Highlights Riga, Latvia

Riga Old Town

The heart of Riga is its medieval city centre. German merchants and missionaries founded the port town along the east bank of the Daugava in the 13th century. Although most of the earliest buildings have been razed or lost to fire or war, Old Riga features an impressive assemblage of wooden neoclassical edifices and stone Art Nouveau buildings. One of the most recognised landmarks is the House of Blackheads – built in 1334, destroyed by bombs in WWII and completely restored in 1999.

Narrow cobblestone lanes wind their way around the historic centre, leading to squares, cathedrals, parks, gardens and the canal, a place for leisurely boat rides in summer.
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