Private Grand Tour of Riga

Ķīpsala is an island on the left bank of the Daugava river, connected to Riga city center and Pārdaugava by the Shroud Bridge. Ķīpsala is divided from the rest of Riga by the Daugava in the east, Roņu dīķis in the north, Zunda in the west and Agenskalna līcis in the south.

The Old Town is the oldest section of Riga as well as the center of the city. It is the city’s most popular area with tourists. In 1997, Riga's historic center was included in the UNESCO World Heritage List. The Old Town has highly diverse architecture, and the majority of buildings have the status of a cultural monument. The city's architecture represents various periods - Romanticism, Gothic, Baroque, Classicism, and Modernism. After the restoration of the independence of Latvia, many buildings in the Old Town were reconstructed or rebuilt to restore the historic look of the area. The most impressive buildings in the Old Town are the Riga Cathedral and St. Peter's Church, offering a wonderful panoramic view on the city of Riga from a 72 meter observational tower.

The Gothic spires that dominate Riga's cityscape might suggest austerity, but it is the flamboyant art nouveau that forms the flesh and the spirit of this vibrant cosmopolitan city, the largest of all three Baltic capitals. Like all northerners, it is quiet and reserved on the outside, but there is some powerful chemistry going on inside its hip bars, modern art centres and the kitchens of its cool experimental restaurants.

The largest place of worship in the Baltics, measuring 187 x 43m, with walls two metres thick, Riga Cathedral also has one of the biggest organs in Europe (6,718 pipes!). It was such a marvel in its day that Franz Liszt composed a piece of music in its honour. The drop from Cathedral Square (Doma laukums) to the church's base shows how the level of the city has risen in the eight centuries since its foundations were laid on the site of a Livonian fishing village in 1211.