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7-Nights Lithuania & Latvia: Vilnius to Riga
In the Baltics’ rural traditions, undiscovered history and modern outlook are an enticing blend.
Sea, sky, and sand: the universe is reduced to three elements as you survey the Bay of Amber and the 60-mile sweep of dunes at Curonian Spit. Whistling winds, waving grasses, and a boardwalk that leads to what feels like the world’s edge—a landscape you never imagined. Then again, you’re learning to expect the unexpected in Lithuania. Fascinating folk traditions and indelible sights fill each day’s walk, from the legend-inspired woodcarvings on Witches’ Hill to Trakai’s red-sandstone island castle. Yesterday a farm-to-table lunch near a Bronze Age hillfort, today the chance to craft your own amulet from native amber at a local jeweler’s gallery. Across the border, Latvia awaits; scenic wetlands, country palaces, and Saturday’s chef-led tour through the converted zeppelin hangars of Riga’s food market. When you’re hiking in the Baltics, every step reveals new horizons.
7 nights from $4545 per person
Supplier: Country Walkers
Featured Destinations
Riga
Now reasserting its proud Baltic heritage after the return of Latvia's independence, this ancient Hanseatic river-port is the largest city of the Baltic States and a showcase for the restored Old Riga with its cobbled pedestrian streets, towers and spires of medieval churches and venerable facades of gabled 17th century German merchants' homes. It is surrounded by a moat and contains several medieval buildings, including a 13th-century cathedral and guild halls from the 14th century. Riga is still historically and architecturally fascinating.
Klaipeda
Klaipeda (formerly Memel) is a port in western Lithuania on the Baltic Sea. It has shipyards, factories, museums and an aquarium.
Latvia
Latvia is the small, flat and largely bog between its Baltic neighbors. Riga is its vibrant coastal capital, and it has photogenic castles, music festivals and scenic river valleys. Visitors can witness first-hand the rapid transformation of a country that has only recently crept from under the doormat of history.
Vilnius
Vilnius is the capital of Lithuania and one of the country's oldest cities. It stretches along both banks of the fast flowing Neris River, and is set among hills pine forests. Vilnius is very old city indeed. The honor for founding Vilnius is justly given to Gediminas (a Lithuanian Duke) in the year 1323. Having declared Vilnius his "royal town", Gediminas created the conditions for its subsequent growth as the political, economical and cultural center of Lithuania. The fortress on Castle Hill was used for defense purposes and was called the Upper Castle.
Following the craftsmen in other European towns at the end of the 15th century, Vilnius craftsmen began to join together by professions into guilds. Many Catholic churches and monasteries appeared in the town. Stone buildings sprang up inside the Lower Castle. The new Cathedral was among them. Crafts and trade continued to develop in the 16th century. Many beautiful new buildings in the late Gothic and Renaissance style appeared in the town. The most significant event in the cultural life of 16th century Lithuania was the founding of the Vilnius Academy in 1579, which was endowed with the rights and privileges of a university. In 1795 Vilnius became the center of a new gubernia consisting of the lands annexed to the Russian Empire. A number of new Classical style buildings were built, including the Cathedral, which had been reconstructed at the end of the 18th century, a new town hall, and the Governor-Generals' Palace. In 1860, a railway, the first in Lithuania, crossed Vilnius and connected with St. Petersburg and Warsaw.
During World War I Vilnius was occupied by the Kaiser's troops for three and a half years. On 16 February, 1918, Lithuanian Council in Vilnius proclaimed an independent Lithuanian Republic. In the autumn of 1920, Vilnius and the region to which it belonged were occupied by Poland. On October 10th, 1939, Lithuania and the Soviet Union signed a treaty on mutual aid, in accordance with which Vilnius and the Vilnius Region were returned to Lithuania. In 1940, Vilnius became the capital of Soviet Lithuania, which meant it was an administrative center of occupied Lithuania.
On March 11th, 1990, the Supreme Council restored Lithuania's independence.
Valid Travel Dates
- Exceptional boutique accommodations
- 16 on-tour meals: 7 breakfasts, 5 lunches, 4 dinners
- Local guides with you throughout tour
- Local wine and/or beer with dinner
- Entrance fees and special events as noted in the itinerary
- Telescopic walking sticks provided on tour
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