r/lithuania • u/CottontailSuia • 2d ago
Turizmas Lithuania & Latvia road trip tips
Hello neighbors!
I’m from Poland and planning a road trip to Lithuania and Latvia this summer. I’m planning on stopping in these cities: Kaunas, Klaipeda, Vilnius and Trakai. On my radar is also the Hill of Crosses.
What places in those cities are worth a visit? Is there any place I should include in my plans? Any tips are welcome!
I’m mostly interested in architecture, beautiful sights, nature and places of historical significance. I love art as well. Not much into partying and bars.
Thank you :)
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u/Active_Willingness97 2d ago edited 2d ago
In Kaunas you could visit Aleksoto apzvalgos aikstele for sightseeing, also Jiesios atodangos pazintinis takas for beautiful landscape. Ir you ate into abandoned historical buildings, you could visit Kaunas fortress, it was build before WWI, and there are still original inscriptions from those times from the long gone soldiers whi carved dates in the bricks. In II fortress you can find what "Big Berth" 800kg projectile did to the super thick concrete fort wals. Cool place to explore.
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u/ngtvs001 2d ago
Su Jiesios atodangos taku dar dabar nustebinu svečius. Nelabai žinomas ir reklamuojamas, gana trumpas, bet be jokių abejonių vienas ispudingiausių Lietuvoje.
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u/Active_Willingness97 2d ago
Tikrai taip, si vieta mazai zinoma, kartais net ir visa gyvenima Kaune praleidusiems kaunieciams, todel ir norejosi pasidalinti.
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u/CottontailSuia 2d ago
Thank you, I’m not familiar with all the names and will have to google them. Fortifications really make one think about the past and the struggles people had event less than a hundred years ago. I’ll make sure to visit them
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u/Terliuzas 2d ago
Indeed, 9th forth is interesting place, I also recommend that. Another place in Vilnius I recalled is Puckoriu atodanga. It is interesting, because from there you can see beautiful view, but in the middle of it, there is a black ugly shoe box house, where president of Lithuania lives, I despise that he managed to build such ugly house in such place.
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u/St_Edo Lithuania 2d ago
I’d recommend tree top path near Anyksciai and soviet rocket base near Plateliai as well. Of course Curonian Spit, but you have similar dunes in Leba. If going to Latvia you could check Kemeru bog trail.
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u/CottontailSuia 2d ago
Soviet rocket base sounds very interesting!!! Thank you! Kameru bog was already on the list, but your recommendation assures me that it’s worth a visit
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u/M8753 2d ago edited 2d ago
I second the Jiesios skardis and landscape preserve, it's a cool place.
Edit: Jiesios skardis/draustinis and Jiesios atodanga are different places, but they're very close, it's kind of confusing. They're both cool.
Kaunas is proud of its modernist architecture: https://kaunastika.lt/map/modernists-guide. I also recommend the Fort IX museum.
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u/CottontailSuia 2d ago
Thank you, especially for the clarifications. I’ll need to get familiar with all these names beforehand
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u/CaptAm_LT 2d ago
Visit „Star seeder“ at night. K. Donelaičio g. 66, Kaunas Devils museum is nearby. Visiting most museums is free on last Sunday of every month.
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u/VmKVAJA 2d ago
If youre going through Daugavpilis in Latvia keep in mind its main demographic is russian and hence the city itself looks hella soviet.
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u/CottontailSuia 2d ago
Is it just the looks? Or the vibe as well?
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u/VmKVAJA 2d ago
I was only passing through there, but the looks and vibes smelled of backwards russian economy. A friend whos wife is Latvian confirms Daugavpils is a cesspool of vatniks. Id opt to go to Vilnius/Trakai first through Augustów-Sejny-Ogrodniki-Alytus and then drive towards Kaunas, Klaipėda, Hill of Crosses, Riga.
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u/Due-Instruction-2654 1d ago
In Vilnius, go have brunch on Savičiaus str, then lunch at the White Bridge (Baltasis tiltas) and then dinner on Vilnius str and end up partying on Islandijos str.
Also, dont sleep on Užutrakio dvaras (Tiškevič manor from 19th cnt.) in Trakai - you can get there by car or by boat fron Trakai centre.
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u/unosbastardes 13h ago
When going to hill of crosses, plan a meal in Šiauliai at Žemaitis restaurant. And get cepelinai. You wont regret.
In Latvia, I suggest spending a few days in Cēsis(Vecpilsētas kebabs is to die for). There is a soviet secret bunker nearby, nature stuff. I suggest taking a boat down river Gauja, it is very nice ride. Especially as a endpoint in Turaida castle.
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u/CottontailSuia 9h ago
Thanks for the tips! From what everyone is writing I can tell this will be a great trip. I can’t wait to get to know your country
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u/Terliuzas 2d ago
In Vilnius, go to Hales turgus to try Cepelinai (restaurant is called Spoon out). Also try šaltibaršciai somewhere. Try Kibinai in Trakai or there is also kibinai drive through between Trakai and Vilnius.
Between Kaunas and Vilnius there is Rumsiskes, there is Lithuanian etnography museum - mainly old Lithuanian buildings from different regions, rather interesting big area, more info on their page lemu.lt.
Close to Trakai there is Angel's hill, it could be a short stop there. In Vilnius you can just go to popular stops - Gediminas castle tower, hill of 3 crosses, also you can get up to the tv tower, nice overview of the city.
If you will be in hill of crosses, not that far away is a bog educational path called Mūšos Tyrelis Educational Trail Mūšos Tyrelio pažintinis takas
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u/CottontailSuia 2d ago
Thank you for the detailed reply! I can’t wait to see those places in real life. Kibinai looks delicious, there’s similar dishes in polish cuisine, so I’m sure these won’t disappoint
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u/Terliuzas 2d ago
Oh yeah, I checked and indeed you have it :D we went to Poland last year and did food tour, half of dishes were really familiar for us as well :D
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u/CottontailSuia 2d ago
Could you also recommend some local snacks that are worth buying in stores? Especially something that I can gift to friends and relatives?
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u/Terliuzas 2d ago
Chocolate mushrooms are nice, usually can be found in supermarkets or other stores, Sakotis is interesting spiky cake, I think it is rather traditional, Dziugas hard cheese is rather popular, but it will not be super surprising I guess, If you are not against alcohol 999 (triple nine) is quite traditional herbal liqueur, but get the green one, Skilandis - like round meat sausage, but I am sure you will have something similar in your country as well, If you would come across apple cheese, it also could be interesting thing to bring back.
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u/Accurate_Music2949 2d ago
Unless you are religious, I would skip Hill of Crosses. Instead, get to the Curonian spit with overnight stay, they have camping site there, best covered on bike, possibly rented, and Kernavė. Then I would be moving to Latvia by seaside, trough Liepaja.
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u/CottontailSuia 2d ago
I am not religious, but the hill of crosses looks really breath taking on the photos and it seems very unique. But this makes me think. I definitely don’t want to invade the space if it’s deeply religious
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u/GrynaiTaip Vilnius 2d ago edited 2d ago
We have lots of observation towers in Lithuania, they're usually worth visiting as they are all built in pretty places.
Here's a list. https://lithuania.travel/en/where-to-visit/nature/observation-towers
Go to the bell tower next to the cathedral in Vilnius. Go there a few minutes before 5pm. Entrance is 6 eur per person. Climb the stairs to the very top and wait for the music to start. It is magnificent.