19 Best Riga Walking Tours 2021 - Best Tours in Riga

Excellent coverage of a difficult subject.

I booked this tour as I wanted to find out more about the reality of living in a Soviet satellite state and it was everything I had hoped for.

Lisa is an excellent guide and had clear memories of living through the transition to independence in the early 1990s, as well as family anecdotes from the ww2 period which brought home the horrors of living through wartime occupations.

As this was a private tour we could indulge ourselves in additional discussions about other Riga issues, so covered many other interesting areas like the Orthodox Cathedral and the new State Library, finishing up at the memorial to those who were deported to Siberia during the Russian occupation in the 1940s.

Highly recommended, if this is a subject that interests you.

Reviewed by Tony • March 24, 2017

Soviet Ghosts of Riga Walking Tour

Agnes was the perfect guide!

Our guide instantly understood the interests of our group - we didn't only go to shops, but saw bits of Riga we wouldn't have discovered on our own. Agnes has very good history knowledge, but she doesn't overkill you with information. Also, she had a very good energy, sense of humor and excellent English, so we thoroughly enjoyed our 3hr walking tour and didn't notice the time pass so fast! She also suggested us a perfect lunch place (Galerija Istaba) and conveniently ended our tour nearby. All in all, 10 out 10 experience, thank you Agnes!

Reviewed by Kadri • March 25, 2019

Riga Retro & Vintage Shopping Tour

If you like Second Hand & Vintage, you just need this tour!

If you are new in Riga and want to know how to get second hand & vintage, this is for sure the guided tour you are after! You will visit places I am sure you had not found by yourself and you also get the picture of what Riga can offer in the second hand industri. The guide was super and had well knowledge both about the indisutri & about the city history. I enjoyed myself, learnt a lot about Riga and of course about how to get the good vintage and second hand. Thank you!

Reviewed by An Inactive User • November 06, 2017

Riga Retro & Vintage Shopping Tour

great time!

we were taken around by Liga. She was fantastic. We were a hen party of 11 and Liga was so thoughtful to work some anecdotes on Latvian wedding traditions and even had a small gift for the bride.

The tour should have finished at two but it ran over a little and Liga was really patient and stayed with us.

The actual content of the tour was fascinating and we learnt a lot about architecture and sime great stories from the history of Riga.

Reviewed by Julie • May 30, 2017

Culture & Food Tasting Experience in Riga

Great tour

We were a party of 4, first time in Riga, and found the tour to be very enjoyable. Agnes had a wealth of knowledge and a great sense of humour. We found the tour to be interesting and were glad we took part. It was good to hear all the history behind the Central Market and the history of the Latvian people and their relationship with food. Would recommend this tour, especially for those first time visitors.

Reviewed by Sandra • October 05, 2018

Latvian Food Tasting Tour at Riga Central Market

it was great!

A perfect way to get known the city of Riga!
We learned and heard so much about Riga, the people, the food, the buildings there.
Liga was the best tourist guide ever. She tried to tell us what we were interesstes in. Thank you so much for this great day! We would really recommend the walking tour!

Reviewed by Claudia • July 18, 2016

Culture & Food Tasting Experience in Riga

Great Experience to discover Riga

I had an amazing tour with a very nice guide.
Helped me understand Latvian culture and customs to better enjoy my stay.
Definitely something i would suggest doing on your first/ second day in Riga, as it will change the way you see the city.
Thanks Again!

Reviewed by Sara • July 20, 2018

Latvian Food Tasting Tour at Riga Central Market

Fantastic!

We were very pleased with our tour guide and his vast knoweledge of subject. Despite the fact we were unrealisticly hangoverish we could enjoy every bit of tour and we recommend it. 5/5. Cypriot- Latgalian crew.

Reviewed by Ingars • August 28, 2017

Riga Art Nouveau Tour

Great tour that you should not miss!

We were lucky to have a nice lady as tour guide who could tell the history of Latvia and Riga in a pleasant way, An mix of facts, places tot show and her own experience. For us it was a highlight of our trip!

Reviewed by Olivier • March 05, 2019

Soviet Ghosts of Riga Walking Tour

Fantastic wY to see Riga

Agnes our guide was fantastic. It was great to see the real Riga outside of old town. If we'd had more time in Riga we'd have also done the food tour of the markets.

Reviewed by Bryan • April 19, 2017

Alternative Riga Walking Tour

Really nice, off the beaten track tour

Really nice, off the beaten track tour that covers some alternative routes of the recent history of Riga.
Totally recommended :)

Reviewed by An Inactive User • September 26, 2016

Soviet Ghosts of Riga Walking Tour

James Eldrige was a really fun guide. Loved his jokes and lokal knowledge

Reviewed by Kirsten • July 22, 2018

Latvian Food Tasting Tour at Riga Central Market

M

Being a total foodie myself, I googled "food" and "Riga", when I was going to the latvian capital for a meeting. EAT Riga turned up, sounded great - and I booked a tour to the Central Market for me and my collegue.
Our guide was Marcus, an australian who by now has been living seven years in Riga, and it was great to be able to ask all sorts of questions....I mean, some questions like "can I drink the tapwater?", "are people very religious in Latvia?" or "what on eath is THAT?!!" might be offensive to a proud homie, but maybe not so to a foreigner.
So Marcus told us about everyday life, food, midsummerparties, christmas, gardening, tapwater etc. It was GREAT.
We walked through three of the big halls at the Central Market, taking photos, asking stupid questions, listening to the tale about the history of the place, tasting, looking, smelling. Obviuosly Marcus' latvian was good enough to make the stallowners smile - and sufficient to buy little bits and pieces. I was impressed.
We ended the tour by the river, where we had lunch - two kinds of meat, two kinds of cheese, two kinds of bread and pickled vegetables. And on our way home, Marcus bought us a sweet treat made of cottagecheese and chocolate.
25 euro per person for a tour like this (two and a half hour approx.) is a bargain.

Reviewed by mettegrith / TripAdvisor • November 14, 2014

Latvian Food Tasting Tour at Riga Central Market

G

The tour is highly recommended!

The tour starting point was easy to find and once we got there we were met by our tour guide - Agnes.

It was a short stroll to the impressive market halls.
Agnes showed us round them all and pointed out things that we would never have noticed on our own.
From the fresh fruit and veg, to the dairy products, meat market and the fish market.
All the local specialities were pointed out and explained to us.
We then had a small beer tasting with locally brewed beers. It was so good we had to buy some more to drink. The ginger and mint beer was very tasty.
Then it was over to the Creative Quarter to a small cafe where some local delicacies were waiting for us to try - a rye bread drink, some pastries, various types of sausage, some pickles, and a special type of butter. Just enough to give us a taste of Latvia.
Agnes was a brilliant guide. She didn't mind answering all our questions and we enjoyed listening to her describing life in Riga.
After we sadly said goodbye to Agnes we headed back into the market, armed with all our knowledge, to make some purchases.

The tour is highly recommended. A big Thank You to Agnes our brilliant tour guide - Paldies !!

Reviewed by Gordon • April 14, 2016

Latvian Food Tasting Tour at Riga Central Market

R

Myself and a friend did the walking tour of Riga, that included Vintage shopping :) It was a very cold day, and had been snowing on previous days. Although Riga is beautiful in Winter, it is freezing. We were lucky enough to have James as our guide, just moments before the birth of his son, and he made sure that we didn't get frostbite, ducking into markets, cafes and shops along the way.

This tour gave us a great overview of some of Riga's sights and history, but more importantly vintage shopping. If it wasn't for this tour we probably wouldn't have found these little treasures, as we would have stuck to the old town where we were staying. James was fluent in Latvian and so helped in the translation of costs and material used for items of interest. Our favourite store where we made our purchases was a real find and we would have easily walked past as there was no signage out front. Vintage leather boots at 6 Lats, what a steal!!!!

We also stopped along the way for warm tea at some trendy little bars.

Reviewed by rigalover / TripAdvisor • December 19, 2014

Riga Retro & Vintage Shopping Tour

M

I was three times earlier in Riga at the business trip as always. And always I was walk alone. Actually, first time with tour guide Laura. During the tour we were explore main architectural sights: Old Town, Art. Nouveau district, warehouse area and panorama of Riga. Some of these places were known for me, but with Laura's companion, Riga became just diffrent place than before. First of all - as somebody mentioned - she has a deep knowlege in history and especially in art history. Besides, wide range of knowlede in past and present political situation not only in Latvia, but also in whole Baltic Region. Additionally she was all the time active and answered for our questions through all tour and our group from different countries felt very well. I would like personally - and on behalf of our group - to reccomend Laura and Travel Jam for anybody: groups like ours, for individual tours and for family. Only one was wrong - it was too short (only 3 hours). Thank you Laura once again !!!

Reviewed by Michal S / TripAdvisor • November 14, 2014

Riga Art Nouveau Walking Tour

M

My husband and I had the pleasure of doing a personalized, combined "Alternative & Food Tour" with James. James was our initial POC via email and was great in his responses, as well as timely. He was very accomodating to our limited time in Riga. James was also more than willing to tailor our tour to our wants/needs, prior to the date of our tour as well as while we were on the tour.

We really enjoyed the casual vibe of our tour. Meaning, there was no rush throughout the day to get to the next sight. We were able to truly experience and enjoy Riga in a more "local" way. The local food & drink we tasted were really good and perhaps not something we would have ordered on our own. James was really great and even walked us to a few of his favorite restaurants and made us some reservations for the rest of our time in Riga.

I would certainly recommend this company to others, especially people that enjoy getting off "the beaten path". Thank you James!

Reviewed by mpbrodriguez2 / TripAdvisor • December 19, 2014

Latvian Food Tasting Tour at Riga Central Market

S

We decided to book the art nouveau tour as we know that really to appreciate art, you need to know something more than just that it is pretty. Artus was our guide. It was all we had wished for and more. We walked to many examples of the AN architecture, more than just the one street that is most famous for it. Besides being incredibly informative about AN, Artus also showed us examples of other types of architecture specific to Riga and we talked about the history of Riga as presented by the architecture. Artus is particularly passionate about all things Riga. As we walked along, we talked about schools, employment, geography, economics, etc. It was a wonderful way to get to know life in Riga beyond the tourist stop. We finished our visit with a visit to the central market and an urban picnic. It was just my husband and I and Artus. Well worth the time and cost. GREAT experience!

Reviewed by SACALosAngeles / TripAdvisor • December 19, 2014

Riga Art Nouveau Tour

A

Excellent tour and guide!

Liga is an excellent tour guide and took us on the "Soviet Ghosts of Riga Walking Tour". She is very knowledgeable and has personal experience from the Soviet times. The tour was very well designed, took us to places of great interest on the subject. After starting close to old town, she took us further out by public transport (all tickets were included in the cost of the tour). She offered us couple of options for ending our tour which was really nice. We had really good conversations on several topics about the Soviet occupation and also current situation in the Baltics. She also recommended places to eat and things to do. Overall, I would highly recommend this tour if you are interested in the topic and want to meet someone who works hard to give you a great experience.

Reviewed by Amar • September 16, 2018

Soviet Ghosts of Riga Walking Tour

A

I was perfectly happy with the tour. My guide Dita was a very friendly and very competent person. She guided me through the different quarters of the city with Art Nouveau buildings explaining the different styles that emerged in Riga as part of Art Nouveau. She also explained a lot about history and culture of Riga which helped me to get a notion of the city and its people. After the tour I walked through the town with a fresh look on its architecture and I felt I was able to see things that I would not have been able to see without the tour. I would highly recommend the tour to anyone who is interested in Art Nouveau in Riga. If I had to take the decision again on whether or not to book the tour, I would definitely book again.

Reviewed by Angelika Muenz • November 14, 2014

Riga Art Nouveau Walking Tour