Country
4 cities and towns
Latvia sits in the heart of the Baltics with prices that remain well below Western European averages, an Art Nouveau capital in Riga, and forests and beaches that feel untouched. Wandering Riga’s old town and the long Baltic-coast beaches costs nothing, and budget travelers benefit from cheap local dining and inexpensive public transport. It connects easily by bus to neighboring Estonia and Lithuania, making a three-country Baltic loop a natural budget itinerary.
Where to go
Each one with what it costs to spend a day there.
Cesis is Latvia's best-preserved medieval town, built around the 13th-century castle of the Livonian Order at the edge of Gauja National Park. It functions as the obvious overnight for anyone treating the Gauja Valley as a hiking or cycling trip. The old town is small enough to cover in a morning and good enough to keep people longer.
Jurmala is a 32-kilometer string of seaside neighborhoods on the Gulf of Riga, all wooden dacha architecture and pine forest between the beach and the Lielupe River. It was the Soviet Union's prestige spa resort, and the wealth that built its villas is back in renovated form. The beach itself is wide, shallow, and nearly empty outside peak summer.
Riga is Latvia's capital, offering a UNESCO old town, Europe's largest market in old Zeppelin hangars, and famously cheap nightlife for budget travelers.
Sigulda is the "Switzerland of Latvia," offering castle ruins, forested river valleys, and hiking trails in Gauja National Park on a cheap day trip from Riga.
Coverage of Latvia is still thin. The full list is here.
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