Tourist Places to Visit in Latvia, Europe

Tourist Places to Visit in Latvia, Europe

Latvia is a North European country located in the Baltic region, surrounded by Estonia in the north, Russia towards east, Lithuania in the south, Belarus in the southeast and towards west by the Baltic Sea. The country of Latvia follows a unitary parliamentary republic system.

Riga is the capital and largest city, Latvian is the official language and Lats is the currency of Latvia. Latvia is divided into a five planning regions, Latgalia, Courland, Vidzeme, Zemgale and Riga.

Geography of Latvia:

Latvia is geographically positioned at 56°57′ N 24°6′ E covering a total area of 64,589 sq. km.

The major cities of Latvia include:

Riga
Daugavpils
Jurmala
Kuldīga
Liepaja

History of Latvia:

Latvija was the original name of Latvia which may be derived from the name of an ancient Baltic tribe, Latgalians. Latvia was conquered by the Russian Empire in the 18^th century and the independence of Latvia was declared from the Russian Empire on 18 November 1918. But Latvia was added to the Soviet Union on 5 August 1940, later on 10 July 1941 the Nazi Germany occupied Latvia and the Soviet Union reoccupied Latvia in the year 1944. Finally on 4 May 1990, Latvia became independent with the disbanding of the Soviet Union and Latvia restored its independence on 21 August 1991.

How to reach Latvia?

The Riga International Airport is the most important airport of Latvia located in the capital city, Riga and handles flights to and from Frankfurt, Helsinki, Minsk, Moscow, Budapest, St Petersburg, Vienna, Oslo, Istanbul, New York and London.

The major airport travel options include:

Riga Airport Transfers
Airbaltic Airport Express
Baltic Taxi

Latvia has a good domestic railway network as well as connections to the cities of Belarus, Estonia and Russia.

Buses are ideal for both short and long distances and taxis and rental cars are other options to get around.

Culture, Food and Shopping in Latvia:

Christians dominate the population of Latvia and the Latvian Song and Dance Festival is the most important festival celebration all over the country.

Some famous dishes in Latvia include kefirs, biezpiena sierins, skabeti kaposti and Griki. Some purchasable items in Latvia are silver jewelry, mittens, and laima Chocolate.

Must see in Latvia:

Rundale Palace:

The Rundale Palace is a palace constructed for the Dukes of Courland in 1768, designed by an architect Bartolomeo Rastrelli. This amazing palace is located in the town of Bauska in the region of Zemgale.

Latvian National Museum of Art:

Situated on the Valdemara Street in the Riga city, the Latvian National Museum of Art holds around 52,000 different artworks related to the Latvian and Russian art.

National History Museum of Latvia:

The National History Museum of Latvia is an ideal place to know the complete history of Latvia from its occupation period to modern days. It is open for tourists between 11AM-5PM (Wednesday-Sunday). The entrance fee is 2 LVL.

List of other places of interest in Latvia includes:

Statue of Roland
Museum of the Occupation of Latvia
John’s Church
Peter’s Church
Sun Museum
Porcelain Museum
The Big Guild
Wagner Concert Hall
Jacob’s Catholic Church
Museum of Foreign Art
Riga Cathedral
Museum of the Barricades of 1991
The Three Brothers
Arsenal Museum of Art
Latvian Parliament

When to visit Latvia?

Latvia experiences a temperate seasonal climate and the ideal time to visit Latvia is from May to September.

Where to stay in Latvia?

Latvia is home to numerous world class hotels of which the higher majority of hotels are located in the capital city, Riga. Here are the prominent hotels in Latvia (Riga):