In case it's helpful to others planning a trip to the Baltics, I'm going to share my notes on highlights of our trip to Vilnius, Riga, Tallinn, and Helsinki in May 2025. I'm going to have to break this up into parts to meet the Travel Forum character limit. We loved the Baltics and believe it's truly a hidden gem of Europe! Here goes ...
VILNIUS
We were only here for 2 full days, so we had to make some hard choices about what we had time for. For example, we did not have time to visit Gediminas Castle Tower but that would have definitely been a priority if we’d had another day. We also did not visit Trakai Castle or 9th Fort - Kaunas Fortress. I was on the fence about Trakai Castle – it sounded less historic and more touristy. But who knows, it could have been wonderful. The 9th Fort sounded interesting.
Our Vilnius accommodations:
Domus Maria
Aušros Vartų g. 12, Vilnius Old Town, LT- 01129 Vilnius, Lithuania
https://domusmaria.com/
Austere but perfectly located, well priced, and very clean/comfortable
Private walking tour we took, that I would recommend:
“Vilnius Old Town walking tour with snacks”
https://www.vilniuswithlocals.com/tours/regular-walking-tour-of-vilnius-old-town
Our favorite sites:
Gates of Dawn.These were right by our accommodations. Interesting and worth seeing.
Palace of the Grand Dukes. I’d call this a must-do for a good history lesson on Lithuania and Vilnius. It’s well done although there’s so much to see and read there that we ran out of steam before the museum ran out of content. https://www.valdovurumai.lt/en/
Lukiškės Prison 2.0 tour: Very interesting tour of an old, retired communist-era prison. A glimpse into the dark times before Lithuania gained its independence. We found it fascinating. https://www.lukiskiukalejimas.lt/pasivaiksciojimai/en/home-eng/
MO Museum (modern art), Pylimo g. 17, Vilnius, 01141 Vilniaus m. sav., Lithuania. This was a really interesting collection. I was impressed. If you enjoy modern art, I would highly recommend it. https://mo.lt/
St. Annes Church. We just looked at the outside, which was beautiful. We did not take the time to go inside.
Uzupis (independent republic of artists): Kitschy and interesting to just wander through shops, get coffee, etc. But it doesn't merit more than an hour or so. I thought it was a little over-rated, but still fun.
Halės Turgus. Fun if you enjoy strolling through city markets. It was just down the street from our accommodations. We picked up some excellent fruit for snacking here and also coffee and pastries in the morning. https://maps.app.goo.gl/3BtNwWJsyog3ADjC9
Our favorite restaurants:
14 Horses. A “bib gourmand” recommendation in the Michelin Guide (our go-to source for excellent food at reasonable prices when we are traveling abroad). https://guide.michelin.com/us/en/vilnius-region/vilnius_1985479/restaurant/14horses
Būsi trečias, Totorių g. 18, Vilnius, 01121 Vilniaus m. sav.Great place for an easy supper, including the highly addictive kepta duona (fried rye bread). Fun to be surrounded by the young locals playing board games (lots to choose from on the shelves). https://maps.app.goo.gl/1yhwnAPZ2788MW4LA