The September Travel Book
Riga
RIGA is the largest, liveliest and most cosmopolitan of the Baltic capitals, with a great selection of accommodation to suit any budget and a wide variety of world cuisine, ranging from cheap Eastern European buffets to the most exquisite sushi. A heady mixture of medieval and contemporary, the city has a good deal to offer architecture and history enthusiasts, with the narrow cobbled streets of Old Rīga and the wide boulevards of New Town ripe for exploration on foot. Rīga has all the trappings of a modern capital city, with efficient and affordable public transportation, along with excellent shopping to rival that of any Western city. Revellers coming to Rīga to sample its notorious nightlife will not be disappointed the variety of clubs, bars and live music venues is impressive.
What to see and do
Old Rīga (Vecrīga), centred around Cathedral Square and bisected from east to west by Kaļķu iela, forms the city's nucleus and is home to most of its historic buildings. With its cobbled streets, medieval buildings, narrow lanes and hidden courtyards, it gives the impression of having stepped back in time. To the east, Old Rīga is bordered by Bastejkalns Park, beyond which lies the New Town (Milda). Built during rapid urban expansion between 1857 and 1914, its wide boulevards are lined with four and five-storey apartment buildings, many decorated with extravagant Jugendstil motifs.
Rīga Castle and the Three Brothers
Cathedral Square (Doma laukums) is dominated by the towering red-brick Rīga Cathedral (Mon, Tues, Thurs & Sat 9am6pm, Wed & Fri 9am5pm, Sun services only; 50s), established in 1211. From Cathedral Square, Pils iela runs down to Castle Square (Pils laukums) and Rīga Castle (Rīgas pils), built in 1515 and now home to both the Latvian president and the Latvian History Museum (Latvijas vēstures muzejs; TuesSun: JuneAug 11am7pm; SeptMay 11am5pm; 1Ls), where you'll find an attractive display of iron-age artefacts and peasant life tableaux but little English description. Follow Mazā Pils iela from Pils laukums to see the Three Brothers (Trīs brāli), three charming medieval houses, one of which is thought to be the oldest in Latvia.
Swedish Gate and the Powder Tower
Further north on Torņa iela you'll find the seventeenth-century Swedish Gate (Zviedru vārti), the sole surviving city gate. At the end of Torņa iela is the Powder Tower (Pulvertornis), a vast, fourteenth-century bastion, home to the Museum Of War (WedSun 10am 5pm; 50s), a well-presented account of the country's turbulent history.
Bastion Hill and the Guild Hall
Bastion Hill (Bastejkalns) the park that slopes down to the city canal at the end of Torna iela is a reminder of the city's more recent history: on January 20 1991, four people were killed by Soviet fire during an attempted crackdown on Latvia's independence drive. Stones bearing the victims' names mark where they fell near the Bastejas bulvāris entrance to the park. From the Powder Tower, Meistaru iela runs down to the fourteenth century neo-Gothic Great Guild Hall (Lielā ģilde) at Amatu 6, the centre of commercial life in Hanseatic Rīga and now housing the Latvia State Philharmonic (Wwww.music.lv/en).
St Peter's Church
Follow the urban throng west along Kaļķu iela and turn left into Skārņu iela to St Peter's Church (Pēter baznīca; TuesSun 10am5.15pm), a large redbrick structure with a graceful three tiered spire. Climb the tower (2Ls) for panoramic views of the city.
Town Hall Square
From the doors of St Peter's Church, Rātslaukums (Town Hall Square) is straight ahead and dominated by the House of the Blackheads (Melngalvju nams; TuesSun: MaySept 10am 5pm; OctApril 11am5pm; 1.40Ls), a masterpiece of Gothic architecture. Once serving as the boozy headquarters of Rīga's bachelor merchants, and largely destroyed in 1941, it was lovingly reconstructed for the 800th anniversary of Rīga's foundation in 2001. Oozing opulence, with an excellent photo exhibition in the warren-like cellar, it is well worth a visit. Next door, an imposing concrete structure accommodates the Occupation Museum of Latvia (Latvijas okupācijas muzejs; MaySept daily 11am5pm; OctApril TuesSun 11am5pm; donations; Wwww. occupationmuseum.lv), a rewarding collection devoted to Latvia's occupation by the Nazis and Soviets.
The Freedom Monument
As you head east out along Kaļķu iela, which becomes Brīvības bulvāris as it enters the New Town, the modernist Freedom Monument (Brīvības piemineklis) dominates the view, holding aloft three stars symbolizing the three regions of Latvia. Incredibly, the monument survived the Soviet era, and nowadays two soldiers stand guard here in symbolic protection of Latvia's independence.
The Latvian National Museum of Art
Formal Esplanade Park runs north from Brīvības bulvāris. At the far end of the park, the worthwhile Latvian National Museum of Art (Valsts mākslas muzejs; Valdemāra iela 10; Mon & WedSun 11am5pm; Thurs 11am7pm; 2Ls; www.lnmm.lv/en), housed in a grandiose Neoclassical building, displays an impressive array of nineteenth and twentieth-century Latvian works, as well as changing modern art exhibitions.
Fin-de-Siecle Residences
Rīga is home to some of the most beautiful examples of Art Nouveau architecture in Europe, with over two hundred buildings having survived World War II. Inspired by Austrian and German styles, Jugendstil architecture embodies the ideal that everything useful should be beautiful. Its motifs of mythological creatures and nymphs, which decorate the facades of many of the New Town's apartment buildings, have been described as music in stone. A stroll along Strēlnieku iela and Alberta iela will take in some fine examples, many in the process of restoration. The beautiful facades of Elizabetes iela 10a and 10b were designed by the Russian-born architect Mikhail Eisenstein, whose own residence at Alberta iela 4 features majestic lions astride the turrets. The nearby Museum of Janis Rozentāls and Rūdolfs Blaumanis, at Alberta iela 12, is partially closed for renovation, but it is well worth stopping by if only to view the building's grand interior.
This extract was taken from Europe on a Budget by Rough Guides. The book is published by Rough Guides (paperback; £15.99) and is available through roughguides.com and all good booksellers.
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