Ten things to do/see in Riga
When you go anywhere as a tourist it is quite common that people tell you that absolutely must do/see in this specific place. For example, if you go to Berlin, you must visit a sex museum, while in Moscow you must go and see taxidermated Lenin. So I want to make some list of 10 items or less (as in the movie) of things that you must do in Riga and Latvia (not including urinating on the Freedom monument).
For introduction I give here the 10 most popular "things to do in Riga" from tripadvisor.com:
10 - Riga Zoo
9 - Central market
8 - Riga castle
7 - Dome cathedral
6 - House of blackheads
5 - Freedom monument
4 - St. Peters Church
3 - Brother`s cemetary
2 - The museum of occupation of Latvia
1 - Old city
Personally I find this list (although it is made by popular vote) a bit too predictable - all these are textbook tourist attractions that don`t really say anything about our city. What would I suggest?
1) Visit Riga Old town - I would love to be original and ommit it but it is the main attraction of Riga anyhow. But I could suggest you choosing the narrower and less populated streets of Old Riga because those have a more authentic feeling (by walking through Old Riga you`ll surely also see the Dome cathedral and the St.Peters church, so technically those aren`t really separate attraction objects)
2) Play a game of chess in do it. and why not?
3) Take a ride on the retro-tram
4) Take a walk through Maskavas forštate (preferrably - not alone and not after dark)
5) Feed bread to ducks in the Riga city canal (or in Arkādijas park)
6) To keep up with the cultural part - visit Alberta street to see some nice Art Noveau buildings
7) Have lunch at Lido. It`s not an advert from my side, it`s just a thing you must to in Riga.
8) Go on a tour in the Laima chocolate factory
9) Have a beer in a beer garden in Old Riga (but make sure you`re drinking real beer and not some bottled beer-imitation. Choose Tervetes, Bauskas, Užavas or Piebalgas beer. Never try Aldaris)
10) Go up the Riga television tower and have a look at the city.
At the moment I`m too lazy to make a similar list for Latvia but eventually I`ll make one at some point of time. If you have any additions, corrections, updates or anything else for my list - you`re welcome to express you opinion. Even if it is absolutely nothing like mine and you want to call me a barbaric troglodyte.
