Hello all!
A while ago, I visited Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania. I had heard of how nice Vilnius was beforehand. It totally lived up to those praises! In this post, I will share with you 5 of my favourite things and my recommendations for Vilnius.
This post is part of a little series about my trip to Baltic capitals: Vilnius in Lithuania, Riga in Latvia, and Tallinn in Estonia. If you have not already, please check the first part of the series where I described our journey during the trip!
Let’s begin!
1: churches, churches, churches…
If you enjoy churches, Vilnius is the place to go! Walking around the old town, it felt like every 20 meters there was a church or cathedral. At the end, we visited six of them but saw many, many more.
These are the ones we went inside:
Church of St. Francis and St. Bernard (next to St. Anne’s church, whose entrance we did not find)
Vilnius Cathedral
Church of St. Theresa
Church of St. Casimir
St. Nicholas’ Church
Cathedral of the Theotokos
In addition to these, we stopped at the doors of the Orthodox Church of the Holy Spirit and the Church of the Holy Trinity. We did not go to the first one because we were not sure if we should wear a head scarf, and there were no other tourists like the other Orthodox churches we went to later. The Church of the Holy Trinity was under construction, so we only peeked inside and then left.
But as you can see, there were many churches, both Catholic and Orthodox. This was pretty interesting. Also, a great thing in Vilnius was that in front of all sites there was a golden sign that included information such as the history and architecture of the places, both in Lithuanian and English. This was super interesting!
2. Enjoying the view on the Gedimina’s Hill
Between the old town of Vilnius and the Neris River stands the Gedimina’s Hill. On top of the hill is Gedimina’s Tower, the only part of the old Upper Castle that remains. There has been a castle since the fourteenth century, but the red brick tower is from the early fifteenth century.
Nowadays, the tower is one of the most well-known landmarks of Vilnius. The view over the city is spectacular! You can see the beautiful old town on one side. Then turn around and see the river and the modern part of Vilnius. Fascinating!
To reach the top of the hill, you can take a funicular or climb there. We did the latter. At the beginning, the path was a steep cobblestone road, but then it turned into wooden stairs. No problem climbing them! And all in all, the exercise was totally worth it because at the top we could enjoy such views!
3. Admiring amber
The Baltic countries are known for their amber. Or at least there are amber items in the souvenir shops.
Vilnius is no different. If you have no idea what to bring to your loved ones from your holiday, maybe something with amber.
However, it is possible to learn more about amber in Vilnius. Just head to the Amber Museum in the old town. This museum is on two floors: downstairs is the museum introducing the history of amber. You can also see different types of amber, as well as creatures that were stuck in amber. Very cool! In the up stairs, there is a shop full of beautiful amber items.
4. Testing Lithuanian specialities
As we only stayed in Vilnius for one night, we did not have enough time to become experts on Lithuanian cuisine, but we could still learn that the food culture was quite interesting and delicious! I ate, for example, mushroom sauce with potatoes, mushroom-shaped cookies, and cold beetroot soup, a true classic in the Lithuanian kitchen. I must say the last one was not my all-time favourite. It tastes like cold milk (not my favourite), but I was glad to have this experience! Oh, and we also ate something called Napoleon cake! It was super delicious!
5. Exploring street art
While walking around Vilnius, sooner or later, you will come across street art. Around the old town, there are a couple of places where you can especially see some:
Uzubis: an artist quarter that has announced its independence. Especially the river banks are like an open art gallery of street art! Also, something worth visiting is the constitution of Uzubis.
Literature street: an art project to honour writers who have a connection to Lithuania. Every writer has a small artwork on the wall of the street. Most of the writers are Lithuanian, but there are a couple of international stars as well.
Here are the five things I would recommend not to miss in Vilnius! Hope these can help you if you are planning a visit to the capital of Lithuania.
We only spent one night in Vilnius, and after that, we headed to Riga. My next post will tell you more about our time there. So until next time!
Related posts
Vienna recommendations: what to experience in the most amazing city
Hi all! Vienna is the beautiful capital of Austria and one of my favorite places! In this post, I will…
Mainz: more than you could expect
Hi all! Today I will introduce you to a German city Mainz. My knowledge about the city is based on…
