Seniors Stop In Riga

Riga (a place where centuries meet) is the capital and the largest city of Latvia. With over 700,000  inhabitants, Riga is the largest city of the Baltic States and home to more than one third of Latvia’s population. Senior travelers will find the city in the center of the country on south coast of the Gulf of Riga, at the mouth of its longest river, the Daugava.

During Riga Restaurant Week, Riga’s restaurants open their doors to all gourmands willing to treat themselves to an array of delicious tastes for an especially affordable price of 15–20 euros for a three-course meal.

Riga was founded in 1201 by Albert of Bremen as a base for the Northern Crusades. It developed as the major trade hub of the Eastern Baltic during the high days of the Hanseatic League, ruled by the Archbishop of Riga.

Seniors Find A City Reconstructed and Restored

Much of Riga was bombed during World War II and the ruins were mostly left to decay until independence, when the government, realizing the tourism potential, began to invest in reconstructing and restoring the old buildings. Because of this restoration, Riga has one of the most complete old towns in Europe, called The Pearl of Architecture.

The official language is Latvian, however about half the population speaks Russian.  A vast majority are bi-lingual as are many countries in Europe. Wikitravel  can help you better understand the city and its rich history.

Lonely Planet calls Riga the “Paris of the North” and the “City that never sleeps.”

By now you know that this author thinks greatly of any and all World Heritage Sites, wherever they are on the globe.  They are always of cultural and historical importance. The Art Nouveau Center is such a site and not to be missed.

Seniors Will Enjoy Old City Riga

TripAdvisor offers a great list of things to see and do in Riga. Old City Riga (Vecriga) is where these seniors would start our visit. It is loaded with small squares where you can drink quality local beer in the open air in summer, or huddle over a hot bar snack in winter.

Riga’s Old Town is just made for wandering around and several walking tours are available. Don’t we love those areas in any historic city like this one? By the way, senior visitors will find 115 hotels in Riga. 

US News and Travel suggests that senior travelers visit Riga in the summer, when the streets are alive and the weather is near perfect.

Because of its proximity to the Baltic Sea, Riga experiences surprisingly mild seasons compared to other Balkan cities.

Spend 36 hours in Riga via the NY Times and enjoy all the fun. Looks like one great city to me. That YouTube version above sold me on Riga. -jeb