Niki from the Nature Travels team explores Lithuania’s beautiful capital.
I was very lucky to be invited to explore Vilnius for a few days, the capital city of Lithuania, to see the highlights of the town. At the time, we had recently added Self-guided Kayaking in Aukštaitija National Park, which starts and ends with nights in Vilnius and has the optional extra of a guided tour around the town, so this was an ideal opportunity for me, as I have been lucky enough to explore our other Nordic countries but I was yet to travel to the Baltics!
It is very easy and cost effective to fly to Vilnius directly, either from Luton or London City airports. I started my journey on a grey, Bank Holiday Monday from Dorset and made my way to London City airport on the coach and then on the London underground.
My flight was a little delayed, which meant a late arrival into Vilnius ,so when transferred to the city centre, there wasn’t much to see in the dark but I could see a castle at the top of a hill that was lit up like a beacon as we approached the centre of the city and I was excited to explore the following morning.
After breakfast, we met our lovely guide who was going to show us around for the next couple of days, and we started walking into town. First stop was the Cathedral Basilica and the Bell Tower, which are right in the heart of the city and right next door to the Palace of the Grand Dukes of Lithuania, which contains the National Museum.
We then headed to the Presidential Palace, before finding Vilnius university, which is one of the oldest universities in the world.
The architecture of the city is beautiful, and it was very enjoyable walking around the city with the lovely weather. We had just missed a weekend of +20˚C, which is unusual at the beginning of May, but the wind was a little chilly this morning so once we had entered the old town, we stopped for a coffee at a cafe, Poniu Laime, with a wonderful outside display and an amazing range of cakes!
Once we had warmed up, we explored the small streets, artworks and stunning churches of the old town, before we crossed the river Vilnelė into Užupis, where the residents declared independence and their Constitution has been translated into over 25 languages and includes my personal favourites: “A dog has the right to be a dog” and “A cat is not obliged to love its owner, but must help in times of need.”
Time for lunch, and it was recommended that I try Lithuania’s famous pink soup, Šaltibarščiai – this yummy, local delicacy has a whole festival dedicated to it around the beginning of every June, as it is a sign of summer arriving because this cold beetroot and kefir soup is best eaten once the weather warms up!
The afternoon was spent kayaking down Neris river, which runs through the centre of Vilnius. We were picked up and dropped 9km up river and we slowly made our way back into the city. You wouldn’t have guessed we were just outside a capital city for the majority of our peaceful paddle. With woodland lining the river and the sun shining on us, it was a lovely way to see the city from a different perspective when on the water.
The following morning, we visited Lukiškes Prision, which only closed in 2019 after over 110 years of holding prisoners, but is now a venue for an open-air cinema and a centre for arts and hosting concerts now as Lukiškes Prision 2.0. It also has regular guided tours of the prison, which I’d highly recommend if you have time, as our warden/guide, Victoria, did an excellent job showing us around and embraced her role.
Afterwards we ventured to Trakai for the afternoon, where a guided kayak tour is available as an optional extra for our Self-guided Kayaking in Aukštaitija National Park experience. For lunch, we stopped at Kybynlar, which is home to a feast of traditional Karaim cuisine, and we enjoyed their famous Kybyn, a pastry stuffed with minced meat and vegetables – a bit like a small cornish pasty – and broth soup. This was washed down with a drink called Gira, which is the Lithuanian version of Kvass, made from fermented, leftover rye bread.
Trakai town, which is located 25km from Vilnius and used to be the capital of the Grand Duchy over 700 years ago, is home to the beautiful Trakai Island Castle, which looks like something from a fairtale.
It was a beautiful, sunny day and we enjoyed looking around the town and castle. The birds were singing loudly and evidence of local beavers can be seen with gnawed logs on the edge of the lake.
On return to the city, we spent then some time at the The Museum of Occupations and Freedom Fights. The museum is not for the faint hearted and is located in a building where the former KGB prison is still intact and you have a real sense of the terrible things that happened there over the 50 years it was active.
After a very busy couple of days, seeing the sights of Vilnius and getting in my step count, my flight the next day wasn’t until the afternoon, so I had the morning free to explore independently and Vilnius has 5 hills in the city which have lovely views of the city.
I first headed up to Gediminas Castle Tower, which was the first thing I had seen as we drove into Vilnius when we arrived late the first night and I had wanted to take a closer look. The view from the top was an incredible, panoramic view of the whole city and it was nice to spot the different buildings that we had visited and I now recognised.
The next hill I tackled was in the much quieter Kalnų Park, just a short walk from the castle through a forest. This had many walking routes you could explore, but with not much time left, I headed up to the Hill of Three Crosses, which had another stunning view, but this time I had the place to myself!
If you’re travelling to Vilnius for our Self-guided Kayaking in Aukštaitija National Park, I’d recommend you arrive as early as possible or depart late so you can find the hidden treasures of this lovely city!