Things to Do in Lithuania 1 guide

Why visit Lithuania

A country you can cross in an afternoon, yet it hides a UNESCO old town, a sand-dune peninsula and a hill of a hundred thousand crosses.

Lithuania is the largest of the Baltic states — a compact country of baroque old towns, pine-and-lake wilderness and a windswept Baltic coast, all within a few hours' drive of one another. Its heart is Vilnius, whose UNESCO-listed old town is one of the finest in Central Europe, but the country reaches out to fairy-tale Trakai Castle, the dunes of the Curonian Spit and the haunting Hill of Crosses. Use this hub to plan your trip: browse our city guides below, or read on for the regions, seasons and road-trip routes that tie the country together.

Known for
Baroque Vilnius, Baltic dunes & lakes
Best for
Old towns, castles & coast
Capital
Vilnius
Main gateway
Vilnius Airport (VNO)
Time zone
Eastern European (EET, UTC+2)

Trip planner Plan your trip to Lithuania

Best time to visit — season by season

Spring
Mar–May

A quiet, greening shoulder season: Vilnius and Kaunas thaw out, café terraces reopen and the parks blossom, though early spring can still be grey and cold and the Baltic coast stays bracing well into May.

Summer
Jun–Aug

The high season and by far the warmest window, with long white-night evenings, mild days in the 70s°F and the Curonian Spit beaches at their best. It's the time for lake country and the coast — Nida and Palanga book out around the Midsummer (Joninės) festivities.

Fall
Sep–Nov

Golden and atmospheric, when the forests of Dzūkija and Aukštaitija turn amber and the mushroom-and-berry season peaks. September is still pleasant for the coast; by November the days shorten fast and the first frosts arrive.

Winter
Dec–Feb

Cold, short-dayed and often snowy — frequently below freezing. The old towns look magical under snow and the Christmas markets in Vilnius and Kaunas are a highlight, but the coast and lake country largely close down until spring.

Regions of Lithuania

  • Vilnius & the southeast

    The capital region and cultural heart, where Vilnius pairs Europe's largest baroque old town with the island castle of Trakai on Lake Galvė, a half-hour away, and the quirky self-declared 'republic' of Užupis just across the river.

  • Kaunas & central Lithuania

    The confident second city at the meeting of two rivers, famous for its interwar modernist architecture, the medieval Kaunas Castle and the sobering Ninth Fort, a WWII memorial on the city's edge.

  • The Baltic coast & Curonian Spit

    Lithuania's short but memorable seaboard, where the port city of Klaipėda is the gateway to the UNESCO-listed Curonian Spit and its towering sand dunes at Nida, with the breezy resort town of Palanga just up the coast.

  • Žemaitija (the northwest)

    Bold, proud lowland Samogitia, home to the forests and lakes of Žemaitija National Park and — near Šiauliai — the extraordinary Hill of Crosses, a mound layered with tens of thousands of crosses left by pilgrims.

  • Aukštaitija (the northeast)

    The highland lake district, a maze of interconnected lakes, pine forest and wooden villages best explored by canoe, centred on Aukštaitija National Park and an old tradition of village-brewed farmhouse beer.

  • Dzūkija (the south)

    The land of mushrooms and songs, a sparsely populated region of pine forest and quiet rivers protected within Dzūkija National Park, known for black pottery, folk crafts, the spa town of Druskininkai and the open-air Soviet-statue collection of Grūtas Park nearby.

Getting around

Lithuania is small and easy to cross, and the cities are genuinely walkable once you arrive. Fast, cheap intercity buses and trains link Vilnius, Kaunas, Klaipėda and Šiauliai, so a car isn't essential if you're sticking to the main towns — Vilnius to Kaunas is barely an hour. For the countryside, though — the Hill of Crosses, the lake district of Aukštaitija, and the fishing villages of the Curonian Spit — a rental car gives you far more freedom, and the Spit itself is reached by a short car-and-passenger ferry from Klaipėda. Most visitors fly into Vilnius Airport; Kaunas and Palanga also have airports handy for the centre and coast.

The highlights Lithuania's signature sights & road trips

Lithuania's signature sights at a glance

Suggested routes

The Baltic grand tour

~1 week

A loop from Vilnius that links the capital, the second city and the great landmarks of the north and the coast in one sweep. Run it in either direction.

  1. Vilnius — fly in; two days in the old town
  2. Trakai Castle — half-day trip from the capital
  3. Kaunas — modernist architecture & the castle
  4. Hill of Crosses — near Šiauliai, on the way north-west
  5. Klaipėda — port city & ferry to the Spit
  6. Curonian Spit (Nida) — dunes and fishing villages
  7. Palanga — seaside finish before looping back

Capital & castle short break

3–4 days

A focused long-weekend loop from Vilnius, pairing the baroque old town with the country's most-visited castle and a taste of the southern spa country — no long drives required.

  1. Vilnius — basecamp
  2. Trakai Castle — island fortress on Lake Galvė
  3. Druskininkai — spa town & nearby Grūtas Park

Coast & Curonian Spit escape

3–4 days

A warm-weather trip to Lithuania's short but memorable seaboard, built around the dunes of the Spit and the beach resorts, easiest in summer.

  1. Klaipėda — basecamp & ferry port
  2. Curonian Spit (Nida) — the great sand dunes
  3. Juodkrantė — fishing village & the Hill of Witches
  4. Palanga — seaside resort & amber museum
Map of Lithuania

Cities in Lithuania

States near Lithuania

Lithuania travel FAQ

When is the best time to visit Lithuania?

Late spring through early autumn is the sweet spot. June to August is warmest and best for the Baltic coast, the lakes and long white-night evenings, though it's the busiest. May and September are quieter and pleasant for the cities, while autumn brings golden forests. Winter is cold, short-dayed and often snowy — atmospheric for the Christmas markets, but the coast and countryside largely shut down.

How many days do you need in Lithuania?

You can see the highlights of Vilnius in two to three days, with an easy half-day trip out to Trakai Castle. Four to five days lets you add Kaunas and a run to the coast, and a full week comfortably takes in Klaipėda, the Curonian Spit and the Hill of Crosses. Ten days or more opens up the lake district of Aukštaitija and the forests of Dzūkija, or a cross-border loop through neighbouring Latvia.

Do you need a car in Lithuania?

Not for the main cities. Vilnius, Kaunas, Klaipėda and Šiauliai are linked by cheap, frequent intercity buses and trains, and each old town is walkable. A rental car helps for the countryside, though — the Hill of Crosses, the Aukštaitija lakes and the Curonian Spit's fishing villages are far easier with your own wheels, and the Spit is reached by a short ferry from Klaipėda.

What is Lithuania best known for?

Lithuania is best known for the baroque UNESCO old town of Vilnius, the island castle of Trakai, and two haunting landscapes: the Hill of Crosses near Šiauliai and the sand dunes of the Curonian Spit at Nida. It's also the largest and most southerly of the three Baltic states, with a strong basketball culture and a landscape of forests and lakes.

Is the Curonian Spit worth visiting, and how do you get there?

Yes — it's one of Northern Europe's most striking landscapes and a UNESCO World Heritage Site, a thin peninsula of shifting sand dunes, pine forest and old fishing villages between the Baltic Sea and a lagoon. You reach the Lithuanian half via a short car-and-passenger ferry from Klaipėda, then drive or cycle down to the resort village of Nida near the dunes. Many visitors make it a day trip from Klaipėda, but staying overnight in Nida is well worth it.

Is English widely spoken in Lithuania?

In the cities and tourist areas, yes — younger Lithuanians in particular tend to speak good English, and you'll manage easily in Vilnius, Kaunas and along the coast. In rural villages and among older generations it's less common, where Russian or Lithuanian may be more useful, but travellers rarely have serious language trouble on the main routes.

What currency does Lithuania use, and is it in the EU?

Lithuania is a member of the European Union and the Schengen Area, and it uses the euro. Card payments are widely accepted, even for small purchases in the cities, though it's worth carrying a little cash for rural markets, small cafés and ferry or parking fees.

What should you eat in Lithuania?

Look for cepelinai — hearty potato dumplings stuffed with meat — and in warm weather the vivid pink chilled beetroot soup, šaltibarščiai, served with a side of potatoes. Other staples include kugelis (baked potato pudding), dark rye bread, smoked fish along the coast, and kvass or locally brewed farmhouse beer, a proud tradition in the Aukštaitija region.