Compact, green and incredibly beautiful Riga is an illustrated textbook on architectural styles: Gothic, Baroque, Art Nouveau, which is called Art Nouveau here. The Latvian capital can easily compete with St. Petersburg or Budapest in terms of the number of intricately decorated, solemn buildings. But the city is by no means frozen in time: new art spaces, conceptual restaurants, and shops appear like mushrooms after the rain. Recently, the first major biennial of contemporary art has made headlines across Europe. And if the main attractions have already been seen, it’s time to follow the locals to where the secrets of Riga live.
Hotel-museum in the Old Town
The family-run Neiburgs design hotel is hidden next to the Dome Cathedral, behind an elegant Art Deco facade. The interiors of the building have been preserved in the smallest detail: from parquet floors and stucco ceilings to original chandeliers, doors, and paintings. The windows offer a magnificent view of the Daugava River and the historic center, and the library contains rarities and new classics.
If you don’t want to pay more than 125 EUR per night, you can settle for dinner in a restaurant with excellent national cuisine, an impressive wine collection, and paintings by Latvian artists on the walls. Prices on the page are as of February 2023.
A movie theater from the past
There are cinemas in the world where people come not only to enjoy a movie: the lobbies, dressing rooms, staircases, and halls are so elegant that what is happening on the screen fades into the background. “The Electric Cinema in Notting Hill, the Orinda in San Francisco, and the El Matadero in Madrid are so different in mood, but invariably spectacular and unforgettable. Riga has a similar movie kingdom – Splendid Palace, opened in 1923 and still the main venue for independent cinema.
Neo-Baroque on the outside, neo-Rococo on the inside, and endless festivals, performances, live broadcasts of opera productions – in general, an artist’s dream.
Fashionable concept page
Young designers are in trend nowadays: a stylish outfit from a little-known but promising brand promises to impress much more than a heavyweight suite. So Bold opened just in time, bringing together the creations of talented fashion designers from Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia under one roof. Clothing, accessories, household items, books – there is no such assortment anywhere else in the Baltics. And you can celebrate a successful shopping trip with a cup of coffee and a cake in a local café.
On two floors decorated with industrial chic, geometric Supernormal glasses, Talented ruffled dresses, laconic Nuud ceramics and sweatshirts with Sapiosexual and P12*DETC inscriptions stand out.
A three-in-one gallery
The Istaba Gallery (translated from Latvian as “room”) is located away from the tourist trails, at 31A Krišjāņa Barona Street. It is at the same time an art museum, a designer shop and a restaurant: new exhibitions are held here every month, and the shelves are full of original souvenirs – jewelry, masks, handmade cards and painted T-shirts. The Buffet dining room rises above the gallery, the menu changes daily, there are only 6 hot dishes – meat and fish, delicious and intricately served.
There are also 6 tables in the Buffet, each as a separate cozy room, so you need to book in advance. Lunch costs an average of 20 EUR per person, excluding drinks.
Brick Bar.
Riga’s nightlife is very lively, but Brick Bar (24 Ganibu Dambis Street) confidently stands out from its drinking brethren. Its opening is timed to coincide with the Biennale, so art rules the roost: art exhibitions, performances by famous DJs, live concerts, and other festivities are the order of the day here. In good weather, everyone has fun right outside, in the middle of scaffolding, mounds of rubble, and makeshift sports fields.
The bar was built on the territory of the former Bolshevichka garment factory from bricks abandoned on an orphaned site.
Instagram industrial zone
The neighborhood with the complicated name Petersala-Andreisala is the very center, but it is unexpected: port, unglamorous, with pre-war buildings, typical panelized houses and Khrushchevs. But surprises await in the labyrinth of streets: a 19th-century freight railroad station, an eclectic mansion with turrets – the current Chinese embassy, an old elevator, dilapidated walls covered with graffiti. And their more modern neighbors are trendy bars and restaurants with panoramic views of the Daugava.
The neighborhood has become another venue for the Biennale, as the art installations fit perfectly into the industrial background.
And a little more art
The Alma Gallery is one of the most interesting in the Latvian capital. It has recently moved to a new space – a small, intimate, white-glass one. And it all started in 2005, when Astrida Rinke and Ilda Krīšane decided to promote new national art. Now they popularize the work of their fellow countrymen both at home and abroad, at prestigious exhibitions in Cologne, Turin, and other cities.
Hobby club
The lively Canepes Cultural Center has a great bar with a busy program of events. Concerts, movie screenings, performances, literary readings – a lot of interesting things happen in the green courtyard, under touching garlands of paper flags. The building itself is more than 100 years old, and once a music school was based here. The bar is almost always open until 2:00 and is full of curious young people.
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A corner of Italy
The family restaurant Casa Nostra, run by Adriano and Sandra, seems to destroy space. Everything here is just like in Italy: simple but very cozy interior, warm service and cuisine that makes you forget about your diet. The modernist building with a cozy terrace serves the best pizza in the city – Margherita, Neapolitan, 4 Seasons and other hits made from products brought by the owners from their sunny homeland. There are also carpaccio, spaghetti, risotto and limoncello, which claim to be perfect.
Prices are quite democratic: soups from 4.50 EUR, pizza from 6.50 EUR, hot dishes from 8.50 EUR, ice cream from 3 EUR.
Bohemian cafe
Founded over 20 years ago, Osiris Cafe is one of the oldest locations in post-Soviet Latvia. It is a favorite meeting place for creative intellectuals, intellectuals, politicians, and celebrities – the bohemian atmosphere is inviting. Creatives don’t mind sleeping until lunch, so breakfast is served here all day, as well as all kinds of overseas delicacies: Danish sandwiches with shrimp and mayonnaise, Chinese chicken kung pao, Berber couscous, and Italian antipasti. Bonuses include a decent wine list and excellent desserts.
