36 Cool and Unusual Things to Do in Latvia - Atlas Obscura

Unusual
Attractions
in Latvia

The Corner House

A former Latvian headquarters of the brutal KGB secret police is now open as a grim reminder of their atrocities.

Riga Central Market

3,000 market stands in five former Zeppelin hangars.

Liepāja, Latvia

Liepaja Northern Forts

These crumbling Latvian forts make for some haunting seaside ruins.

Art Nouveau in Riga

Flamboyant architecture from the turn of 20th century.

Cinevilla

Spend the night in 1920s Latvia.

Black Cat of Riga

A black cat protests the City Guild in Riga's Old Town.

The Three Brothers

The oldest housing complex in Riga is a mini timeline of architectural trends.

P. Stradins Museum for History of Medicine

Medical museum that houses most notably the taxidermied remains of Vladimir Demikhov's famous two-headed dog experiment.

See All 36 Things to Do in Latvia See All 36 Places

Unique
Food & Drink
in Latvia

Kvass

You can find authentic versions of this sour Slavic brew at street stalls and monasteries.

Riga Black Balsam

There's a legend that this Latvian herbal liqueur saved an ailing Catherine the Great.

Herring Under a Fur Coat

The most sobering salad of the Russian Civil War.

Gray Peas with Bacon and Onions

Finish all your Latvian peas for good luck in the New Year.

Atlas Obscura Trips

Baltic Odyssey: Monuments, Myths, and Memory

Take a deep dive into Baltic history and culture on this immersive adventure through Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania, covering everything from ancient traditions to bunkers, silos, and grand memorial complexes.

Darmon Richter

Community Forums / Eastern Europe / Latvia

Top Discussions in the Latvia Travel Forum

Post	Replies	Views	Activity
Castle of Light	2 May 28, 2019	767	May 28, 2019
Riga Aviation Museum	1 May 28, 2019	482	May 28, 2019
Skrunda-1	2 May 16, 2019	857	May 16, 2019
Kurmrags Lighthouse	1 September 24, 2019	186	September 24, 2019
The World of Hat	1 August 16, 2019	321	August 16, 2019

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Stories
About Latvia

Bright night skies—like this scene in Helsinki, Finland—can be exacerbated by snow.

'Snowglow' Sounds Charming, But It's a Menace to Night Skies

Fresh powder can worsen light pollution, according to new research from Germany.

by Jessica Leigh Hester

August 13, 2019

Valts Ernštreits, a professor at Tartu University in Estonia, writes poetry in Livonian.

These Passionate Latvian Linguists Refuse to Lose Their Language

Livonian may be extinct as a native tongue, but it's still being used to write poetry.