Latvia Travel Guide

Latvia OVERVIEW

There is something inherently romantic about this place. Even the name, Latvia, seems to reverberate with an echo of heroic deeds and utmost affection when spoken out loud. Dunno really why we get this feeling, and with the full realization that it may well be a subjective perception, perhaps totally isolated, we're asking: can you feel it, too? Would you say it's because of its serene beauty untrodden by the encroaching feet (and fit) of the tourism industry? Is it down to the country's militant history intertwined with legends of passion and unbending devotion? Or perhaps it's all about the way it finally bit off the grabbing hands of its oppressors to be left miraculously unscathed itself? Not sure either? Haven't been there yet?

If you want to kick off big style, make it Riga. This lovely capital swirls like a whirlpool and will give you a dizzy feel likewise. Walk its cobbled streets sprinkled with medieval and art nouveau highlights alongside, visit the Three Brothers at 17, 19, and 21 Maza Pils, pay tribute to the Freedom Monument, a symbol as important to Latvians as the Statue of Liberty to the American lot, get your retro engines going in Riga Motor Museum, and revel in the city's spirited nightlife.

For a touch of royalty, choose Jelgava palace, once a residence of Louis XVIII, or magnificent Rundale, a summer residence moved far from the bustle and clamor of the city. A spiritual experience is guaranteed in Anglona, where a soaring basilica emerges from the scenic beauty of the surrounding area, and the grim ruins of Cesis Castle provide for an encounter with the German crusaders.

But Latvia is not all about majestic architecture. Sporty types will find refuge in winter sport center in Sigulda, nature enthusiasts will gladly play hide-and-seek in Tervete Nature Park or Gauja National Park, both intact by civilization and teeming with unique species of fauna and flora. Artists will draw inspiration from the Salaca River Basin, its red sandstone cliffs, caves and untamed rapids, and if your relationship happenes to be on edge, there's no better place for conciliatory walk-and-talk than the picture-perfect towns of Ogre, Lielvarde i Koknese resting in the Daugava valley.

Can you feel it now?