Things to do in Riga?

missmatty

Hoping to go to Riga with a mate either around Easter or on the June Bank Hol Wkend. Now obviously will be reading my lonely planet etc, but has any of you been and is there anything in particular you would say is enjoyable to do, nice bars/restaurant recommendations etc?
And how cheap is it, as 2yrs since i was in eastern europe, things have prob gone up!

Tanabe

I'm guessing from your user name that you are female, otherwise if you were of the opposite sex, or indeed lesbian, Riga is a right hotspot for beautiful female escort companions I'm told;)

Besides that I'd say it's generally a nice place anyway, so enjoy your stay & let us all know how ya get on!

missmatty

Yeah I heard that alright! Luckily the male friend I'm going with is engaged otherwise I'd be kept busy keepin an eye on him!

Matches

There is a bar called Skybar I think that is on top of one of the hotels. You can see views of the whole city from up there, well worth a visit and the 10 min walk from the centre is through a park and very nice.

Places to eat are very cheap and the quality of the food is first class.

You'll have a ball.

Stabshauptmann

things have gotton a lot dearer in the last 2 years.
I recommend lido (sp) for fantastic yet cheap food in a fun atmosphere and shooting guns. After that, just go to the tourist area for nte clubs and buy loads of alcohol and fags in super market before comming home

Roen

You definitely won't be stuck for things to do in Riga, I've been over and back with a Latvian girl a few times so I know the city quite well now.
The Old Town area is defintely the star of the show here, I fell in love with the place instantly, you could wander about the place for a few days easily. A trip to the top of the spire on st. peters church is essential, great views of the WWI zeppelin hangers, the Daugava river, the entire Old Town and the city in general. The Museum of Occupation is a little on the depressing side but well worth visiting. The War Museum is not so impressive. Also try to get a look at the Photography Museum as it's quite interesting. Check Citas Debesis for a quick coffee or beer during the day, it's got a rather mental colour scheme. There's at least three Irish pubs, of which De Lacy's is prolly the most popular.
If you've got a few days consider getting a local bus to Sigulda (about an hour and a half) and visiting the castles there. Also a great place for forest walks if that's your bag.
Food and booze has gotten more expensive in the last two years, but pints generally weigh in around €1.80 or so and I found even top class resturants to be very reasonable for meals for two. Bear in mind I only ever go in the height of winter so things may be more expensive during the tourist season.
And yes do keep an eye on your man as he'll have his jaw on the ground half the time.

missmatty

Thanks Roen! All very useful info. I've found out we are staying in the Metropole Hotel which sounds really nice and is very central. So, I'll just get on with looking forward to it all now!

Judean Reg

Myself and a few mates stayed in the Metropole hotel a few weeks ago. The hotel was really nice, staff a very pleasant during the day (night staff were a little different). The old town is quite small and didn't impress me too much having travelled extensively but as for the rest, it was the scariest weekend away ever.

Avoid Riga at all cost, or at least be in bed before sundown when the weirdos and gun men hit the streets. Deffo avoid if you are a group of lads going away together, stags etc. Look elsewhere!

missmatty

Bloody hell! I'll bear that in mind. Surely we'll be grand if we stay away from areas with stripclubs/big niteclubs etc? Just two of us, will be going for nice food and a few jars but prob not a major lash.

Roen

You should be fine MissMatty. I have spent over a month in Riga and have seen nothing especially freaky happening. The worst I've witnessed came from drunken Irish and English tools. Give me Riga compared to Dublin or any other Irish city for that matter. That said if Judean was in a group of lads on a stag do (not sure if he was or not from his post) his experiences were bound to be different from mine. They don't tend to get the welcome mat rolled out.
I also know couples that have been there and loved the place too. You'll be fine.

adrianwill

Judean Reg wrote:

Avoid Riga at all cost, or at least be in bed before sundown when the weirdos and gun men hit the streets.

I went there alone in January and had a grand time. I didn't find it scary at all. I was even wandering around the city in the small hours of the morning and it was grand.

(Mind you, I did have my phone and wallet stolen... but that's not related and a whole other story.)

A

foggy

I went for 5 days in Feb. It was really cold, but beautiful. There is a church int the middle of the old city that you can can go up to the steeple of, it's got a great view of everything. Also the markets are great for a stroll around. They are just across from the old city in old airplane hangers.

We wanted to get to the opera house as well but didn't make it.

The museums are very interesting but very detailed. Took us a long time to go around the two we went to.

and shopping is relatively cheap, Take a look in stockmann's and there is a Jack Jones as well which was great value.

There is a chain of pancake/coffee houses around the old city as well. great for sitting in people watching.

missmatty

Thanks everyone, going 9th June for long wkend, really looking forward to it

keentoinvest

Hitting riga for 4 days next week for a stag. 20 of us going and have heard that there are a lot of hungry block heads running around looking to beat heads. Is that true of urban myth? Any experiences

missmatty

Well, got back Monday, had a great time. Just posting up a report for other interested ppl as lots of ppl answered my own questions before i went . There were stag parties but not as many as I had thought. City generally feels safe, just don't wander too far off the beaten track. Were approached by one dodgy local, didn't know what he wanted as after he was trying to make general conversation we just managed to get rid of him. He was definitely leading up to something though!

Beer and local food was fantastic, drink and fags and stuff in the Central Market incredibly cheap. The most expensive things (same as here) were souvenirs and designer cosmetics the like of which you would get here in BTs. They weren't any less expensive in the Stockmann dept store.

Things we did:

St. Peter's Church: went up the top of the spire for the city view (not for those with vertigo!). Great view good for orienatating yourself.

Blackheads House: worth a visit, doesn't take long.

Sky Bar (Hotel Reval Latvija): Again, amazing views over the city at night from this 26th floor bar. The service wasn't great though and the music was amazingly bad (generally is in Riga though: Whitney Houston's greatest hits anyone?)

Central Market: Can be slightly dodge, keep your bag etc close. Huge bustling place. Amazing food, cheeses, cakes and confectionary. Got 300g of coffee beans for approx 99 cents in euro. Well recommended for a look around. Stockmann department store is ok but just as dear as here for clothes etc.

Occupation Museum: Depressing but very interesting and worth a visit.

Jewish Museum: Again, very interesting, on 3rd floor of a building that appears to be a converted synagogue.

Old Town: Really nice architecture and buildings. Lovely pancake and local food shops (incl Riga Balzam shops for the local speciality in grog). Great for wandering around. Souvenir stalls with tons of amber, wooden things and local linen. Check out the Garlic restaurant where everything has garlic in it, it was brill!

New Town: Lots of shops, clubs, casinos and restaurants. Not as interesting as the old town but they are very close to each other (just separated by a park and the Freedom Monument) so you can pop over and back at your leisure.

Very compact city, easy to walk around. Safe enough, we were out for pizza around 2am the first night we got there and it was grand.

Finally, stayed in the Hotel Metropole. Would def recommend it. Bkfast is included in the price and the buffet selection is brilliant well worth it. Staff were grand, helped us when we couldn't get the card to work opening our room, then had to come back almost immediately when we discovered it was a double not twin beds They changed the room no hassle and were generally very good. The only thing is, i don't think the hotel has air-con so is apparently boiling in the summer!!

Hope this helps anyone thinking of going, I really enjoyed Riga, would recommend it for a long weekend, that would be plenty time to see pretty much everything.