How many days do you need in Riga?

Two to three days covers the Old Town, Central Market and the city's two ticketed landmarks at an easy pace, plus a full day for the Hill of Crosses day trip if you want to fit it in.

Is Riga worth visiting on its own?

Yes – a genuine UNESCO World Heritage Old Town with the largest concentration of Art Nouveau architecture in the world, not just a base for the Hill of Crosses day trip across the border.

City guide

Things to do in Riga

Riga's Old Town is compact enough to cover on foot, and from it the city's other landmarks – a market, a Soviet-era viewpoint, and a cross-border day trip – are all a short trip away.

Experiences

Top picks in Riga

The experiences we'd book first, compared by length.

Experience	Duration
Hill of Crosses and Jelgava day trip from Riga	7.5 hours	Check prices
Riga Old Town walking tour	2 hours	Check prices
Riga Central Market food tour	2 hours	Check prices
Riga canal boat tour	50 minutes – 2 hours	Check prices
House of the Blackheads tickets	1 day	Check prices
Panorama Riga observation deck tickets	1 day	Check prices

Tours in Riga

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TourRiga Old Town walking tourA church tower rebuilt after collapsing twice, a merchants' guildhall demolished by Soviet order, and 800 Art Nouveau buildings in one walkable old town.2 hours→TourRiga canal boat tourA moat dug to stop a Russian invasion in 1650, now a quiet canal that loops past the Old Town by boat instead of on foot.50 minutes – 2 hours→TourRiga Central Market food tourFive German airship hangars turned into one of Europe's biggest markets, toured with 20-plus tastings of Latvian food along the way.2 hours→

Day Trips in Riga

Day TripHill of Crosses and Jelgava day trip from RigaA hillside covered in tens of thousands of crosses that the Soviet army bulldozed three times – and kept coming back anyway.7.5 hours→

Tickets in Riga

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TicketHouse of the Blackheads ticketsA 14th-century guildhall bombed to ruins, demolished by Soviet order despite local protests, and rebuilt decades later stone by stone.1 day→TicketPanorama Riga observation deck ticketsA Stalin-era skyscraper Latvians nicknamed "the birthday cake" – with the best 360-degree view in Riga at the top.1 day→

Coming soonWhere to stay in Riga→

A walking tour of Riga's Old Town covers its UNESCO-listed core – Town Hall Square, St. Peter's Church and the House of the Blackheads – while a canal boat tour sees the same area from the water along a former 17th-century defensive moat.

The Central Market food tour tastes its way through pavilions built from repurposed World War I Zeppelin hangars, one of the largest markets in Europe. For the buildings themselves, an entrance ticket to the House of the Blackheads covers its restored halls and medieval cellars, and the Panorama Riga observation deck gives the best 360-degree view in the city from 65 metres up a Stalin-era skyscraper.

Further out, a day trip crosses into Lithuania for the Hill of Crosses, a pilgrimage site the Soviet army bulldozed three times and never managed to clear.

Good to know

Frequently asked questions

A walking tour of the UNESCO-listed Old Town, a canal boat tour, a food tour through the Zeppelin-hangar Central Market, tickets for the House of the Blackheads and the Panorama Riga observation deck, and a day trip across the border to Lithuania's Hill of Crosses.