Riga (Riga) is a very beautiful city. Its central area has preserved a whole complex of old, very old and very ancient buildings, which leave no one indifferent. At the same time, Riga has always been an "older brother" in its small Baltic family. Compared with Tallinn or Vilnius, this city really does impress the metropolis. He bubbles, has fun, attracts thousands of tourists, inconspicuously falls in love with them, forcing if not to stay for a day or two, then at least come here again.

Divided by a wide 500-meter river Daugava, Riga remains forever in the heart with its Art Nouveau facades, large green parks and cozy small bars, where minutes disappear imperceptibly for crackling and flickering candles.

Surprisingly, this city combines its toy, as if descended from medieval engravings historical center, a vibrant nightlife and a thriving restaurant business. Generous beauty, endless elegance and restless fusion of old and new in Riga possess such a powerful charm that it can only be perceived with the accompaniment of the famous black Riga balsam.

How to call

8-10-371-2-Phone Number

How to get to Riga?

Riga Airport accepts many flights from all over the world, including several of their major cities in Russia. From the airport with an interval of 15 minutes in the city center there is a bus number 22.

On the station square of the city, fixed-route taxis stop from Jurmala.

On working days and Saturday all parking in the city center is paid: from ~ 0, 8 to 2 LVL in the business center and 5-8 LVL in the old town. Penalties for parking (20 LVL, yellow leaf on the windshield) are issued without the presence of the driver.

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Currency exchange in Riga

You should be careful when exchanging currencies at small points located in the center of Riga..Here the scheme of "legal fraud" is flourishing, when money changes at an underestimated rate, information about which is practically not readable .For example, at a declared rate of 70, 1 LVL for 100 EUR, money can be exchanged at the rate of 60, 5 lats for 100 EUR .Often on the stands, a bad course (60, 5/100) is written on top of a good one (70, 1/100) in small letters on a separate piece of paper, curved in the side on the adhesive tape .A profitable course means "when exchanging from 500 euros" .Items with a "double" rate of currencies are most often located in the Old City, but you can meet them in remote areas .

Transport in Riga is

Public transport is well developed: buses, trolleybuses, trams, shuttles. Many ordinary taxis (free calls), tariffs are divided into daytime - up to 0, 5 LVL per km and up to 1, 5 LVL per landing, and night - 20% more expensive than the day.

Shopping: Riga stores

Products from wood, ceramics and amber, Riga black balm Melnais Balzams, chocolate candies of the famous confectionery factory Laima. Good jersey, especially cotton. Linen products and dolls from flax as a souvenir, dressed in national Latvian clothes. Many quality products from the Scandinavian countries. Shops work mainly from 10:00 to 19:00 and, as a rule, without a break for lunch. On Sundays most stores are closed.

The climate of Riga is

March 1, Sunday Overcast, light rain +5 ° С in the afternoon 0 ° C at night ° С water	March 2, Monday Overcast, light rain +6 ° С in the day +3 ° C at night ° С water	March 3, Tuesday Partly cloudy, light rain +4 ° С in the day +2 ° С at night ° С water
The weather in Riga for 10 days

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Entertainment, excursions and sights of Riga

The main sights of Riga: the Dome Cathedral, the Swedish Gate, the residence of Peter I, the church of St. Petra, church Sts. Jakob, the Powder Tower (Pulvertornis), the Viestura garden, located in the castle of the Historical Museum of Latvia. Also - the Latvian Museum of Medicine, the Museum of Foreign Art, the State Art Gallery of Latvia, the Automobile Museum of Riga, the Latvian Ethnographic Museum and other equally interesting expositions, more about which on the page "Museums of Riga".

The center of Riga is also famous for its unique and distinctive buildings. For example, three houses along Maza Pils street, "Three brothers" - a sample of residential architecture of medieval Riga. At that time in Riga, representatives of a single profession or craft lived on the same street. "Three Brothers" survived from the building on the former Bakers Street.

"House of Blackheads" originally served as a meeting place for citizens, and in the 15th century the Riga Rath passed the front hall of this house to the Brotherhood of Blackheads (the brotherhood of young single foreign merchants), and since 1713 the whole building has become their property. "Blackheads" used the building for representational purposes, there was also an underground passage leading to their own wharf on the Daugava River.

Laim's watches, the most popular meeting place in Riga, were built during the Soviet period to advertise the famous confectionery factory "Laima."

The story of "House of Cats" is very funny. According to legend, a wealthy merchant (a Latvian by nationality), who did not want to be taken to the guild, where the Germans were running, built this house and installed cats on it back to the building of the Guild. After a long trial, the merchant's affairs seem to have been settled, and the cats are turned in a more diplomatic direction.

Riga is a very lively city, not only during the day, but also at night. Especially Old Riga, in which many restaurants, cafes and clubs are open. Nightlife is boiling there from nine in the evening until the morning.

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Photo of Riga (157)