Riga: Art Nouveau, Old Town and City History
Accommodation in Riga
Riga tells its story through several distinct cityscapes: from the medieval core to the 19th-century boulevard ring and former suburban districts with wooden architecture. Art Nouveau, notable buildings, the market and performing arts offer different focal points for planning your trip.
Discover the city’s history and Art Nouveau
The historic centre encompasses a medieval core and a semicircular 19th-century boulevard ring. A green belt runs along both sides of the city canal. The former suburban districts include a rectangular street grid and wooden architecture from the 18th and 19th centuries. This makes it possible to explore different chapters of the city’s history within the historic centre: medieval structures, 19th-century urban planning and the preserved building style of the suburbs.
The scale of Riga’s Art Nouveau heritage is also remarkable: the medieval part of the historic centre has around 50 particularly architecturally valuable Art Nouveau buildings, while the rest of the historic centre has more than 300. Alberta iela is considered the centre of Riga’s Art Nouveau, and magnificent historic Art Nouveau buildings line its entire length. The Riga Art Nouveau Centre is the only museum in the Baltics dedicated to Art Nouveau heritage. Together, the street, buildings and museum offer distinct ways to explore the subject: through the cityscape, the architecture and its interpretation.
Notable buildings and their stories
An unusual building history awaits at Riga Central Market. Its five food pavilions are dedicated to vegetables, dairy products, meat, fish and gastronomy. The striking pavilions were originally built in the 1920s as military airship hangars. Their present-day division by food category thus stands alongside the buildings’ surprising original use.
The Freedom Monument symbolises Latvian statehood, national unity, independence and freedom. It was unveiled on 18 November 1935. Riga Cathedral is the largest and one of the oldest medieval religious buildings in Latvia and the Baltics. The two buildings offer different perspectives on the city: the Freedom Monument represents national significance, while the cathedral represents medieval religious architecture.
Performing arts and views from the water
The Latvian National Opera and the Latvian National Ballet offer guided tours of the unique 19th-century architectural monument. They present around 200 performances in a season. If you plan to take a tour or attend a performance, check the latest dates and schedule in advance.
The one-hour “Old Riga Panorama Trip” is a boat ride along the Riga City Canal and the Daugava. From the tower of St Peter’s Church, you can enjoy a panorama of the Old Town’s red rooftops, modern Riga, the Gulf of Riga and the Daugava with its extensive harbour. The boat trip and the view from the tower offer two different ways to experience Riga; if you take the trip, it is worth checking the latest tour details.
When looking for a holiday apartment, you can start by considering which experiences you want to shape your days in Riga: Art Nouveau and city history, the market and architecture, or performing arts and a trip along the waterways. This focus can help you organise what you want from your accommodation, without reducing Riga to a single attraction.
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