the Northern and Southern halves of Old Riga, the City Centre, Moscow District, the Left Bank, outlying areas and day trips to Jumala, Sigulda and the Bauska Region.


Looking for a comprehensive guide to Latvia? Check out Insight Guides Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania for a detailed and entertaining look at all the country has to offer.

About Insight Guides: Insight Guides is a pioneer of full-colour guide books, with almost 50 years' experience of publishing high-quality, visual travel guides with user-friendly, modern design. We produce around 400 full-colour print guide books and maps, as well as phrase books, picture-packed eBooks and apps to meet different travellers' needs. Insight Guides' unique combination of beautiful travel photography and focus on history and culture create a unique visual reference and planning tool to inspire your next adventure.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Insight Guides
• Release date: Dec 1, 2019
• ISBN: 9781839052149

Insight Guides

Pictorial travel guide to Arizona & the Grand Canyon with a free eBook provides all you need for every step of your journey. With in-depth features on culture and history, stunning colour photography and handy maps, it’s perfect for inspiration and finding out when to go to Arizona & the Grand Canyon and what to see in Arizona & the Grand Canyon. 

Book preview

How To Use This E-Book

Getting Around the e-Book

This Pocket Guide e-book is designed to give you inspiration and planning advice for your visit to Riga, and is also the perfect on-the-ground companion for your trip.

The guide begins with our selection of Top 10 Attractions, plus a Perfect Itinerary feature to help you plan unmissable experiences. The Introduction and History chapters paint a vivid cultural portrait of Riga, and the Where to Go chapter gives a complete guide to all the sights worth visiting. You will find ideas for activities in the What to Do section, while the Eating Out chapter describes the local cuisine and gives listings of the best restaurants. The Travel Tips offer practical information to help you plan your trip. Finally, there are carefully selected hotel listings.

In the Table of Contents and throughout this e-book you will see hyperlinked references. Just tap a hyperlink once to skip to the section you would like to read. Practical information and listings are also hyperlinked, so as long as you have an external connection to the internet, you can tap a link to go directly to the website for more information.

Maps

All key attractions and sights in Riga are numbered and cross-referenced to high-quality maps. Wherever you see the reference [map], tap once to go straight to the related map. You can also double-tap any map for a zoom view.

Images

You’ll find lots of beautiful high-resolution images that capture the essence of Riga. Simply double-tap an image to see it in full-screen.

About Insight Guides

Insight Guides have more than 40 years’ experience of publishing high-quality, visual travel guides. We produce 400 full-colour titles, in both print and digital form, covering more than 200 destinations across the globe, in a variety of formats to meet your different needs.

Insight Guides are written by local authors, whose expertise is evident in the extensive historical and cultural background features. Each destination is carefully researched by regional experts to ensure our guides provide the very latest information. All the reviews in Insight Guides are independent; we strive to maintain an impartial view. Our reviews are carefully selected to guide you to the best places to eat, go out and shop, so you can be confident that when we say a place is special, we really mean it.

© 2019 Apa Digital (CH) AG and Apa Publications (UK) Ltd

Table of Contents

Riga’s Top 10 Attractions

Top Attraction #1

Top Attraction #2

Top Attraction #3

Top Attraction #4

Top Attraction #5

Top Attraction #6

Top Attraction #7

Top Attraction #8

Top Attraction #9

Top Attraction #10

A Perfect Day In Riga

Introduction

Land and People

Present and Future

A Brief History

The Northern Crusade

Poles and Swedes

The Russian Empire

The 19th Century and the Latvian Awakening

The 20th Century

After Independence

Historical Landmarks

Where To Go

Old Riga: Southern Half

Alksnāja, Peitavas and Mārstaļu Streets

St John’s and Beyond

Town Hall Square

Old Riga: Northern Half

Dome Square (Doma laukums)

Around Dome Square

Livs’ Square

City Centre

Kronvalda Park

Freedom Monument and Riga Canal

Wöhrmann Park

The Esplanade

Art Nouveau District L [map]

Moscow district

Central Market

The Left Bank

Railway and Aviation Museums

Victory Park

Outlying Areas

Interesting Cemeteries

Forest Park (Mežaparks)

The Ethnographic Open-Air Museum of Latvia

Riga Motor Museum

Salaspils Concentration Camp Memorial

Day trips

Jūrmala

Sigulda

Bauska Region

What To Do

Entertainment

Classical Music and Opera

Nightlife

Shopping

Where to Shop

What to Buy

Sports

Children

Calendar of Events

Eating Out

Where to Eat

When to Eat

What to Eat

National Dishes and Specialities

Snacks

Drinks

Reading the Menu

To Help You Order…

…and Read the Menu

Restaurants

Old Riga

The Centre

Further Afield

A–Z Travel Tips

A

Accommodation

Airport

B

Budgeting for Your Trip

C

Car Hire

Climate

Clothing

Crime and Safety

Customs and Entry Requirements

D

Driving

E

Electricity

Embassies

Emergencies

G

Getting There

Guides and Tours

H

Health and Medical Care

Hitchhiking

L

Language

LGBTQ Travellers

M

Maps

Media

Money

O

Opening Hours

P

Police

Post Offices

Public Holidays

Public Transport

R

Religion

T

Telephones

Tickets

Time Zones

Tipping

Toilets

Tourist Information

W

Websites

Y

Youth Hostels

Recommended Hotels

Old Riga

The Centre

Moscow District

Pardaugava

Riga’s Top 10 Attractions

Top Attraction #1

Getty Images

The Central Market

One of the city’s most exciting treasure troves, with a carnival vibe. For more information, click here.

Top Attraction #2

Shutterstock

Sigulda

A short trip from Riga, this pretty riverside town makes a great day trip. For more information, click here.

Top Attraction #3

iStock

The Freedom Monument

This 1930s monument is a revered symbol of the Latvian nation. For more information, click here.

Top Attraction #4

iStock

The Swedish Gate

A fascinating reminder of Riga’s days as a prosperous Swedish port. For more information, click here.

Top Attraction #5

iStock

Dome Cathedral

Its great tower dominates the old town of Riga. For more information, click here.

Top Attraction #6

iStock

The House of Blackheads

A guild of merchants once banqueted in this lovely 14th-century building. For more information, click here.

Top Attraction #7

Shutterstock

The National Opera House

With an opulent interior and beautiful gardens, this is the pride and joy of Riga. For more information, click here.

Top Attraction #8

Shutterstock

The Ethnographic Open-Air Museum of Latvia

Discover Latvia’s rich folk heritage here. For more information, click here.

Top Attraction #9

Micah Sarut/Apa Publications

Jūrmala

Beach culture takes centre stage on the Baltic coast in summer. For more information, click here.

Top Attraction #10

Reinis Hofmanis/Investment and Development Agency of Latvia

Art Nouveau District

The city centre is an architectural showcase. For more information, click here.

A Perfect Day In Riga

9am

Central Market Tour

Start the day with a visit to the Central Market (for more information, click here). Each of its four original buildings still sells the originally intended products: fish, dairy, fruit and vegetables, and meat. Those brave enough might try some local delicacies.

10am

Culture Trail

Take a walk through the Moscow District (Maskavas Forštate) located behind the market, with its 19th-century wooden houses and the warehouse quarter (Spiķeri), full of trendy cafés, bars, clubs and art galleries. If you fancy a museum, there is the small but eye-opening Riga Ghetto and Latvian Holocaust Museum (for more information, click here).

11am

Old Riga

Head for the Old Town to visit the excellent Museum of the Occupation of Latvia, which recounts Latvia’s painful history. Afterwards, take a walk around the Old Town with its medieval buildings. Don’t miss Sts Peter and Paul Church, Three Brothers and the Dome Cathedral (for more information, click here).

12.30pm

Lunch

Have lunch at the elegant ‘Melnie Mūki’ (Black Monks) restaurant (for more information, click here), located in a section of a medieval convent. Look for chef’s specials including international as well as Latvian staples and wash them down with one of the excellent Latvian beers.

2pm

Art Nouveau

Head to the Art Nouveau District (for more information, click here) and get to know one of the most beautiful parts of the city. The flamboyant style easily recognised in the facades of the buildings along Elizabetes or Albert streets became a symbol of Riga’s golden age when, at the end of the 19th century, Riga’s wealth was at its zenith. Visit the Riga Art Nouveau Museum (for more information, click here) on Alberta street to see a fully furnished apartment of the time; then take a break in one of the district’s welcoming cafés.

5pm

Shopping

Explore the pleasant parks that form a green strip near the city centre. Don’t miss the Freedom Monument and Laima Clock (for more information, click here). For shopping, go to trendy Bergs Bazaar (for more information, click here) to buy hand-made chocolates, clothing and furs, beautiful soaps and local linens.

8pm

Dinner in the park

Round up the day at Bibliotēka restaurant located in the beautiful Vērmane Park. Its interior resembles the old library while the chef serves excellent contemporary Latvian cuisine rich in flavour and texture. Enjoy the lush greenery of the park trough large panoramic windows.

10.30pm

A night on the town

Start with a few post-dinner drinks in Balzambārs, a trendy bar beside the Dome Cathedral. Then move on to Coyote Fly for some dancing or if you prefer, the Royal Casino, open 24-hours. Note that if you plan to go here, you’ll need to bring your passport and leave it at the door.

Introduction

From its medieval golden age as the largest city in the Swedish Empire to its heyday in the early 20th century as an economic powerhouse and Russia’s third-largest port, Riga has long been a symbol of commerce and cosmopolitan living. A mere decade after becoming the capital of an independent Latvia, the citizens of 1930s Riga enjoyed one