Riga...any opinions?!

Scruff101

Just wondering what this city might be like to visit for a few days over the Easter break!?

Slicer

Worth a trip for a few days only and it probably won't be over run with stag parties etc, I was there last october and it was quiet then too but you could see that it does cater for stags with english style pubs and strip joints. Two day and you'll see everthing as its quite small. Its cheap but not as cheap as you might expect for an east european country, loads of good restaurants. have a look out for "Riga in your pocket" its a free guide and tells you everything you need to know. We stayed in the Central hotel, excellent location in the town centre and good hotel all round. The young generation have embraced the western values of money and BMWs etc, the amount of 3 litre cars around is unreal, while the older generation are still stuck in a time warp, head out to the markets and you'll see what I mean, its reeks of the USSR 30 years ago.

missmatty

No good at links so copied & pasted what I wrote in my report after going to Riga (June 2006)...

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.