Eastern and Central Europe (Eyewitness Travel Guides)

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

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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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200

Sculpture outside the entrance to

St Peter’s Church

74 NORTH EASTERN EUROPE