Things to do in Riga, splurging
Fine-dining tables, Nordic cocktails, and Art Nouveau on every corner.
This is Riga for the traveller who wants to eat seriously every night and spend the hours in between at the right addresses. The route moves through Old Town's medieval core, the cathedral quarter, and the leafy Quiet Centre, with design stops and great coffee woven between the landmark meals. Three days is enough to feel like you know the city.
Day 1: Old Town from the top down
Start with the city spread out below you from St Peter's tower, eat the best-value Latvian lunch in town at Milda, drift down the canal by boat, then settle in for an art-on-the-plate dinner at 3 Pavāru before a nightcap in the Berga Bazārs courtyard.
- 10:30 AM
St Peter's Church
Lift to the top of the medieval tower for Riga's best panorama over Old Town and the Daugava.
Map - 12:30 PM
Milda
Latvian home cooking in the Old Town; order grey peas with bacon and the layered rye bread dessert.
Map - 2:30 PM
Canal and Daugava Boat Tour
An hour by wooden boat from Bastion Hill round the city canal and out onto the Daugava; runs spring to autumn.
Map - 7:30 PM
3 Pavāru Restorāns
Three chefs cook modern Latvian in an open kitchen by Jacob's Barracks; take the tasting menu.
Map - 9:30 PM
Berga bazārs
Elegant 19th-century courtyard arcade, ideal for a nightcap cocktail at one of its bar terraces after dinner.
Map
Day 2: The cathedral quarter, properly
The Dome Cathedral earns its reputation when you catch it early and quiet, lunch at Neiburgs around the corner, two unhurried hours at the Occupation Museum, then dinner at Entresol and cocktails on the 26th floor at Skyline.
- 10:15 AM
Dome Cathedral
Founded 1211, the largest medieval cathedral in the Baltics, catch the organ and the soaring interior right when it opens.
Map - 12:30 PM
Neiburgs
Modern Latvian lunch in the Neiburgs, an Art Nouveau house on Jauniela a minute from the cathedral.
Map - 2:30 PM
Museum of the Occupation of Latvia
Newly renovated occupation museum, sober, essential narrative on 50 years of Soviet and Nazi rule; budget a full two hours.
Map - 7:30 PM
Entresol
A small, modern tasting-menu room in the Quiet Centre built on Latvian produce; book ahead.
Map - 9:30 PM
Day 3: Art Nouveau, Nordic plates, great cocktails
Alberta iela's interiors beat the facades, SMOR's open sandwiches are the best lighter lunch of the trip, the renovated National Museum of Art is the single best gallery stop in this part of the city, and Gimlet's Nordic cocktail list is the right way to end three days in Riga.
- 10:30 AM
Art Nouveau District (Alberta iela
Step inside the museum apartment on Alberta iela for period Art Nouveau interiors, far richer than just walking the facades.
Map - 12:30 PM
SMOR Bistro
Nordic open sandwiches on dense rye; order three to share, the herring and the smoked fish first.
Map - 2:30 PM
Latvian National Museum of Art
The beautifully renovated 1905 building holds the definitive survey of Latvian art, the best single museum stop in this part of the city.
Map - 7:30 PM
The Catch
Japanese izakaya plates in the Quiet Centre; share raw fish, grilled skewers and a bottle of sake.
Map - 9:30 PM
Gimlet Nordic Cocktail Bar
Cocktails built on Nordic and Baltic flavours, birch, sea buckthorn and rye, at a dark bar on Baznīcas iela.
Map
Where to stay
Neiburgs Hotel
Neiburgs sits inside a restored Art Nouveau building in Old Town, within easy walking distance of every stop on the plan.
Hotel Bergs
Hotel Bergs sits in the Quiet Centre courtyard that anchors Day 1's nightcap, and is a short walk from the Day 3 restaurants and Gimlet.
Make Riga your trip
Swearby drafts the days from places people swear by. Swap any stop, then invite the crew by text, even friends without the app. Vote on dates, track costs as you go, and everyone gets one number at the end.
Get Swearby on the App StoreBefore you go
Book ahead
- The Corner House: a few days ahead
- Latvian National Opera and Ballet: a few days ahead
- Žanis Lipke Memorial: a few days ahead
- Sigulda Bobsleigh and Luge Track: a few days ahead
- Max Cekot Kitchen: weeks ahead
- JOHN Chef's Hall: weeks ahead
Skip these
- Old Town trap restaurants on Kalku and Livu: picture menu plus a tout outside means walk, a menu in Latvian first is a good sign.
- Amber shops on every Old Town corner, the same goods are 30 percent plus cheaper at Central Market and much tourist amber is not amber.
- Large Daugava only river cruises over the smaller canal boats, and do not pay for both St Peter's and the Academy of Sciences viewing platform.
- Rozengrals medieval cellar is fun theatre, but locals rate the food below Milda and Ala at similar spend.
The full Riga travel guide: when to go, safety, getting around