Welcome to Riga, city of inspiration by the Baltic sea
The first, indelible impression that most visitors get of the Latvian capital is its majestic skyline, as viewed from the left bank of the Daugava River. The slender Gothic spires of the Old Town’s many churches attest to the city’s long history, which stretches back to the 13th century. The panorama’s pleasing harmony is just the most visible indication of the superb aesthetic sense that has shaped much of the city’s architecture up to the present day. Proud of its heritage, it is a thoroughly modern city with a highly developed infrastructure and opportunities for a variety of activities and entertainment. A city with rich musical traditions, today it boasts an excellent opera, several world- class choirs and outstanding classical orchestras, not to mention jazz, rock, and Riga’s skyline blues ensembles, plus a variety of other popular music bands performing in both concert halls and clubs. Among Riga’s many treasures are its beautiful, well-tended gardens and parks, which occupies a substantial portion of the city’s territory. In fact, there are several good-sized forests within the city limits, where the locals love to take Sunday strolls, jog, watch birds, pick mushrooms in the autumn, and go skiing in the winter. In the spring, when the city’s many orchards are in bloom, white petals can be seen drifting through the air; then come the purples and pinks of lilacs, which are particularly spectacular along the crooked, dreamy side-streets of Pārdaugava, on the left bank of the river, to be followed in late June by the pale honey of blossoming lindens that line Riga’s stately boulevards.
