3 days in Riga: the perfect weekend

Day 1: Old Town and Art Nouveau

Start where the city began. The UNESCO-listed Old Town is a compact tangle of cobbled lanes you can loop in a morning: Town Hall Square with the ornate House of the Blackheads, Riga Cathedral, and St. Peter's Church, whose tower has a lift up to the best rooftop panorama in the centre. Keep an eye out for the Three Brothers, the oldest houses in the city, and the Swedish Gate. A free walking tour is a great way in; skip the standard Old Town route, which is easy to do on your own, and pick the Alternative or the Soviet-history tour instead. In the afternoon, walk ten minutes into the Quiet Centre for the Art Nouveau streets around Alberta iela, where the facades are alive with masks, faces and mythical creatures, then loop back through the canal park past the Freedom Monument. Eat and drink: start the morning with coffee at MiiT Coffee (central, vegetarian and part vegan), grab a cheap, filling lunch at the LIDO Vērmanītis canteen by Vērmanes Garden, and book dinner at the Armenian Armenia Restaurant. In the evening, ring the doorbell at the speakeasy-style cocktail bar Bar Six, then head to Kaņepes Kultūras centrs (KKC) for late drinks, live music and dancing.

Day 2: the market, the best view and recent history

Begin at the Central Market in the five old Zeppelin hangars behind the station, one of the largest markets in Europe and the best place to eat cheaply, so start the day with coffee and a fresh pastry among the stalls. Each hall has a theme, from meat and dairy to a fish hall where a tiny counter serves fresh fish and a soul-warming solyanka soup, an easy cheap lunch on the spot. Browse the flea-market stalls outside for the simple fun of seeing what turns up. From there it is a short walk to the Latvian Academy of Sciences, the Stalinist 'wedding-cake' tower whose observation deck gives the best 360-degree view of Riga for a couple of euros, so save it for a clear day. In the afternoon, the Museum of the Occupation and the Corner House, the former KGB building, tell the hard 20th-century story of how the Soviet occupation regime treated anyone who thought differently; the cellar tours book out fast, so reserve ahead. Finish on Miera iela, the creative 'Peace Street' quarter right by our Miera and Stabu residences: coffee at Rocket Bean Roastery and dinner with live music at the cellar folk-pub Ala Pagrabs. If the night is still young, the nearby Tallinas kvartāls quarter packs craft-beer bars, cocktail spots and a club into one lively block.

Day 3: the seaside at Jūrmala

Spend the last day by the Baltic. Before the train, treat yourself to cake and coffee at Kūkotava. The train from the central station reaches Jūrmala in about half an hour for a euro or two, and the ride itself is part of the experience. Walk the long sandy beach past the wooden villas and stop for lunch, a coffee or a beer, at one of the bars dotted along the shore every kilometre or two. Dinner is the reward at the end of the walk: the Armenian Nojan Tapan, where you can happily eat your way down the menu, wine included, with a fast, cheap Latvian bite at Delicio as the in-town alternative. For a final drink, the relaxed new bar Čē is a fun stop, and the cocktails at Bar Six are worth a second visit. With more time, Riga is also a natural first stop on a wider Baltic loop, with Vilnius, Tallinn and Helsinki all within easy reach.

Getting around and where to stay

Riga is flat and walkable, and most of the highlights above sit within a 20-minute stroll of one another. For longer hops, trams and buses run on an e-talons card, and Bolt is cheap for late nights. The single best budget tip is the weekday set lunch, the 'biznesa pusdienas', a starter and a main at a low fixed price in many restaurants. Staying central saves the most time: all of our residences are a short walk from the Old Town, the market and Miera iela, so you can drop your bags and start exploring on foot.

Our picks on the map

These are some of our favourite spots in Riga. Open our full curated Google Maps list to see every pin on the map and navigate straight there from your phone.

• Central Market — Huge food market in the old Zeppelin hangars, breakfast and cheap lunch
• Latvian Academy of Sciences — Observation deck with the best city view
• House of the Blackheads — The Old Town's landmark guild house
• Alberta iela — The showpiece Art Nouveau street
• Museum of the Occupation — Latvia's 20th-century history
• Jūrmala — Seaside resort, about 30 minutes by train
• MiiT Coffee — Central café, vegetarian and part vegan, great for breakfast
• Rocket Bean Roastery — Specialty coffee on Miera iela
• Kūkotava — Cakes and pastries for a sweet morning stop
• LIDO Vērmanītis — Latvian canteen buffet, cheap and filling lunch
• Armenia Restaurant — Central Armenian dinner spot
• Nojan Tapan — Armenian restaurant to end the Jūrmala day
• Delicio — Fast, cheap Latvian food in the centre
• Bar Six — Speakeasy-style cocktail bar, ring the doorbell
• Ala Pagrabs — Cellar folk-pub with live music and cheap eats
• Kaņepes Kultūras centrs — Bar, club and event space for a night out
• Čē — Relaxed new neighbourhood bar
• Tallinas kvartāls — Quarter full of bars, cocktail spots and clubs