Discover Tukums: Old Town, Art and the Rose Route

Tukums combines urban history, Latvian art and hands-on craft experiences with special routes through the city. Anyone planning a trip can choose between a walk through the Old Town, museum visits and practical experiences in workshops. The Rose Route and nearby Slokenbeka Manor also add their own distinctive touches. When looking for a holiday apartment in Tukums, it is therefore worth deciding first whether culture, trying things out together or a varied day trip should be the main focus.

Old Town and Urban History

A good starting point for a walking tour is Brīvības Square. Today, it features benches, flowerbeds and a fountain, and is considered the starting point for a tour of Tukums. From here, the city’s history can be explored through various notable sites. The Old Town includes Harmonijas, Dārza, Zirgu, Jaunā, Talsu and Lielā streets. Many old residential and ancillary buildings constructed using the log-building method, with little alteration, can be seen there.

One of the most impressive historical remnants is the castle tower of Tukums. It is a fragment of the oldest building in Tukums, the castle of the Livonian Order. Those interested in the development of cities and architectural forms can combine this aspect with a walk through the Old Town streets mentioned above. Another green stop is Tukums City Park, which was established in 1869 near Lielā Street at the suggestion of the Governor of Courland.

Discovering Art and Crafts

Tukums Art Museum presents Latvian art through works from its own holdings and from private collections. It is Latvia’s first provincial art museum (1935/1936). This gives it a distinct cultural focus within a visit to the city. A museum visit can be combined with the historical tour without limiting the trip to a single era.

At the weaving workshop of the Tukums Museum, you can learn about the traditional ethnic clothing of the Tukums region and try your hand at weaving. The workshop has been active since 1974. At the straw workshop, visitors can learn basic straw- or hay-working skills, make their own figure and take the finished piece home with them. Such activities make the visit more than a mere sightseeing experience: they give you the opportunity to experience materials, techniques and regional traditions firsthand.

Rose Route and Rose Festival

The Tukums Rose Route was developed to make it easier to navigate Tukums as the city of roses. It can provide a thematic complement to the historical and cultural tour. The Rose Festival evolved from a small florists’ festival into Tukums’s biennial city festival. At this festival, visitors brought their own rose to add to the festival wreath. The Rose Route and the festival’s history give the city a distinctive focus that extends beyond individual buildings and museum collections.

A Trip to the Nearby Area

In the vicinity of Tukums lies Slokenbeka Manor in Milzkalne, on the banks of the Slocene River, 5 km from Tukums. Its ensemble houses the Latvian Road Museum. This makes it possible to add a destination with its own historical and thematic character to a visit to the city. When planning your trip, you can therefore choose between a more urban-focused day in Tukums and an excursion to the manor.

The Right Base for Planning Your Trip

If you are looking for a holiday apartment in Tukums, you can base your decision on your preferred daily rhythm. Those who want to combine as much urban history, art and crafts as possible can make Tukums the cultural centre of their trip. Anyone wishing to include a destination outside the city can also take Slokenbeka Manor and its distance of 5 km into account. For a trip catering to different interests, a combination of an Old Town tour, museum, workshop and Rose Route is a good option. This leaves room for discovering things together without forcing every experience into a single itinerary.

More destinations for your planning: Lancenieki, Slampe, Rideļi, Zentene, Tume, Lapmežciems, Pētertāle, Lamiņi.

To the higher-level travel overview: Tukuma Novads.