All places

A restaurant in the historic Jacob’s Barracks where three chefs cook and serve the dishes themselves. Listed in the MICHELIN Guide; cookery classes are held here too. Open daily 17–23.

A producer of sparkling, fruit and berry wines, ciders and stronger drinks, and since 2021 of grape wine from its own vineyard on the Abava in Sabile, described as one of the northernmost in Europe. Guided tours, tastings for individuals or groups, workshops and a small shop; arrange your visit in advance.

A manor in Zaļenieki parish that presents itself as a retreat for the creative industries and team building. Its celebration barn holds up to 150 guests, with halls of 70 m² and 35 m², a 400 m² granary, a restaurant, ponds and a park, plus accommodation for more than 70.

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.

A bread museum in Aglona where the hostess greets you in Latgalian folk dress with songs and a welcome in the Latgalian dialect. You hear about the history of bread and how rye bread is made, try milling grain, taste freshly baked bread and Latgalian dishes, and bake your own rye loaf to take home. Programmes €10–20; arrange your visit by phone.

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).

An unrestored manor on the Dubna river in a historic park that keeps its original look; guests stay in the “gentlemen’s rooms”. On the riverbank is an old-style smoke sauna.

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.

A hotel right on the beach in Majori with the status of a medical institution. More than 300 treatments, including Ķemeri mud rituals; the “The Garden” water centre has a 25 m pool with warm seawater, a Roman steam bath, a Himalayan salt sauna, a cedar sauna, a whirlpool, a children’s pool and waterfalls, and there is a separate Russian bath complex, “The Banya”.

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.

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 castle where the Mēmele and Mūsa rivers meet: its oldest part, from the mid-15th century, is the only Livonian Order fortress built specifically for artillery, and the newest is a late-17th-century fortified residence with bastions. It is the only partly preserved residence of the Kettler dukes of Courland and Semigallia. Adults €9; November–April 10–16, closed Mondays.

A spa in the basement of a restored 19th-century manor in Zemgale, about an hour’s drive from Riga, with a sauna and a steam bath. Visits are by individual booking only.

A national cultural monument on the Zemgale plain, with hotel rooms in the renovated stable building and breakfast included. The restored manor park has a children’s playground.

Sports complex with two pools and a spa area, a gym, a CrossFit hall, a multi-purpose sports hall and a football pitch. Café and free parking on site.

A theatre in Unity House, built in 1937 in central Daugavpils. Performances in Latvian and Russian.

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.

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 laid-back sports bar on Jomas iela with an industrial, steampunk-style interior and a summer terrace. Burgers, wings, cocktails and Latvian and foreign draft beer, with sport on screen. Weekdays 18–23, weekends 12–23.

A Neoclassical manor house in Tukums, one of the most interesting classical manors in Latvia. It houses part of the Tukums Museum collection and is surrounded by a park.

Latvia’s oldest concert hall: the enclosed Small Hall dates from 1936 and was restored in 2015; the summer Great Hall with about 2,100 seats was built in 1963. Festivals and big concerts in summer, concerts in the Small Hall in winter.

A house of Latvian traditions and crafts in Jelgava’s old town with weaving and ceramics workshops and a kiln: watch the craftspeople, shape clay yourself, try weaving, join a bread-baking masterclass and learn about the Zemgale folk costume. Tours in Latvian and English.

A Gothic Revival castle on the shore of Lake Ēdole, surrounded by a landscape park. It originally consisted of two residential buildings joined by a stone wall and is an architectural and archaeological monument of national importance.

A tasting-menu restaurant on Elizabetes iela. The menu changes twice a year; listed in the MICHELIN Guide. Wed–Sat 17–23.

A cavernous Old Town cellar bar with affordable Latvian beers and spirits, traditional Latvian food and a changing line-up of folk bands. Open until 5 am on Fridays and Saturdays; book a table at weekends.

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 music club and bar in a historic building in central Liepāja, known for live music.

A multiplex in central Riga by the Central Market (formerly Kino Citadele): new releases, mostly in the original language with subtitles.

A karaoke club in the Radisson Blu Latvija hotel with professional sound and lighting, a host and backing vocals, spread over several areas. Good for birthdays and company parties. Open 22:00–06:00.

A culture venue in Skanste, opened in 2019 in a 1903 freight-station warehouse wrapped in glass and steel. The main hall holds up to 2,000 people; concerts, shows and exhibitions.

A gastro-bar in a glass-and-steel greenhouse on the roof terrace of Galleria Riga. Cocktails built on herbs, fruit, berries and teas, a seasonal local menu and sunset views over the centre.

A boutique hotel with 36 spacious rooms in Berga Bazārs, a 19th-century quarter brought back to life by the Bergs family after independence; cafés, shops and arcades lie just beyond the courtyard. Oak floors, linen and leather, with works by Jānis Rozentāls and Jānis Tilbergs and a large collection by Ilmārs Blumbergs. Part of the MICHELIN Guide hotel selection.

One of the largest spa hotels in the Baltics, with a conference centre, on Jomas iela. The Wellness Oasis has saunas and pools, and the spa and beauty salon offer more than 200 treatments, such as chocolate, linden-blossom and amber rituals.

A theatre founded in 1992. After a long reconstruction it returned to its historic building at Lāčplēša iela 25 in 2024.

A red-brick castle built in 1901 for Riga’s mayor George Armitstead and now an architectural monument of national importance. With its towers and grounds it is a popular place to visit and to celebrate near Tukums.

A medieval castle at Jaunpils that is more manor house than fortress and now houses a hotel. You can look round the rooms and courtyard, stay the night and soak up the medieval atmosphere.

The largest Baroque palace in the Baltics, built in the 18th century to Bartolomeo Rastrelli’s design as the residence of the Dukes of Courland in their capital, Jelgava. Today it houses the Latvia University of Life Sciences and Technologies, and its basement holds the family vault of the Dukes of Courland with their sarcophagi.

One MICHELIN star, inside the A22 hotel. The tasting menu is built on seasonal Latvian produce; the evening begins and ends in a red lounge, and the chefs bring each course to the table and talk you through it themselves. The name honours John F. Kennedy, who visited this building at the age of 22. Thursday–Saturday evenings; booking needed.

The city’s culture centre on Jomas iela in Majori: concerts, shows, film screenings and events.

A late-19th-century villa turned culture venue. In summer there is live music in the courtyard every week, the M/Darbnīca bar-club gives artists a stage, and the hip-hop club De Flou is on the villa square.

A concept bar from the TEIKA brewery in the Old Town, pouring beer from independent Latvian craft breweries, with a view of Riga’s historic fortifications.

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 former military prison in Liepāja’s Karosta district, built in the early 20th century and now a museum with a theatrical twist. Tours take in the cells and solitary-confinement cells and an exhibition on the Second World War and Soviet times; you can sit through a “discipline” show, eat in the prison canteen or spend a night in a cell. May and September 10–18, June–August 9–19, October–April Fri–Sun 12–16.

A Byzantine-style Orthodox cathedral with gilded domes in Liepāja’s Karosta district, built in the early 20th century for the Russian Empire’s naval port. One of Latvia’s four Orthodox cathedrals and the landmark of Karosta’s skyline.

The spa of the Grand Hotel Kempinski Riga, with an indoor pool, saunas and a gym. Facials and wellness treatments for women and men, day-spa offers and a spa club membership; hotel guests with children can also use the Kids’ Spa.

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.