Riga has Europe’s largest covered market, 800 Art Nouveau buildings, and prices that will surprise you. Here’s what to see — plus a second Latvian port worth knowing about.
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“The only trip you will regret is the one you don’t take.”
Onto this week’s topic, of all the Baltic capitals I visited on my Silversea cruise, Riga is the one I surprised me most. It’s quirky, it’s beautiful, it’s remarkably affordable, and it has an artistic edge that has earned it the nickname “the Baltic Berlin.” My ship docked right in town, and I woke up to spire views over breakfast.
Here’s what you shouldn’t miss. Read on for the scoop…
The Art Nouveau District
Riga holds UNESCO World Heritage status in large part because of its Art Nouveau architecture, and the numbers explain why: more than 800 authentic buildings, over a century old, concentrated in a walkable district. During the city’s golden age — from the late nineteenth century up to 1914 — some eighty-five different architects each contributed at least one Art Nouveau building.
Walk it with a private guide. The facades are dense with detail — faces, foliage, mythological figures — and it’s easy to walk right past the best of it without knowing what you’re seeing.
Riga is also the only European capital to have preserved its classical wooden architecture, in the form of neoclassical wooden buildings from the 1820s, built after a great fire during the Napoleonic Wars.
Beyond the architecture, the Old Town packs eight hundred years of Hanseatic history into a compact triangle: the House of the Blackheads, once a guild hall for visiting foreign merchants; the Three Brothers, three houses leaning together with pastel facades and completely different personalities; the Dom Cathedral, with a golden rooster on top and one of the largest mechanical organs in the world inside; and the Freedom Monument, forty-two meters tall, funded entirely by public donation and left standing through the Soviet occupation.
💎 Hidden Gem Tip: Latvia is where a Baltic itinerary stops feeling like a greatest-hits tour and starts feeling like discovery. Whether it’s finding the itinerary that includes the right ports or arranging the private guide who makes the Art Nouveau district come alive, this is what I do.
The Market in the Zeppelin Hangars
Riga Central Market is the largest covered market in Europe, and the halls it occupies have one of the best backstories I’ve heard.
They’re former Zeppelin hangars. Built during the First World War, roughly two hundred kilometers away, and used by German forces to repair aircraft. After the war, the German owners hauled the frames to the port at Riga intending to ship them home — and the Latvian government bought them cheaply instead, in 1920.
Today they hold dairy and groceries, souvenirs and dry goods, fish and pickles and specialty items, with seasonal fruit and berries and vegetables in the outdoor areas. Wander through and taste your way: pickles, smoked fish, local bread rolls stuffed with bacon.
💎 Hidden Gem Tip: The market is wonderful for atmosphere and food, but it’s not where you should buy the good Latvian linen. For genuinely high-quality linen and handmade goods, seek out a dedicated linen shop near the end of the Old Town walking route instead.
Your Money Goes Remarkably Far Here
Riga is inexpensive by Western European standards. Latvia is in the EU and uses the euro, so there’s no currency friction — but a meal, a taxi, a nice bottle of wine, a piece of jewelry all cost meaningfully less than they would in Copenhagen or Stockholm.
Try the Latvian food while you’re at it. Speck pie — a pastry stuffed with smoked pork and onion. Grey peas with fried bacon. Cold borscht, which is marinated beetroot with sour milk and greens, and is far better than that description makes it sound… promise 🙂
A Word About Liepāja
Most Baltic itineraries hit Riga. Mine also stopped at Liepāja, on Latvia’s western coast, and I want to make the case for it. And I was there on a rainy day…
Liepāja is Latvia’s city of music, and it will be a European Capital of Culture in 2027. It has an enormous white-sand beach and a beautiful seaside park — it functions as the beach escape for Rīgans the way the Hamptons do for New Yorkers.
There’s the striking Great Amber Concert Hall, remarkable street murals, and a general sense of a place that’s about to be discovered.
I happened upon a classical concert in the seaside area purely by chance. That’s the kind of day Liepāja gives you. Some of the buildings in the old town are still waiting for restoration, and you find yourself hoping that the 2027 attention brings the funding.
Lunch — potato pancakes, a grilled pork cutlet with the freshest mashed potatoes I’ve had, shredded carrot and cabbage in a dill vinegar dressing — was one of the best meals of my trip, and cost very little for what I had on my plate.
Interest piqued?
To travel is to live… here’s to 2026 being an unforgettable and amazing year for new travel adventures! Let’s go…
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Riga worth visiting? Very much so. It combines a UNESCO-listed medieval Old Town, the finest concentration of Art Nouveau architecture in Europe, Europe’s largest covered market, and prices well below Western European norms. It’s one of the best value-for-experience cities in Europe.
What currency does Latvia use? The Euro. Latvia is a member of the European Union and the eurozone, so no currency exchange is needed if you’re arriving from elsewhere in the EU.
How much time do you need in Riga? A full cruise day lets you see the Old Town and the Art Nouveau district and the market, which is a satisfying day. If you’re visiting independently, two to three days lets you go deeper — into the museums, the food scene, and the neighborhoods beyond the center.
What is Riga’s Art Nouveau district? A concentrated area of the city containing more than 800 authentic Art Nouveau buildings, most built between the late 1800s and 1914. It’s a central reason Riga holds UNESCO World Heritage status. A guided walking tour is strongly recommended — the detail is easy to miss on your own.
Where is Liepāja and why go? Liepāja is a coastal city in western Latvia, known as the country’s city of music. It has a wide white-sand beach, a seaside park, notable street art, and the Great Amber Concert Hall. It has been designated a European Capital of Culture for 2027, which means visiting now means visiting before the crowds.
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