Choose where to go in Europe

Country, LV

Latvia

A Baltic country organised around Riga, four distinct cultural regions, a long coast and lake-rich eastern landscapes.

Useful months: May, Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep Open guide →

City, LV

Daugavpils

Daugavpils is Latvia’s second-largest city and a strong cultural base for southern Latgale, centred on a vast nineteenth-century fortress complex.

Useful months: May, Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep Open guide →

City, LV

Jelgava

Jelgava is a university city on the Lielupe whose palace, reconstructed church tower and river islands support a focused trip from Riga.

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City, LV

Jūrmala

Jūrmala is a long seaside city formed from several neighbourhoods, not a single compact resort around one station.

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City, LV

Liepāja

Liepāja is a west-coast city with a walkable centre, a broad beach and the large former military district of Karosta to the north.

Useful months: May, Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep Open guide →

City, LV

Rēzekne

Rēzekne is a small regional city whose concert hall, museums, churches and castle hill introduce Latgalian identity before a lake-country trip.

Useful months: May, Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep Open guide →

City, LV

Riga

Riga rewards a stay that looks beyond one circuit of the Old Town, with distinct architecture, markets, museums and neighbourhoods on both sides of the Daugava.

Useful months: May, Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep, Dec Open guide →

City, LV

Ventspils

Ventspils is a compact port city where a medieval castle, landscaped public spaces, a family beach and working harbour sit close together.

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Town, LV

Bauska and Rundāle

Bauska and Rundāle form southern Latvia’s most useful castle-and-palace route, but each place needs its own part of the day.

Useful months: May, Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep Open guide →

Town, LV

Cēsis

Cēsis combines one of Latvia’s strongest medieval town centres with a useful base for the northern part of Gauja National Park.

Useful months: May, Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep, Oct Open guide →

Town, LV

Kuldīga

Kuldīga is a small western Latvian town where historic streets, the Alekšupīte and the broad Venta waterfall meet within a compact centre.

Useful months: May, Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep Open guide →

Town, LV

Sigulda

Sigulda is a compact town above the Gauja valley, but its best-known castles and viewpoints are separated by steep wooded slopes.

Useful months: Apr, May, Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep, Oct Open guide →

Region, LV

Kurzeme

Kurzeme spans historic inland towns, two west-coast cities and the remote forests and fishing villages around Cape Kolka.

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Region, LV

Latgale

Latgale has Latvia’s densest lake landscapes, a distinctive cultural identity and two useful city bases far east of Riga.

Useful months: May, Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep Open guide →

Region, LV

Riga Region

Riga Region combines Latvia’s main city break with a rail-linked seaside city and the wetlands of Ķemeri National Park.

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Region, LV

Vidzeme

Vidzeme brings together castle towns, the Gauja valley, sandstone outcrops and a broad rural region north and east of Riga.

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Region, LV

Zemgale

Zemgale is Latvia’s broad southern plain, where palace and castle visits sit among rivers, farming landscapes and small towns.

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National Park, LV

Cape Kolka and Slītere National Park

Cape Kolka is a natural gateway to Slītere National Park and the Livonian coast, but the wider area needs more than a quick stop at the cape.

Useful months: May, Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep Open guide →

National Park, LV

Gauja National Park

Gauja National Park follows a long river valley of forest, sandstone cliffs, caves, castles and historic settlements across Vidzeme.

Useful months: Apr, May, Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep, Oct Open guide →

National Park, LV

Ķemeri National Park

Ķemeri National Park protects bogs, forests, lakes and mineral-water landscapes west of Jūrmala, with visitor sites spread across separate access points.

Useful months: Apr, May, Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep, Oct Open guide →

Lake Region, LV

Latgale Lake District

Latgale Lake District is a planning area for eastern Latvia’s many lakes, wooded hills, villages and religious landscapes rather than one fixed destination.

Useful months: May, Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep Open guide →

National Park, LV

Rāzna National Park

Rāzna National Park protects a lake-and-hill landscape in Latgale, including Latvia’s second-largest lake and several distinct rural communities.

Useful months: May, Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep Open guide →

Attraction, LV

Rundāle Palace

Rundāle Palace is Latvia’s principal Baroque and Rococo palace museum, set in the Zemgale countryside near Bauska.

Useful months: May, Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep Open guide →

Attraction, LV

Turaida Museum Reserve

Turaida Museum Reserve is a large cultural landscape across the Gauja from Sigulda, centred on a red-brick castle and layers of local history.

Useful months: Apr, May, Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep, Oct Open guide →