Things to do in Riga

A red-brick market hall across the river (completed in 1923), a state-protected monument that reopened after restoration in 2022. Food traders, cafés and shops, a flea market on Sundays, a one-hour gastro tour with seven tastings every Thursday at 11:00, and cookery masterclasses.

An aviation education and entertainment centre inside the Mols shopping centre. Three flight simulators: a Cessna 172, a Piper Matrix with a 180° screen, and an aerobatic plane on a motion platform with VR goggles.

Official bathing site on Lake Bābelīte in Riga. Awarded a Blue Flag for 2026. The Health Inspectorate tests the water regularly during the bathing season.

A three-day Christmas fair at the Ķīpsala exhibition hall that bills itself as the largest in the Baltics: free entry, free creative workshops in the “Rotaļnīca Quarter”, an inflatable park and the Baltic Food Zone. In 2026 it runs 11–13 December.

Official bathing site: a beach on the Gulf of Riga in Riga. Awarded a Blue Flag for 2026. The Health Inspectorate tests the water regularly during the bathing season.

A museum in the former St George’s Church in Old Riga. While its “Design Process” exhibition is open, children can use the Design Studio, trying ceramics, kinetics, poster design and weaving with worksheets linked to the works on display.

The rental point of a Latvian outdoor-shop chain, in Pārdaugava. It hires out touring and mountain bikes with helmets, child seats and bike bags, plus hiking kit — tents, sleeping bags, mats, backpacks, dry bags, stoves, cookware, lamps, camping furniture and trekking poles. Gear can be booked online and also collected at Gandrs points in Valmiera or Liepāja; the longer the rental, the lower the daily price.

A quarter of restored 19th-century wooden houses across the river. On Saturdays 10:00–16:00 there is a market of local producers and craftspeople with free workshops for kids, and seasonal festivals bring concerts, exhibitions and open-air plays.

Official bathing site on the Daugava in Riga. The Health Inspectorate tests the water regularly during the bathing season.

A museum in the Laima factory building on Miera iela: the story of how chocolate is made and of the brand, whose roots go back to 1870, a comparison of chocolate types and a hot-chocolate tasting. In the creative workshop you make your own sweets and take them home in a gift box. Tickets €3–16.

A museum in a former locomotive repair shop in Pārdaugava, holding the largest collection of broad-gauge rolling stock in the Baltics. On set days children can climb into historic trains such as the ER2 electric train and the TE3 diesel locomotive, ride a hand-pumped draisine in summer and join school-holiday workshops.

One of Europe’s oldest open-air museums, founded in 1924, in pine woods on the shore of Lake Jugla. More than a hundred historic rural buildings — farmsteads, churches, windmills and bathhouses — have been brought here from every region of Latvia; in summer craftspeople work on site and there are festivals and fairs.

A puppet theatre in central Riga, founded in 1944; it moved back into its renovated building on Barona iela at the end of 2023. Shows for children and teens in Latvian and Russian, plus productions for adults.

A natural history museum in central Riga with roots in the Riga Naturalists’ Society, founded in 1845. Exhibitions cover Latvia’s nature, geology, animals and plants — a good stop for families with children.

A LIDO restaurant complex: a timber building with a windmill on Krasta iela serving Latvian food. It opened in 1999, with its first guests arriving for the millennium New Year, and added an amusement park and a skating rink in 2003.

The University of Latvia’s botanical garden in Zasulauks, with a palm house and a Tropical Butterfly House where, from spring to autumn, blue morphos, owl butterflies and other exotic species fly among banana and coffee trees and orchids. The butterfly house opens daily 10:00–16:00 with a garden ticket.

Official bathing site on the Daugava in Riga. The Health Inspectorate tests the water regularly during the bathing season.

Wakeboarding and SUP on the Daugava at Zaķusala, a few minutes from the centre. Also suitable for kids.

The historic circus building in central Riga, now a stage for contemporary circus — productions by Latvian and visiting international companies — and family shows such as the Christmas programme in December.

The largest collection of historic vehicles in the Baltics: more than 100 cars and motorcycles over three floors and 4,000 m², from a replica of the Benz Patent Motorwagen to Soviet-era and Kremlin cars and racing cars. Interactive displays, a children’s play zone and a café. Open Tue–Sun 10–18; adult ticket €12.

The zoo in Mežaparks by Lake Ķīšezers covers around 20 hectares and keeps thousands of animals of several hundred species, from giraffes and lions to red pandas. The tropical house is home to birds, reptiles, frogs and insects, and there is also a country branch, Cīruļi, in Kurzeme. Tram 11 takes you there.

An Old Riga museum holding about 8,000 porcelain pieces from the mid-19th to the late 20th century, with porcelain making and painting workshops — for example pressing textures into a small porcelain dish (from age 6). Pieces are ready a few weeks later; booking required.

The oldest museum in the Baltics, which began in 1773 as the private collection of Riga doctor Nikolaus von Himsel. It sits in the Riga Cathedral ensemble in Old Riga and holds the largest collection on the history of Riga and its shipping.

A 50-metre pool for serious swimmers and beginners alike. Swimming lessons for kids and adults, plus a gym, sauna and climbing wall.