Destination: Riga

This is a nice budget option to enjoy Riga from a central location. It is within walking distance to the popular Vecriga district as well as the central market.

This 5-star hotel is in the central Vecrīga district which hosts the city's best shops, restaurants, and museums. The hotel is equipped with luxury guest rooms and an indoor pool.

Also known as the Folkklubs, this underground restaurant transports you back to the middle ages. Hearty portions are served for cheap prices with tables in front of massive fires. Folkklubs has its own craft brews, ciders, and fruit wines for patrons to enjoy.

This Riga hotspot has amazing seasonal food and reasonable prices despite its central location in the tourist district. They also have fantastic holiday meals in December.

This medieval wine cellar turned restaurant is a fun immersive experience that transports diners back to the middle ages. The staff are dressed in period costumes serving large portions of amazing food and drink.

This market is included in Riga’s UNESCO World Heritage Site and is one of the most visited markets in Eastern Europe. This market is a great place to get a taste of local culture and maybe even pick up a quick delicious lunch.

Some of the best bagels I have had in Europe. From basic bagels and cream cheese to more technical bagel sandwiches, this shop did not disappoint.

A great stop for a doughnut and a coffee. This doughnut shop has a variety of flavors and several coffee and tea drinks perfect for an afternoon snack.

The former KGB headquarters has been turned into a museum memorializing and remembering the brutal Soviet rule in Latvia. It can only be accessed through a guided tour, but the guides are informative in telling this portion of Latvian history.

This museum is the former ghetto in the Latvian city where Jews and other ethnic groups deemed undesirable by the Nazis were kept in brutal conditions before being shipped to death camps in other parts of Europe. This site is donation only and includes an old ghetto house, informational exhibits, and a Holocaust memorial.

The House of the Blackheads stands on the town hall square and was originally built in the 1330s as an association of unmarried merchants and ship-owners. Although the current structure was rebuilt in the 1990s after being destroyed in 1941 by the German's, the basement of the building is still the original clubhouse used by its former occupants.

Another harrowing museum memorializing and educating visitors about Latvia's brutal history. This museum is a walkthrough of the various phases and occupiers of Latvia in the past century and tells of what life was like in Riga under Soviet rule, Nazi rule, and then Soviet rule again until independence in the 1990s.

Another example of exquisite Latvian architectural style. This church is in a unique style with beautiful details inside and out.

This neo-Byzantine Orthodox church was built during the reign of Tsar Alexander II. This church is beautiful inside and out.

These three residences date back to the 1600s and are a perfect example of the different architectural styles of Latvia. Also housed here is the museum of architecture where visitors can learn about the unique style utilized through the years building this Latvian city.

The Town Musicians of Bremen is a statue based on a Brothers Grimm fairytale. The statue made up of a donkey, dog, cat, and cockerel was gifted to Riga by the city of Bremen and it is considered to be good luck to touch each animal’s face in sequence.