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11

Vilnius Travel & Sightseeing Guide

A trip to Vilnius
Vilnius is the largest city in Lithuania. The River Neris runs through the Old Town of Vilnius, which is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site and is famous for its Baroque architecture. The streets in the Old Town are lined with cobblestones, churches and buildings built around the 15th century, which still impress visitors today with their bold dramatic façades and grand spacious interiors.

Flights to Vilnius
Getting to Vilnius is made easy by its small but perfectly functional airport which services international flights from London, Germany, the Netherlands, and Poland. Budget airline Wizz also flies to Lithuania, with some arrivals at the nearby town of Kaunas, which is linked to the capital city by a shuttle bus. If you land at Vilnius Airport, located about three miles from the city centre, the short journey to town should take less than five minutes by taxi. If you are looking for a cheap flight to Vilnius try Ebookers.

The train is used throughout Lithuania as a mode of transport, and there is a pleasant daily rail service from Warsaw to Vilnius. However, there are not too many direct connections from other European cities. There is a bus service that runs from Rome to Vilnius, with stops at Vienna, Cracow, Warsaw and Kaunas along the way. As the country shares borders with Poland and Latvia, it is possible to drive from both countries to Vilnius. Road conditions as well as the service at customs and immigration checkpoints have improved greatly in recent years. From Riga, the capital city of Latvia, it is a mere 180 miles, or a 4 to 5 hour drive to Vilnius.

Vilnius

Sightseeing in Vilnius
There are many churches to explore in Vilnius however the main attraction of this kind is Vilnius Cathedral, which is located near Cathedral Square. There are many works of art in the cathedral, which dates back to 1769. The cathedral is near another must-visit spot where you can catch a panoramic view of the city – the Gediminas Tower. The only remaining part of the Upper Castle, this tower is featured on the national currency and has a mention in more than one folk song and patriotic poem. To get to the tower, you can choose to travel on foot or take a funicular while taking in the sights of the Old Town.

History lovers will find there are more than a few good museums in Vilnius worth a visit. Vilnius was once home to a large Jewish population and their history and influence on the city before WWII as well as the atrocities committed towards them during the Nazi occupation are captured and documented in the Jewish History Museum. Another museum built in remembrance of the city’s darker past is the Victims of Genocide Museum, located in a section of the old KGB headquarters, where artefacts and photographs display the cruel treatment of detainees held by the KGB.

Fun by night – eating, drinking and partying
All kinds of international cuisines are available in Vilnius, including Italian favourites such as pasta and pizza as well as more exotic fare. Visitors can also dine at the city’s bars, which usually have reasonably priced menus. Drinking is a popular pastime here, with inexpensive locally brewed beer and vodka fuelling the nightlife scene. Clubs and bars stay open late and commonly have a DJ or live music. The most popular district for visitors to dine and drink at is the Old Town.

Fun by day – shopping and activities
For those wishing to explore the suburbs of Vilnius, the biggest market in the whole of Europe is a must-see. Just outside Vilnius, this immense 120-hectare marketplace resembles a carnival where goods from Turkey, Poland and China are sold at low prices.

If you would like to spend a sombre afternoon, then head for Panerlai – once a Nazi concentration camp during WWII and where more than 100,000 Jews were murdered.

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