The Baltics

Itinerary

• Days 1-2: Tallinn (Estonia)

  Begin in Estonia’s capital, Tallinn, with its collage of narrow cobblestone streets and red-roofed buildings. Explore the Dome Cathedral on Toompea Hill and visit the famous Song Festival Grounds, where the independent spirit of Estonians has been celebrated since 1988, when 300,000 people sang their way to the beginnings of independence from the Soviet Union.

  HIGHLIGHTS

  • Tallinn, Estonia’s capital, whose winding cobbled streets, red roofs, and turreted fortress wall are on the UNESCO World Heritage List
  • Song Festival Grounds, center of Estonia’s “Singing Revolution”
• Days 3-5: Sigulda (Latvia), Riga

  Skirting Riga Bay, pause at Sigulda – the entrance to Gauja National Park – before coming to Latvia’s capital, Riga, with its art nouveau architecture. Known for its appealing Old Town and the odd sculptures adorning its old buildings, Riga is a delight to explore on foot.

  HIGHLIGHTS

  • Turaida Castle, originally founded in 1214 by the archbishops of Riga
  • UNESCO-listed Old Town of Riga, capital of Latvia
  • Riga’s section of ornamental art nouveau buildings, one of the finest collections in Europe
• Days 6-8: Klaipeda (Lithuania), Palanga, Curonian Spit, Nida

  Travel across the countryside to the Lithuanian seaport of Klaipeda, pausing at the baroque Rundale Palace and at the Hill of Crosses, a place of national pilgrimage. Explore Klaipeda’s narrow streets and merchant houses, visit Palanga’s Amber Museum, and enjoy a day-trip to the UNESCO-listed Curonian Spit and Nida.

  HIGHLIGHTS

  • Hill of Crosses, covered by a multitude of crosses, some of them treasured examples of folk art
  • Klaipeda, whose restored Old Town contains examples of the German-influenced fachwerk, or timbered warehouses
  • Palanga, Lithuania’s liveliest beach resort town, with 11 miles of beautiful sandy beaches
  • UNESCO-listed Curonian Spit, a strange and beautiful landscape of corrugated dunes, little villages, and forests
  • The Hill of Witches, groves of carved wooden figures straight out of old Lithuanian folk tales and mythology
  • Fishing village of Nida, refuge for artists and writers with brightly painted wooden houses
• Days 9-10: Kedainiai (Lithuania), Kaunas

  Set off for the town of Kaunas with a visit to the Jewish community of Kedainiai en route. Kaunas is Lithuania’s second largest city and an important business center. It has a reputation for political protest and is home to seven universities.

  HIGHLIGHTS

  • Kedaimiai Cultural Center, located in two former synagogues
  • Kaunas, the second-largest Lithuanian city, with its white Gothic Town Hall called the White Swan
  • Kaunas’s Gothic-style Vytautas Church, built for Franciscan monks and foreign merchants
  • Perkunas House, a late 15th century trading house built by Hanseatic merchants and later sold to the Jesuits
• Day 11-13: Vilnius, Trakai

  Lithuania’s beautiful capital, Vilnius, is the final stop. Last to give up its pagan traditions and first to declare independence from the Soviet Union, Lithuania is known for its amber and celebrated for its bravery. An exploration of Vilnius ranges from the medieval, at the restored Brick Gothic castle of Trakai, to the more recent, the KGB Museum commemorating the travails of thousands of Lithuanians. Stroll the cobbled streets of the Old Town, shopping for linen and glowing amber jewelry.

  HIGHLIGHTS

  • UNESCO-listed Vilnius, capital of Lithuania, the largest baroque city north of the Alps
  • 14th century Trakai Castle, the Brick Gothic residence of the Lithuanian Grand Dukes
  • KGB Museum, in the basement of the former District Court Building, where interrogations took place