I’ve spent months in Riga across multiple trips, staying in different parts of the city and coming back at different times of year. This Riga guide brings together everything I’ve learned from actually spending time here, so you don’t have to piece together your trip from ten different websites. So whether you’re coming to Riga for one day, spending a long weekend here, or using the city as a base for exploring Latvia, these are all my Riga guides in one place. Is Riga Worth Visiting? Before booking anything, you might be wondering whether Riga is actually worth adding to your itinerary. I’ve spent months here and have a pretty…

If I had 3 days in Riga Latvia, I wouldn’t spend all three days doing the usual Riga sightseeing. I’ve spent a lot of time in Riga, and once you’ve seen the main parts of the city, I think the extra time is better used to get outside Riga. And because this is how I travel, I’d actually be tempted to make the third day a little chaotic. My version would be: Day 1: Riga + a boat cruise or tourDay 2: A day trip outside RigaDay 3: Another day trip — and potentially another Baltic country If that sounds like way too much travel for you, don’t worry. I’ll…

If you only have one day in Riga, you can see a lot without turning your day into a race between attractions. I’ve spent more than two months in Riga across three visits, so I’ve had plenty of time to see the city without trying to cram everything into one day. If I were visiting Riga for the first time and only had 24 hours, these are the things I’d prioritize. I also wouldn’t try to see every museum and historical building in the city. You have one day. You can see the main sights, eat some good food, experience the Old Town, check out Riga’s Art Nouveau architecture, and…

Riga has quite a few hostels to choose from, which is great if you’re traveling on a budget, but it can also make it difficult to know where to stay. I would look at the location first, especially if you’re only spending a few days in Riga. After that, it really comes down to whether you want somewhere social, somewhere in the Old Town, or somewhere a little quieter. I have stayed in Riga more than once, and Cinnamon Sally Backpackers Hostel is actually where I stayed on my first trip to the city. It’s also my favorite hostel on this list. In this guide, I’ll share the 5 best…

I’ve been to Riga three times, and I’ve spent more than two months there altogether. My first visit was as a backpacker traveling through the Baltics, while my other two stays were completely different — I was working as a flight attendant and based in Riga for about a month each time. That gave me a very different experience of the city than simply visiting for a weekend and ticking off the main attractions. I’ve had time to explore Riga properly, come back to places more than once, and see what I actually enjoyed versus what I wouldn’t bother making time for again. So this isn’t meant to be a…

I’ve been to Riga three times, and I’ve stayed long enough that I’ve experienced the city as more than just a tourist passing through. My first visit was as a backpacker traveling through the Baltics, and the other two were completely different — I was working as a flight attendant and based in Riga for about a month each time. So if you’re trying to figure out where to stay in Riga, I’m not basing this on a weekend visit or just looking at a map. I’ve spent more than two months in the city altogether, stayed in different parts of the Riga area, used the buses, walked around constantly,…

I’ve been to Riga three times. Not three weekend trips — more than two months total, including two separate stints where I was based there for about a month at a time, working as a flight attendant. So when someone asks how many days in Riga they actually need, I’m not guessing based on one quick visit. I’ve had Riga as a backpacker passing through, and I’ve had it as somewhere I actually lived for a while. That makes a difference here. How many days in Riga you need depends on what kind of trip you’re planning. If you just want to explore Riga itself, you don’t need a huge…

I’ve been to Riga three times, and none of them were a quick weekend trip. The first time was during my first solo backpacking trip around Europe, when I traveled through 13 countries in three months. I’d met a group of Portuguese people in Slovakia doing Erasmus in Poland, ran into them again in Poland, and ended up traveling with them through Poland and all three Baltic countries by bus. We came into Riga from Lithuania and I stayed at Cinnamon Sally Backpackers Hostel. The other two times were different. I was working as a flight attendant, based in Riga for about a month each time. That’s not visiting a…