Eastern and Central Europe (Eyewitness Travel Guides)

(Ben Green) #1
BASTEJKALNS

Rīga International
Airport
13 km (8 miles)

Ferry Port
1 km (0.6 mile)

St John’s
Church

Photography
Museum

Statue of
Roland

St Saviour’s
Church
DOMA
LAUKUMS

TOWN HALL
SQUARE
STRĒLNIEKU
LAUKUMS

PILS
LAUKUMS

JĒKABA
LAUKUMS

Pil
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GETTING AROUND
The best way to get around the Old Town is on foot: parking
is expensive and there is no public transport available. The main
Art Nouveau district is within walking distance of the Old Town,
while a network of trams and buses provides access to far-flung
attractions. Taxis are also abundant on Town Hall Square
(Rātslaukums). The main tourist information office here
can offer advice on guided tours.
Rīga 1
SEE ALSO



  • Where to Stay p92

  • Where to Eat p93


For many centuries Rīga was largely contained within
the city walls on the bank of the Daugava river. Now
known as the Old Town, this area contains most of
the city’s sites of interest. The main route through
the tangle of picturesque streets and squares is Kaļķu
iela, leading from the Stone Bridge (Akmens tilts)
to Brīvības bulvāris and the Freedom Monument.
When the city walls were removed in the mid-19th
century, the space was deve loped into a ring of
boulevards and parks. The main train and bus stations
lie on the south eastern edge of this ring. To the north
is the late 19th- and 20th-century extension of the
city known as the Centre (Centrs), which includes
some of Rīga’s most impressive Art Nouveau
architecture. Today the city is home to about
seven hundred thousand residents.

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Sculpture outside the entrance to
St Peter’s Church

74 NORTH EASTERN EUROPE

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