Flight time
3h 00m
Best season
May–September & December
Budget
Budget
Best for
Baroque old town, Užupis, value, quirkiness
Overview
Why Vilnius for a city break?
Vilnius has the largest baroque old town in Northern Europe — a UNESCO World Heritage Site of 1,500 buildings from the 14th to 18th centuries, spanning Gothic, Renaissance, Baroque and Neoclassical styles in a labyrinth of lanes that rewards aimless wandering more than any other Baltic city. It also contains Užupis: a self-declared independent republic within the city, founded by artists in 1997, with its own constitution (which includes the right to be idle and the right to be a cat), its own president, its own currency and its own flag. Genuinely, magnificently bizarre.
From London it's three hours — direct flights from Heathrow and Gatwick, with good connections from regional airports. Vilnius Airport is 7km from the centre (train €0.72, 7 minutes — one of the best airport connections in Europe). The city is extraordinary value: a complete dinner with drinks costs under £15, a craft beer is under £2, and hotels are a fraction of Tallinn or Riga prices. Go in May to September; December brings the finest Christmas market in the Baltic states. The Jewish heritage of Vilnius — once called "the Jerusalem of Lithuania" — is among the most important and most devastatingly complete in Europe.
Where to stay & explore
Vilnius's best neighbourhoods
Old Town (Senamiestis)
The UNESCO baroque old town — the Cathedral Square, the Hill of Three Crosses, St Anne's Church, Gediminas Castle and the thousands of baroque and Renaissance buildings of the historic centre.
Užupis
The artists' republic — across the Vilnelė river from the old town, with its own constitution on plaques in 25 languages, the bronze mermaid in the river, and the most creative neighbourhood in the Baltic.
Užupis & Antakalnis
The eastern neighbourhoods beyond the old town — wooden houses, Orthodox churches, the Bernardine Cemetery and the most local and authentic streets in Vilnius.
Things to do
What to see in Vilnius
1
Vilnius Old Town & St Anne's Church
The largest baroque old town in Northern Europe — 1,500 buildings across 360 hectares, with over 40 churches (more churches per square kilometre than Rome, by some counts). St Anne's Church, the Gothic masterpiece of 22 different types of brick, was said by Napoleon to be so beautiful he wished he could carry it back to Paris in the palm of his hand. The Bernardine Church alongside it, the Church of St Peter and St Paul (the most extraordinary baroque interior in Lithuania, with 2,000 plaster figures covering every surface), and the Cathedral Basilica on the main square are the highlights.
2
Užupis Republic
The self-declared artists' republic across the Vilnelė river — cross the bridge (passport control operates on 1 April, the Republic's "independence day") and find the constitution on plaques in 25 languages on the wall of the main square. The bronze mermaid in the river. The angel on top of the column (the Republic's symbol). The studios and galleries of working artists. Wander freely; the neighbourhood is open and welcoming. The Užupis constitution includes articles such as "Everyone has the right to be happy" and "A dog has the right to be a dog".
3
Museum of Occupations & Fights for Freedom (KGB Museum)
The most important museum in Lithuania — in the former KGB headquarters and prison, with the original interrogation rooms, solitary confinement cells and execution chamber preserved exactly as they were. The exhibition covers the Soviet and Nazi occupations of Lithuania with extraordinary directness; the cells where prisoners were kept and killed are profoundly affecting. Free entry to the exterior; the interior tour requires a ticket. Book online.
4
Gediminas Castle & Vilnius Panorama
The ruined upper castle on its hill above the old town gives the finest panorama of Vilnius — the baroque church towers, the old town rooftops, the Neris river curving through the valley and, on clear days, the forests stretching in every direction. The funicular (€2 return) runs to the summit; the walk takes 15 minutes. The Gediminas Tower Museum covers the founding of Vilnius in the 14th century.
Food & drink
Where to eat in Vilnius
Sweet Root
Modern Lithuanian / tasting menu
The finest restaurant in Vilnius — a tasting menu of modern Lithuanian cooking using foraged and locally grown ingredients: fermented beets, smoked pike perch, cep mushrooms, rye bread ice cream. Extraordinary value by Western European standards (tasting menu under £50). Book ahead.
Etno Dvaras
Traditional Lithuanian / old town
The finest traditional Lithuanian restaurant — the cepelinai (potato dumplings the size and shape of airships, filled with meat or cheese and topped with bacon and sour cream) are the defining Lithuanian dish. Also excellent: šaltibarščiai (cold beet soup with kefir), kugelis (potato pudding) and local craft beer. Book ahead at weekends.
Pikų Fabrikas
Food market & courtyard / Užupis
The most vibrant casual eating spot in Vilnius — a courtyard of food vendors in the Užupis neighbourhood, with Lithuanian craft beer, smoked fish, seasonal soups and grilled meats. The most social lunchtime experience in the city; always full of locals and entirely unpretentious.
Itinerary
3 days in Vilnius — a suggested itinerary
Day 1
Cathedral Square, St Anne's, Gediminas Castle at dusk
Train from Vilnius Airport to the city centre (7 minutes, €0.72 — possibly the world's best value airport connection). Walk to Cathedral Square — the Cathedral Basilica (free, the finest neoclassical building in Lithuania), the Gediminas bell tower, the steeple of St Anne's Church visible from the square. St Anne's and the Bernardine Church behind it are both extraordinary; St Anne's Gothic brick facade is the finest in the Baltic. Funicular to Gediminas Castle for the panorama. Back down through the old town lanes — the Gate of Dawn (a baroque city gate with a miraculous icon of the Virgin Mary, an important Catholic pilgrimage site), the lanes of the medieval Jewish quarter (Šnipiškės). Etno Dvaras for dinner — cepelinai, šaltibarščiai, craft beer.
Day 2
KGB Museum, Užupis Republic, a long Lithuanian lunch
KGB Museum (Genocide Museum) at 10am — the preserved interrogation rooms and execution chamber. Allow two hours; it's a demanding experience and an essential one. Walk through the old town to the Vilnelė river and cross into Užupis: the constitution plaques, the mermaid, the studios, the Užupis angel. The Church of St Peter and St Paul is five minutes from Užupis — the 2,000 white plaster figures covering every surface of the baroque interior are extraordinary. Pikų Fabrikas in Užupis for lunch. The National Museum of Lithuania in the afternoon (covering Lithuanian history from prehistoric times) or the Amber Museum-Gallery for the Baltic amber culture. Sweet Root for dinner (booked weeks ahead).
Day 3
Trakai Castle day trip, one last cepelinai
Trakai — 28km west of Vilnius, reached by bus in 35 minutes (€1.50) — has the most picturesque castle in Lithuania: a Gothic island fortress of red brick rising from the middle of Lake Galvė, reached by wooden bridge. The castle museum covers the medieval Grand Duchy of Lithuania; the lake views are extraordinary. The surrounding town is the home of the Karaim people (a tiny community of Turkic Jewish origin brought to Lithuania in the 14th century) whose kibinai pastries (meat-filled pastries sold from every café in Trakai) are the essential food stop. Back to Vilnius for a final afternoon: the old town's antique shops and amber galleries. One last cepelinai at Etno Dvaras or any of the old town's Lithuanian restaurants before the train back to the airport.
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