Hotels in Rīga

Riga: Art Nouveau Capital on the Daugava

Riga, founded in 1201 by Bishop Albert of Buxhoeveden, is the largest city in the Baltic states with a population of around 600,000. The Old Town (Vecrīga) — a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1997 — packs medieval guild houses, the 13th-century Riga Cathedral, and the cobbled Livu Square into a walkable core along the Daugava River. North of Vecrīga, the Alberta iela district holds the densest concentration of Art Nouveau architecture in Europe: over 800 buildings designed largely between 1896 and 1913, many by Mikhail Eisenstein.

Where to Stay

Hotels cluster in three zones. Vecrīga suits visitors focused on medieval sights and the Central Market — five repurposed Zeppelin hangars selling produce and fish since 1930. The Quiet Centre (Klusais centrs), a 10-minute walk north, offers quieter streets lined with Art Nouveau facades. Āgenskalns, across the river, attracts longer-stay guests with wooden-villa streetscapes and lower average rates.

Practical Tips

• Getting around: Trams 1 and 6 connect the airport zone to the city centre in under 30 minutes.
• Currency: Latvia uses the euro (EUR) since 2014.
• Season: July averages 18 °C; January drops to −4 °C with limited daylight.
• Airport distance: Riga International Airport sits 13 km southwest of Vecrīga.