I booked flights to visit Riga after doing very little research. It was simply a case of searching Skyscanner for cheap flights to a place we’d never been to before (which is how I previously ended up in Luxembourg and Oslo). There were quite a few options for the week I was looking at, but Riga ended up winning. If you’re like me and haven’t done much research on Latvia, here are a few reasons why you should visit this Baltic state.
Cost
As I said, I was searching for cheap flights and ended up paying just under £48 for two return flights from London Luton to Riga. We flew with Whizzair who are a budget airline, so the price didn’t include any baggage nor did it allow us to choose our own seats. However, we’re both pretty good at travelling with just an under-seat bag so this wasn’t needed. We also ended up sitting together on both flights.
Our accommodation was also very reasonably priced. We went for a small apartment which was a 15 minute walk outside of the Old Town in the Bergs Bazaar area. Four nights cost just under 200€. Overall it was around £125 each for us to visit Riga.
Public transport
Although it’s the largest of all of the the Baltic cities, Riga is a fairly small city, it’s really easy to get around by foot, especially in the Old Town. To get to and from Riga airport, we caught a bus which took around 35 mins. As well as the buses, there’s also trams and trolley buses in and around Riga. You have to buy tickets beforehand and validate the ticket when you get on board. Tickets are available from many different convenience stores throughout the city. It’s easy to navigate the city and its transport with the Citymapper app.
Architecture
One of the things that persuaded me to visit Riga (apart from the cost) was the stunning architecture. As with most European cities, Riga is home to some gorgeous buildings and architectural styles that you wouldn’t find in the UK. A quick Google search brings up photos of the most popular sights located in the Old Town. The city is particularly known for its art nouveau buildings and is commonly referred to as the Paris of the Baltics. There are things to see around every corner, but the buildings I recommend you make an effort to see are:
– Three Brothers
– Cat House
– House of the Blackheads
– St Peter’s Church
Food
Before booking the flights to Riga, I had no idea what the Latvian cuisine was like. I bought a Riga guide book to do some research which had a great food section. Traditional Latvian food contains a lot of rye, wheat, potatoes, pork, cabbage dill and beetroot. The guide book recommends you try the rye bread, speck and the many hearty soups that are on offer the local restaurants.
Ķiploku grauzdiņi
One of the foods that I was most intrigued to try was a bar snack named Ķiploku grauzdiņi. Ķiploku grauzdiņi is a garlic bread made out of the traditional Latvian rye bread which is pan fried before being rubbed in garlic cloves. It has a very dark, almost black colour and a crunchy texture. This is offered at most bars and restaurants so was easy to find.
Black Balsam
The drink that was highly recommended to us both via the guide book and a waiter on our first night was Black Balsam. Black Balsam is often considered to be the national drink of Latvia. It’s a herbal liqueur containing valerian, wormwood, black pepper, ginger and rare ingredients such as Peruvian balsamic oil and gentian. I ordered a shot of the blackcurrant variety, but the waiter insisted that I try the original too, so gave us a complimentary shot of that. Although I liked the original, I much preferred the blackcurrant. I loved it so much so that I bought a big bottle from the airport to take home.
We even found a cafe in the Old Town named Black Magic which is the only venue in Riga which sells a large selection of Black Balsam chocolates, drinks and cakes. I had the “Black and White” which was a meringue with a Black Balsam truffle filling.
An honourable mention goes to the cake that I had as soon as we got into Riga. We found a traditional Latvian bakery called Rigensis which had an amazing selection of cakes and other baked goods. I used Google Translate to find out what some of them were. The one that really stood out to me was a poppyseed cheesecake which was delicious.
