Riga Travel Guide: Must-See Sights You Can’t Miss in Latvia’s Capital 🇱🇻

Riga isn’t the loudest city in Europe — it doesn’t need to be. This is a city that’s equal parts history and hipster, with a healthy dose of Baltic moodiness thrown in. Whether you’re here for a weekend or a week, here are five things you absolutely shouldn’t miss in Riga — each one showing a different side of Latvia’s curious, creative capital.

Riga Old Town (Vecrīga)

Let’s start where it all began. Riga’s Old Town is the kind of place that makes you wonder if you’ve accidentally walked into a storybook — every lane lined with pastel buildings, every square echoing with the clink of beer glasses and street musicians.

It’s a UNESCO World Heritage site, and rightly so. Take your time wandering — start at Town Hall Square, where the House of the Blackheads steals the show with its intricate Gothic facade. From there, drift through narrow alleys toward St Peter’s Church, whose bells mark time in a city that’s seen it all.

Down below, the streets twist and turn like they’ve got secrets to keep. Pop into little shops selling amber, linen, and those irresistible wool socks that somehow cost less than lunch. Or, relax and grab a bite to eat and a drink at one of the many pubs. 

TIP: Get lost on purpose — Riga’s Old Town isn’t big, and the best finds are the random ones.

The Museum of the Occupation of Latvia

It’s impossible to understand modern Latvia without understanding its past. Between 1940 and 1991, the country endured both Soviet and Nazi occupation — a period that shaped everything from its language to its sense of humour.

The Museum of the Occupation of Latvia tells this story with honesty and heart. It’s not a light afternoon, but it’s one of the most essential experiences in Riga. The exhibitions mix personal accounts, photographs, and preserved artefacts that bring history out of the textbook and into the gut.

It’s housed near the river in a striking black building — symbolic, sobering, and impossible to ignore. What hits hardest are the stories of ordinary Latvians who lived through extraordinary times. You leave with a new respect for how resilient this tiny nation really is.

Art Nouveau District

Just when you think you’ve got Riga figured out — medieval squares, cobbles, and castles — it throws you a curveball. Head to Alberta iela and nearby Elizabetes iela and you’ll find one of Europe’s most stunning collections of Art Nouveau architecture.

More than a third of Riga’s central buildings were built in this style — swirling facades, sculpted faces, and enough decorative flair to make Gaudí jealous. It’s like walking through an architectural fashion show from the early 1900s.

Don't forget to look up — you’ll spot stone women, owls, cats, and mythical creatures staring back down at you.

The best part? It’s not just for looking. You can step inside the Art Nouveau Museum to see how a typical apartment of the time looked — think high ceilings, parquet floors, and furniture that screams “fancy but functional.”

Riga Central Market

If you want to feel the pulse of the city, go to its markets. Riga’s Central Market is one of Europe’s biggest and most atmospheric — set inside five massive old Zeppelin hangars (yes, actual airship hangars).

Each hall has its own theme: fish, meat, produce, dairy, and baked goods. It’s chaos in the best way — shouting vendors, wafts of smoked fish, the rhythmic clatter of knives, and locals chatting over pickled everything.

Try local staples like grey peas with bacon, rye bread, or smoked eel — washed down with kvass, a slightly fizzy bread drink that sounds weird but somehow works.

It’s more than just food — it’s Riga’s social hub. Everyone comes here: grandmas with shopping baskets, office workers grabbing lunch, and the odd traveller trying to look like they know what they’re doing.

TIP: Go earlier in the morning when everything’s fresh and the crowds are local. And bring small cash — not every stall takes cards.

The National Library of Latvia

If you want to really see Riga, cross the Daugava River to the National Library of Latvia. Locals call it Gaismas Pils, or the “Castle of Light,” and it’s one of the city’s most striking modern buildings.

Inside, you’ll find more than just books — though there is the most impressive bookshelf sweeping over multiple levels here.  

Ride the elevator to the top for sweeping views across Riga’s skyline — spires, bridges, and the slow-moving Daugava cutting through the heart of it all. It’s calm, bright, and beautifully symbolic: the future looking proudly back at the past.

KGB Corner House

While Riga today hums with creativity and colour, its past isn’t far below the surface — and nowhere is that more tangible than at the KGB Corner House.

This imposing yellow building on Brīvības iela, just north of the city centre, was once the headquarters of the Soviet secret police, where countless Latvians were interrogated or imprisoned during the occupation years. 

The building now stands as a museum, and walking through the cells and narrow corridors, you feel the weight of the stories that linger in the walls. It’s confronting, but that’s the point — it’s an essential piece of understanding the strength and resilience that defines Latvia today.

Our Thoughts

Riga’s small enough to walk everywhere but big enough to surprise you at every turn — with a café that could be in Melbourne, a building that could be in Paris, and a history that belongs entirely to Latvia. It’s a balancing act — between old and new, heavy history and hopeful future — and Riga manages it with confidence.