Country · 1 guide
An Art Nouveau capital, empty white-sand beaches and pine forest to the horizon — the Baltic at its most quietly grand.
Latvia packs an improbable amount into a country of under two million people: a UNESCO-listed capital of Art Nouveau facades and medieval spires, some 500 kilometres of white-sand Baltic coast, and a hinterland of pine forest, sandstone gorges and blue lakes. Riga is the obvious way in — the largest city in the Baltics and by far its most architecturally extravagant — but the country rewards anyone who keeps going, to the castles of the Gauja valley, the wooden spa villas of Jurmala and the quiet lake country of Latgale. Use this hub to plan your trip: browse our Latvian city guides below, or read on for the regions, seasons and routes that tie the country together.
Latvia in numbers
Plan your tripAttraction-by-attraction guides to 1 city in Latvia, each one mapped.
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A slow thaw into one of the loveliest times to visit: the snow clears, Riga's parks and canal-side greens come back to life, and by May the cafe terraces are open and the birch woods are in fresh leaf. Early spring is still raw and grey, so late April and May are the sweet spot.
Peak season, and the reason Latvians decamp to the coast. Northern days stretch past ten in the evening around midsummer, the Baltic warms just enough to swim in, and the resort towns fill up. Warm rather than hot, with the occasional thundery spell.
September is a genuinely good month — mild, golden and far quieter than August, with the forests turning and mushroom season in full swing. From late October it turns dark, wet and cold, and the coast empties out almost completely.
Cold, dark and often snowy, with short days and temperatures regularly below freezing. Riga is at its most atmospheric under snow, with a Christmas market on Dome Square, while the frozen lakes and forests inland draw skiers, skaters and ice fishers.
The classic short break, and the trip most visitors to Latvia actually take. Everything here is walkable or a short tram ride apart, with one easy train trip to the coast to finish.
The easiest escape from the capital into real Latvian countryside — sandstone gorges, forest and a run of castles, all reachable by train from Riga if you'd rather not drive.
A driving loop up the west coast and back, taking in lighthouses, near-empty beaches and the wooden towns of the old Duchy of Courland. A car is close to essential for this one.
Eight questions travellers ask before they go.
Late spring through early autumn (May to September) is the most reliable window: mild to warm weather, long daylight and everything on the coast open. June and July are warmest and busiest, while September is quieter and often golden. Winter is cold, dark and frequently snowy — atmospheric in Riga, but limiting elsewhere in the country.
Three days covers Riga properly, including the Old Town, the Art Nouveau district and the Central Market. Five to seven lets you add Jurmala and the Gauja valley castles at Sigulda and Cesis. Around ten days is enough to reach the Kurzeme coast or the lakes of Latgale as well.
Not for Riga, which is walkable and has a dense tram and bus network, and not for Jurmala or Sigulda, which are straightforward commuter-train trips. A car becomes worthwhile for the Kurzeme coast, the manor houses of Zemgale and the back roads of Latgale, where bus and train timetables are sparse.
Riga's Art Nouveau architecture and UNESCO-listed old town, a long white-sand Baltic coastline, vast pine and birch forest, a powerful choral tradition centred on the Song and Dance Festival, and Riga Black Balsam, the bitter herbal liqueur the city has been making since the 18th century.
Widely in Riga and the main tourist towns, especially among younger Latvians and in hotels, restaurants and museums. It thins out in rural areas and among older people, where Latvian and Russian dominate, but travellers rarely run into real difficulty.
Latvia uses the euro, adopted in 2014. It is a member of the European Union, the eurozone, the Schengen Area and NATO, so most European visitors arrive without a border check and without needing to change money.
Hearty and seasonal cooking: dark rye bread, grey peas with bacon, smoked fish from the Baltic, cold beetroot soup in summer, and pickles and wild mushrooms in autumn. Riga also has a fast-growing modern restaurant scene, and the Central Market is the best place to graze cheaply.
City breaks, coastline and wooden architecture.
