City break in Latvia

Riga is the capital of Latvia and is definitely worth a visit for a short break (suggest 3-4 days) . The vibe is Scandinavian/German without the price tag of Scandinavia. Our visit was at the end of March/early April 25. The weather was 8-14 degrees. We had nice bright blue skies and stayed in the Old Town and good for visiting all local attractions including museums and churches. We stayed at the Pullman Riga hotel. It takes around 15 mins from the airport by taxi or 25 mins by local bus. The bus is cheap (1.50 euros from airport to town centre) but do make sure you know where to get off. It was dark when we arrived and we missed our stop which ended up costing us a fine of 15 Euros . Bolt is widely used for taxis so worth downloading if you don‘t have the app already. We returned to the airport by Bolt and the cost was only 7.50 euros.

We visited St Peter‘s German church (Germans built the city of Riga ) back in the 1200s and then under Swedish rule during 1600s. The church has a tower with great views of the city. The tower has a lift but note there are some stone steps to reach it. The House of the Blackheads , originally constructed in 1334, was used as a meeting place and a celebration venue for trading merchants. You can walk around the rooms and take photos. Price in April 25 was 7 Euro entry or 10 with a glass of fizz. There are many other museums such as National Latvian Museum of Art, KGB Building , Museum of Occupation , Musee Art Nouveau. Riga also offers free walking tours of the city and these last around 2 hours. They cover the major sights including the Freedom Monument the key churches and cathedrals and the parliament building. The city is full of great bars and restaurants, often in basement caverns and serve a mix of local and international food. The local alcoholic drink is Balsam and comes in a variety of flavours including blackcurrant, cherry or coffee. Sometimes it‘s served like a Gluhwein, it can be drank neat or in cocktail.