Things To Do
Author: Anothertravelguide.com0 COMMENTS
- The best way to get to know a city - any city - IS TAKING A LEISURELY WALK, and the best place to start is always a market place. After all, a market place is the condensed essence of every city or town, and Riga is no exception. For a city of 700 000 or so, Riga boasts a surprising number of market places: the Central Market, Vidzeme Market, Āgenskalns Market... Start with the Vidzeme or so-called Matīss Market (Matīsa tirgus). Built in 1902, it is located on the corner of Brīvības and Matīsa Streets and is compact enough to be easily explored. The best way to enter is from Matīsa Street: go past the flower sellers and proceed to the fruit and vegetable pavilion where, sheltered from the sometimes harsh winds, women still sell fresh-salted cucumbers and homemade sauerkraut. Tales of visiting the pavilion on a difficult „morning after the night before" to have a shock dose of vitamins - a glass of pickled cabbage juice - are still being told by many a nightlife enthusiast... Walk on to take a look at the milk pavilion: although the age of consumerism has left its mark here among other places, you will still find homemade sour cream - it will be ladled into the receptacle of your choice - and curd cheese or quark (biezpiens).
The most significant and largest one is the Central Market (Centrāltirgus). It is worth visiting if only for the architecture. Construction was launched in 1924 and completed in 1930; the pavilion structures are based on zeppelin hangars left behind by the German army in Courland after World War I. The best time for a visit is summer or early autumn when the market is flourishing, overflowing with local bounty of nature. Do visit the strikingly grand fish pavilion, an experience in itself. And yet the market place that has in recent years acquired almost the status of a cult object is the Green Market (Zaļais tirdziņš) of the Bergs Bazaar (Berga bazārs). The farmers and artisans' market is open on the second and fourth Saturdays of every month; to enjoy the ambience to the full, you would be well advised to visit it first thing in the morning. The Green Market sells everything, from ecological produce grown at local farms, home-baked bread, cured and smoked meat and fish and homemade cheese to antiques, books, tableware, vintage postcards, knickknacks and artisan-made objects. The head chef of the Vincents Restaurant Mārtiņš Rītiņš is among the local celebrities you will almost inevitably see taking an active part in the whole hurly-burly of the market. The merriments of the market morning include impromptu dancing and singing.
- A FABULOYS PLACE TO ENJOY RIGA SUNSET and the reflection of the city in the waters of the Daugava River is Zaķusala island. A 15-minute walk from the city centre (crossing the Salu Bridge), and you find yourself in a completely different world: just a couple of buildings, a practically empty road and a genuine suburban jungle. This is a place that makes you realise: Riga still has room for growing. Besides, the sunset makes the city skyline glow in an incredibly beautiful light, and you can see it from a completely different angle compared to looking from, say, Ķīpsala.
- ĶĪPSALA ISLAND IS ANOTHER FANTASTIC PLACE THAT OFFERS A GLIMPSE OF A DIFFERENT RIGA; should you feel like enjoying a bit of a vibrant Riga night, do end your day about the city with a supper at the Fabrika Restaurant, complete with a fabulous panoramic view of the city as a backdrop. The restaurant being quite popular among the locals and visitors alike, you would be well advised to book a table with the best view of the River Daugava and Riga church spires in advance. This is a vantage point from which Riga is reminiscent of a lovely postcard - one that is constantly changing depending on the play of light and shade. The impression can't even be spoilt by the occasionally somewhat erratic service and the fact that, compared to the view, the fare they serve up at the Fabrika Restaurant comes out a loser. Do spare a moment to go for a little walk in Ķīpsala; the island boasts some well preserved examples of the unique Riga wood architecture, painstakingly renovated by Zaiga Gaile's studio. Besides, unlike the centre of the city, it is incredible peaceful and quiet in Ķīpsala. The best way to get back to the city centre is definitely walking: you will find yourself in the neighbourhood of the Freedom Monument in no more than twenty minutes.
- FOR THE MOST CHARMING PANORAMIC VIEW OF RIGA ROOFTOPS (also best enjoyed around sundown) try the 11th floor terrace of Alberts Hotel.
- THE MANGAĻSALA PIER IS ANOTHER PLACE FOR A RELAXED WALK. Built in the mid-1800s, it is said to have attracted the attention of Tsar Nicholas II. Commemorative stones that mark the visits by Emperor Alexander II and the Crown Prince Nicholas Alexandrovich are still there. The place tends to be somewhat crowded and yet does not lose its characteristic feel of fantastic vastness. If you are visiting the pier at sunset, strolling along the several hundred-metre long stone „catwalk" will make you feel as if you were literally walking on water. Mangaļsala is the first part of the city crossed by ships that enter the Daugava River. It is the place where the river meets the sea - perhaps this explains the unique, almost tangible sense of discovering something or someone. Or is it re-discovering? After all, most people who have visited the place tend to come back for more.
- IT IS WORTH THE WHILE TO MAKE THE 20-ODD-KILOMETRE TRIP TO JŪRMALA and go for a longer walk along the seashore from the centre of Lielupe to the estuary of Lielupe River into the sea. There is still an unspoilt wildness to the place and it is usually not too crowded. On sunny days it is perfect for watching yachts sailing in the sea or reckless swimmers attempting to cross the river.
- BOAT TRIP ALONG THE RIGA CANAL ON THE DARLING. From May until the end of October, one can obtain an unusual view of Riga's city centre and Old Town by taking a scenic boat trip on the Darling.
Built in 1907 in Berlin, the 11.8-metre boat is a legend in itself, initially belonging to a Lutheran pastor in Sweden. After successfully surviving two world wars, it found its way into the hands of the manager of the Swedish pop group ABBA. While ABBA songs are still played on the Darling, the boat now belongs to an entrepreneur from Latvia and has been cruising Riga's waters since 2006.
The trip along Riga's 3-km canal and along the Daugava River takes one under 15 bridges and begins at Bastejkalns, a park at the edge of Old Riga near the Powder Tower (Pulvertornis). Behind the Newlyweds' Bridge (Jaunlaulāto tilts) is Riga's largest waterfall (not very large, in fact, but pretty all the same), followed by the Freedom Monument, the National Opera and one's first view of the Daugava River at the recently renovated Spīķeri complex near the Central Market.
The ride continues along the river past the scenic Old Town, then proceeds to Ķīpsala Island, with its old, wooden buildings that used to house local fishermen and manual labourers who worked at the nearby gypsum factory (Ģipša fabrika). The factory has now been refurbished and turned into a restaurant and apartment complex.
The Darling then begins its return trip, past the ships that are moored at the Riga Passenger Port and the nearby yacht marina. It re-enters the Riga Canal from the north, passing through Kronvalda Park, which is one of the most beautiful parts of the ride - a serene setting with ducks swimming nearby, while anglers fish onshore, to the delight of their perpetually hungry pet cats. At dusk, one might be lucky enough to spot one of the canal's beavers.
The night trip is also quite scenic. Here one can see the Railway Bridge in its full glory, illuminated by blue and white lighting, and obtain a different perspective of the water fountain by the headquarters of the Riga Free Port building, as well as of Bastejkalns itself, where the trip begins and ends.
The splendidly resilient colours of fall can be witnessed at the end of September and beginning of October, when the trees in the parks along the route of the canal acquire various hues of yellow, orange and red.
Two other newer, electrically powered boats, the Maria and the Rebeka, take the same route but start the trip from a mooring at the Spīķeri, across the street from the Central Market at Maskavas iela 12. Follow the pedestrian tunnel under Krasta iela to get there.
Information and reservations: (+371) 6722 9008.
www.kmk.lv
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