Tour starts from Riga hotel reception with private guide and by car/minivan to The Gauja National Park, which was established in 1973 and consists of more than 900 sq.km begins at Riga hotel and after 1 hour drive out of city, where the park is located in the area known as "Vidzemes Sveice" - the Livonian Switzerland and offers a unique combination of picturesque hill landscapes, the Gauja River, medieval castles, sculpture parks and fauna and flora that are already extinct in many countries in Europe.
First the sightseeing of Sigulda - a small idyllic town with 10.000 inhabitants, foundation of which dates back in history in the beginning of the 12th century when German Order built a large castle here and it was destroyed during the Great Nordic War - but the ruins of the main building and the 2 towers are left and are used for dance and song festivals and a new castle was built in 1881 and today it houses the city council and a nice restaurant, from the castle ruins there is a fabulous view of the Gauja River and it is also possible to go over the river by cable car (ticket is not included in tour price), during the tour also a visit of the famous bob-sleigh track and just outside a town there are possibilities of canoeing and rafting on the Gauja River.
Tour furthers to the other side of the river and visit of the Gutman Cave, a huge red sandstone cave and then up to the hill the ruins of the Turaida Castle (entrance), which was inaugurated by Bishop Albert of Riga and completed in 1214 and remained untouched until 1776 when it was seriously damaged by a fire, but now a part of the castle has been rebuilt, it is again possible to enter the tower and the main building and close to the castle you will find a little wooden church from 1750, the Daina Hill sculpture park of Latvian folksongs, and not to forget - the Tomb of the "Rose of Turaida".
Entre las grandes atracciones de Letonia sobresale el Palacio de Rundale, una obra maestra del Barroco donde es posible apreciar el lujo al que estaban acostumbradas las familias nobles. Te invitamos a cruzar sus puertas y embarcarte en un viaje por la historia.
DESTACAMOS:
* Maravíllate con la lujosa ornamentación de sus estancias
* Una perla arquitectónica que encierra siglos de historia entre sus paredes
* Conoce cómo vivían las familias nobles en el pasado
Después de recogerte en tu hotel de Riga, pondremos rumbo al majestuoso Palacio de Rundale, construido en el s.XVIII como residencia de verano del Duque de Curlandia, Ernest Johann von Biron. Esta joya arquitectónica, diseñada por el prestigioso arquitecto Francesco Bartolomeo Rastrelli, debía albergar 2 plantas, 2 alas, dependencias para los sirvientes, establos y un parque.
Pasea por su interior y explora las numerosas habitaciones distribuidas en la primera y segunda planta. Admira el mobiliario original e impresionantes obras de arte en cada una de las estancias, que presentan formas, colores y ambientes diferentes. En el ala oriental, pensada exclusivamente para la representación de la corte, encontrarás la impresionante Sala del Trono, el Salón Blanco y la Galería Pequeña y Grande. Tu guía te explicará en detalle qué uso se le daba a cada una de las salas y te señalará los elementos artísticos más destacados.
Tour to Open Air Museum starts from hotel reception with private guide and after 20 minutes drive by car/minivan through the city centre to 100 hectares Open Air museum (entrance) featuring 18th century rural life in Latvia, with almost 100 traditional countryside buildings including farmsteads, churches, windmills, fishing villages have been moved here, the visit is organized to give a good impression of varieties of Latvia districts – Kurzeme, Zemgale, Latgale and Vidzeme and is useful supplement for modern architecture of Riga city center to see how Latvia looked more than a century ago. The museum is located at Lake Jugla. Return to hotel.
Sigulda is often called the Latvian Switzerland. In summer and spring you can walk along the picturesque banks of the river Gauja and explore the main place of interest in Sigulda – the mighty medieval Turaida castle. The castle is an architectural monument of the 13th century. In winter, Sigulda is a center for Latvia winter sports like skiing, bobsled, and others.
During this tour you will have a chance to visit: the most visited museum of Latvia - Turaida museum reserve, where you can get acquainted with expositions concerning archaeology, culture and art history, which tell the story of events that have occurred during last 1000 years; Sigulda castle complex which was built in 1207 as a castellum type fortress. Today it is possible to climb up the North Tower and the Main Gate Tower, walk on the castle walls and enjoy the medieval aura; Bobsleigh and ludge track Sigulda - one of few buildings of this kind in the world. Its length is 1420 meters, track has 16 curves and 200m long braking distance. Siguda can safely be called an Olympic city - the inhabitants of Sigulda have won Olympic medals in both the skeleton, ludge, and bobsleigh. On the way to and from Sigulda you will also see the Gutman's cave (biggest cave in Baltics) and Gauja national park, as well as Walking-stick park, which is a tribute to Sigulda's most popular souvenir.
We offer top rated Riga bus sightseeing tour with individual head phoned guiding in 8 languages - Swedish, Finnish, English, German, Russian, French, Italian, and Norwegian. Enjoy this one and a half hour ride around Riga including all the main sights on both sides of the river Daugava.
The tour operates:
October to April: Monday - 12:00 and 14:00 (small 8 pax bus), Tuesday - 12:00 and 14:00 (small 8 pax bus), Wednesday - 12:00 and 14:00 (small 8 pax bus), Thursday - 12:00 and 14:00 (medium 26 pax bus), Friday - 12:00 and 14:00 (medium 26 pax bus), Saturday - 12:00 and 14:00 (medium 26 pax bus), Sunday - 12:00 and 14:00 (small 8 pax bus).
May to September: Monday - 12:00 and 14:00 (medium 26 pax bus), Tuesday - 12:00 and 14:00 (medium 26 pax bus), Wednesday - 12:00 and 14:00 (medium 26 pax bus), Thursday - 12:00 and 14:00 (medium 26 pax bus), Friday - 12:00 and 14:00 (medium 26 pax bus), Saturday - 12:00 and 14:00 (medium 26 pax bus), Sunday - 12:00 and 14:00 (medium 26 pax bus).
Latvian beer and snack degustation – 4 beers, 4 snacks and national dish – grey peas in a nice and authentic Latvian style restaurant in Old town.
This tasting is a journey through Latvia and it`s four regions. Latvia is a small country but Latvians are very proud, and there`s a reason! How do you think – who made the first pizza in the world? Latvians in region Kurzeme! Who made the strongest beer? Latvians in region Latgale!
Walk along the narrow streets of the Medieval Old Town with our knowledgeable guides. The tour starts from the Town Hall Square- the central square of the city from 13th to 19th century. You will find out why Riga is called the capital of the decorated Christmas tree, where the key of Riga is being kept and much more.
You will have the opportunity to enjoy the architectural pearls from different centuries – from the oldest stone building in Riga dating back to 13th century to our Castle of Light – the National Library which was opened in 2014.
Pay a visit to the biggest churches in the Old Town- St. Peter’s, the Dome Cathedral and St. Jacob’s and find out why their spires are decorated with roosters instead of crosses.There are many gems hidden in these streets and with the help of our guides you can discover the secrets of Riga.
The 2-hour tour includes the tasting of our magical elixir Riga Black Balsam believed to have the power to cure all diseases and a question+answer session with the guide.
Explore our wonderful city by Riga City Tour red buses!
Come and enjoy sightseeing on both sides of the Daugava River in Riga on red double-decker busses. The excursion ticket is valid for 24 hours and during that time you can get on or off the bus as many times as you wish. The hop-on hop-off service offers a flexible opportunity to get to know historic and present day Riga. The audio guide texts, heard through the headphones, have been recorded by native speakers in nine languages: English, German, Russian, Finnish, Swedish, Norwegian, French, Spanish, Italian and Latvian.
There are 3 routes included in your ticket: the Old town route which includes such objects as Riga Circus, Opera house, Presidents castle, National theatre, Powder tower; Wooden RIga route which includes such objects as: Kipsala area, Kalnciems street quarter, Victory park; and New Riga route which includes such objects as Museum of Art, Cathedral of Firstborn Christ, Vermanes Park, Riga Art Nouveau centre.
Our guides will show you some of the most important landmarks associated with the Jewish history. During this tour you will learn about the Jewish history in Latvia from 17th century until the present day.
We will visit Peitav Shul – the only working synagogue in Riga. Built in 1905 in Art Nouveau style, it was the only synagogue which survived the Nazi occupation, as it was located in the Old Town and there was a risk of damaging nearby buildings. Nowadays it is the center of Latvian Jewish community.
Other synagogues were burnt down, one of them being the Great Choral synagogue. It was located in the area we are visiting, that became the Riga Ghetto during World War II. Now you can see several memorial signs there commemorating the victims of the holocaust as well as families who helped Jewish people to survive. We will also see the memorial itself - wall supported by columns with the names of 270 people who risked their lives and saved more than 400 Jews.
Žanis Lipke alone saved more than 50 Jews by making an underground bunker in his yard – a hiding place for people smuggled out of the Jewish ghetto.
The Old Jewish Cemetery - Odd as it might sound to modern ears, Jews were not allowed to bury their dead in Riga until 1725 and even then it was on the very outskirts of Riga – today known as the Moscow Suburbs. The Old Jewish Cemetery was part of the Jewish ghetto during Nazi occupation.
Tour begins from hotel reception in direction to Old Town with private guide and then walking tour at the Old Riga, which was first referred to in chronicles in 1201, excursion starts by passing pedestrian Kalku Street with Livu Square and it’s medieval buildings, Small and Great Guild Houses, Dome Cathedral (entrance), Stock exchange building, Blackheads House (photo stop only), St. Peter’s Church, then passing Latvian National Opera House, city canal, tour ends at Freedom Monument and back to hotel.