Latvia Complete Guide 2026: Riga Art Nouveau, Sigulda, Gauja, Cēsis, Jūrmala, Kuldīga UNESCO
Browse more guides: Latvia travel | Europe destinations Latvia Complete Guide 2026: Riga Art Nouveau, Sigulda, Gauja, Cēsis, Jūrmala, Kuldīga UNESCO TL;DR Latvia surprised me. I came expecting a quiet stop between Tallinn and Vilnius and I left with the conviction that this is the most underrated country on the Baltic shoreline. Riga alone justifies the trip. Its Old Town carries 800 years of Hanseatic memory inside cobbled lanes that survived two world wars, a Soviet half-century, and a thunderous post-1991 rebuild. Step a few blocks north and the city shows its second face. The Art Nouveau Quarter holds the highest concentration of Jugendstil buildings on Earth. About one third of central Riga is decorated in this style, and Alberta Iela alone could anchor an architecture pilgrimage. I walked it three times in two days and noticed something new on each pass. Beyond the capital, the country opens into a softer landscape than most travelers picture. Sigulda and the Gauja National...