Riga

Latvia

Things to do in Riga:

Riga Restaurants

Cheap (34)

Food Box

This casual cafeteria run by a Turkish entrepreneur serves delicious kebabs and falafel for surprisingly low prices and it even bakes its own pitta bread. read more
Affordable (33)

Nostalgija

Elegant retro Soviet restaurantwith crystal chandeliers, gilded ceilings and massive communist propaganda murals. Slavic and decadent Western cuisine are both available. read more
Good quality (29)

Hospitalis

This bizarre, up-market restaurant owned by local doctors is designed to look like the inside of a hospital. Bedpans, medicine cabinets, surgery lamps and waitresses in nurses' outfits create a... read more

Riga Nightlife

Chilled (32)

Free Hawks Club

Large men with tattoos and leather pants frequent this cellar pub, which boasts inexpensive food and beer and a loaded Second World War machine-gun above the bar. read more
Live Music (20)

16. Korpuss

Housed in the 16th building of what was once an electronics factory, this club and restaurant hosts concerts by local acts at the weekend. read more
Clubbing (25)

Mad House

Even its high prices for cocktails haven't prevented revellers from admiring Mad House's stylish interior of niches designed to look like 1970s apartments. read more

This Month in Riga (October):

By Martins Zaprauskis/www.inyourpocket.com

Shop: A Canadian-Latvian entrepreneur opened Cool Cats Souvenir Shop as an antidote to the amber and ceramics stalls that inundate Riga. Buy official Latvian national basketball, football and hockey team shirts and other fan gear here (12 Jana Iela. Tel. 29 355 655).

This month: Gear heads will have the opportunity to see two days of outrageous stunts at Arena Riga. The Latvian Grand Prix of the Freestyle Motocross World Championship begins on 25 October (13 Skanstes Iela. www.arenariga.com).

Insider Tip: If you have time to spare at the airport visit the Riga Aviation Museum, only a five-minute walk from the main terminal. View ageing Soviet MiG fighter planes and the enormous Mi-6 passenger helicopter (aviamuseum.org).

Key Area: A 14th-century crusader castle is the centrepiece of Pils Laukums, a charming Old Riga square. The massive yellow fortification also houses the Latvian president's offices as well as the Latvian Museum of History and the Museum of Foreign Art.

Day Tripping: Salaspils
Autumn is perhaps an appropriate time to reflect on the terrible events that have shaped Latvia. Take a 30-minute train or bus ride to Salaspils where a museum now stands on the site of a Nazi concentration camp.

Riga Trivia

October: The Swedish Gate was built in 1698 to celebrate the incorporation of Riga into the Swedish Empire. The city's executioner lived in the room above it.
September: Although Riga is renowned for its architecture, it also offers plenty of green spaces. In fact, 19 percet of the city is parkland.
August: Bob Dylan, Christina Aguilera, Sting and Pink all use microphones designed by Blue, a Latvian-American joint venture company.