Things to do in Vidzeme

A restaurant in Valmiera’s historic post and telegraph building, with a modern interior, listed in the MICHELIN Guide. Local produce such as pikeperch from Lake Burtnieks is on the menu, and the place is about art as much as food. Wednesday–Sunday.

A restaurant in Sigulda in a timber building with a wooden-shingle roof beside an apple orchard. Latvian and European dishes, grilled food all year round, fish and desserts, and a wide wine selection including bottles from its own cellar. Daily 12–23 (orders until 22).

A jewellery workshop in Sigulda’s Castle Quarter making copies of ancient Baltic jewellery and modern pieces with ancient symbols. In a masterclass (about 45 minutes) you make your own pendant or piece of jewellery, such as a Namejs ring.

A 33 km, 750 mm-gauge railway between Gulbene and Alūksne — the only narrow-gauge line in the Baltics with regular passenger services. A ride on the “Bānītis” through the Vidzeme countryside is a trip for the whole family.

A Neo-Baroque palace built in 1896 for Baron Paul von Wolff, a four-star hotel since 2003, with antique furniture, fireplaces and tiled stoves. A nature spa with massages, saunas and a pool, and a castle restaurant cooking with local produce, including fish from the castle pond.

A two-floor bar and event venue in Cēsis with separate bars, a dance floor and a stage: live music, DJs and themed nights. Usually open Friday and Saturday 22:00–04:00.

A country manor in Kārļi near the Amata valley in Cēsu municipality. It has a 100 m² restaurant hall, 15 rooms, a garden terrace, a separate house by the cherry garden, an apple orchard and a historic park — suited to a small company retreat, seminar or celebration in the countryside.

A restaurant in the former fire station of Cēsis, listed in the MICHELIN Guide. The evening starts with a tasting menu, such as a five-course dinner that reworks classic dishes, and carries on in a jazz lounge.

A mid-19th-century manor complex above the ancient Gauja valley in Gauja National Park. The great hall with balcony seats 60 and the conference hall with salon 30, with extra rooms for group work; it sleeps up to 100 guests in summer and 60 in winter. Café Milly is on site and the terrace looks out over the Gauja valley.

A manor spa on the Vidzeme coast where treatments use organic Latvian countryside produce prepared for each guest. Aromatic steam baths and tubs, couples’ rituals, massages and masks, with herbal teas and healthy snacks in the lounge.

The University of Latvia’s recreation and conference centre in Līgatne parish, about an hour’s drive from Riga. The grounds hold six restored historic buildings, accommodation for 150 and pitches for football, basketball, volleyball and croquet, with room for outdoor events of several thousand people.

A restored Neoclassical manor and architectural monument, now a design hotel with 22 rooms, a restaurant and bar, massages and a conference room. Walk or cycle in the park, or take a boat out on the manor pond.

A museum at Dunte Manor, where Baron Munchausen lived with his wife Jacobine: wax figures, weapons and hunting trophies, distorting mirrors and a shooting gallery. In the forest there is a trail with 55 wooden sculptures (1–4.3 km), a 1 km path to “Munchausen’s Beer Mug” and an amusement ship.

A once-secret Soviet bunker about 9 m underground, beneath the rehabilitation centre at Līgatne. The tour takes in a diesel power station, air-purification equipment and a communications centre; the café serves a 1980s-style meal, and there’s an “Object X” spy game. Check tour times in advance.

Chef Ēriks Dreibants’ restaurant in Līgatne, holder of a MICHELIN Green Star for sustainability. Vegetables come from its own beds, much is foraged from the woods, and the menu changes daily depending on what is available.

Craft workshops next to Sigulda’s New Castle: make and paint your own Sigulda walking stick (a craft on Latvia’s intangible cultural heritage list), cast a bookmark from recycled paper, make a leather key ring or bracelet, or shape a mug with your name on it in the ceramics studio.

A wooden Baroque manor house built in 1731–1732 for Lieutenant General Balthasar von Campenhausen; the Campenhausen family owned the estate from 1728 to 1939. One of the few such well-preserved 18th-century wooden manor ensembles in Latvia.

A drama theatre in Valmiera, founded in 1923. In 2024 it moved back into its reconstructed building on Lāčplēša iela.

A craft brewery on a manor estate just outside Valmiera. The 1.5–2 hour tour covers the estate’s history and brewing from raw grain to finished beer, shows antique tools and ends with unfiltered beer tastings. The Beer Kitchen serves seasonal Latvian food such as fish from Lake Burtnieks and pork marinated in winter beer; summer beer garden, shop and rooms for parties.

A concert hall opened in 2014, designed by architect Juris Poga. The main hall seats 805, and smaller halls host concerts, plays and film screenings.

A hotel in the centre of Sigulda, in a stone building on Pils iela built in 1889. Its 43 rooms sleep 85, four meeting rooms take up to 100 people, and there is a restaurant, sauna, steam bath, spa bath and pool. A convenient base for a team day combined with Sigulda’s adventure attractions.

A vertical wind tunnel near Sigulda where you can feel freefall without jumping. You fly under an instructor’s watch; 4–6 minutes is recommended for a first visit. With the briefing and suiting up, it takes about an hour. Flyers from age 4; all gear is provided.

Gym in Ogre for strength and cardio training.

A lakeside resort on Lake Lilaste with a hotel, restaurant and bar, sauna and jacuzzi, gym, bike hire and rooms for celebrations and conferences. The restaurant sells gift cards (from €30).

A leisure complex in Tīnūži parish, Ogre municipality, with four event venues: up to 200 people indoors and up to 2,000 outdoors. The 6-hectare “Valley of Four Winds” hosts outdoor events and sports games, and there is accommodation and catering on site.

Laser tag on a former military site in Sigulda. In the underground bunker a team of up to four searches dark corridors to find and disarm a self-destruct device; above ground there are several outdoor arenas with themed quests. Children can play with an instructor; there are showers and a picnic spot with a grill. Booking required.

A pottery workshop in Rauna where a guided tour shows the whole process from digging the clay to the finished piece, and in the creative workshop you shape clay yourself. Groups can order a homemade soup lunch; visits by prior arrangement only.

Yoga studio in Sigulda. For women.

Gym in Madona for strength and cardio training. Open daily 07:30–19:30.

Yoga studio in Valmiera. Wellness services are available too. Weekday hours: 05:00–20:00.

A Nordic-style restaurant in Cēsis old town with a MICHELIN Bib Gourmand (new for 2026). Dishes are built on regional produce, including flatbreads baked in-house, and there are guest rooms. Thursday–Sunday.

Yoga studio in Ogre.

Yoga studio in Sigulda. Wellness services are available too.

A five-star spa hotel in Amatciems between forests and lakes that calls itself Latvia’s first eco-village spa hotel. Turkish and Finnish saunas, a hot tub overlooking the pond, a chlorine-free pool, a shungite room, sauna rituals with a sauna master and massages; open to day visitors too.

Combat sports club in Ogre: karate.

Ceramicist Ingrīda Žagata’s workshop near Dunte, where children and adults make their own mug, breakfast plate or souvenir; a session lasts several hours, and the piece is ready after firing (1–2 months). You can also watch a kiln opening; book by phone.

A space education centre in Cēsis, opened in 2023: a two-level replica of the International Space Station called “Auseklis”, linked to a mission control room, models of rockets, robots and rovers, an energy-generating floor and STEM challenges on surviving on Mars. Science shows, plus astronaut workshops in the school holidays.

A public bathhouse by the river in a former paper-mill building, running since 1895. Fridays are for women 13–18 and men 18–22, and two Saturdays a month are family days. It can also be booked for private events for up to 20.

Swimming pool and spa in Limbaži. Pool with a sauna at the Limbaži Olympic Centre. Weekday hours: 17:00–21:00.

Yoga studio in Valmiera.

Pilates studio in Valmiera. Wellness services are available too.

Four indoor padel courts in Cēsis. Weekday daytime slots cost less than evenings and weekends.

Gym in Ogre for strength and cardio training. Weekday hours: 08:00–22:00.

Swimming pool and spa in Ogre. Open daily 07:00–21:30.

Sports centre in Limbaži with a gym and a swimming pool, plus two tennis courts.

Paintball and laser tag run by game leaders with military experience. Five playing areas, one of them indoors and open all year. Groups of 4–25, about two hours per game; equipment and 400 balls each are included. A guest house with a sauna is nearby.

A porcelain factory in Ineši where a guided tour covers its history and how porcelain is made, and in the workshop you paint your own porcelain piece — the factory fires it and hands it back to you. Porcelain tableware and gifts are on sale.

A health and rehabilitation centre in the forest near Līgatne with health and beauty programmes. A sauna with rituals led by a sauna master, mud applications, a Cleopatra bath and massages; treatments are open to day visitors too.

Gym in Sigulda for strength and cardio training.

Town sports centre with indoor water activities. An easy way to swim in Sigulda whatever the weather.

A lakeside spa hotel near Sigulda with a pool, saunas and baths, massages, facials and a restaurant. Extras include water aerobics, yoga, Nordic walking, excursions and bowling.

Gym in Valmiera for strength and cardio training.

Combat sports club in Ogre. There is also a gym. Dance classes too.

Badminton training and games in Cēsis, in the hall of the Draudzīgā Aicinājuma Cēsis State Gymnasium.

Pilates studio in Ogre. Dance classes too. For women. Wellness services are available too.

Gym in Cēsis for strength and cardio training. Wellness services are available too. Weekday hours: 07:00–22:00.

Yoga studio in Sigulda: kundalini yoga.

CrossFit and functional training box in Valmiera. Open daily 07:00–21:00.

Badminton training and games in Valka, in the sports hall of Valka’s Jānis Cimze Gymnasium.

Gym in Valmiera for strength and cardio training. Open daily 07:00–21:00.

Combat sports club in Valmiera: boxing.

Swimming pool and spa in Valmiera. Pool complex with training pools and a relaxation zone with saunas.

Yoga studio in Valmiera.

A hotel spa in Cēsis looking over the Gauja valley: a sauna, face and body treatments, massages and wellness rituals. Up to 10 people; open to day visitors too.