Baltic Capitals Explorer

The journey

Overview

Unforgettable moments

Highlights

Your itinerary

Day by day

1. Day1
   Tour starts in Vilnius+

   You should be aware that sightseeing can involve a good amount of walking on uneven surfaces.

   Tonight is yours. The hotel sits opposite Bernardine Garden, and the old town starts on the doorstep, so even a short walk before dinner turns up cobbled streets, candlelit restaurants and church spires lit against the sky.

   StayHotel Vilnia or AC Hotel by Marriott (Apr-Jul 2027) (or similar 4-star)
2. Day2
   Enjoy a morning tour of Vilnius with the afternoon at leisure+

   Our tour opens in the historic centre of Vilnius, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of the largest surviving medieval old towns in Northern Europe. We begin at the Palace of the Grand Dukes of Lithuania, now a national museum, set beside Cathedral Square with the city’s cathedral and bell tower alongside. From here we walk through the courtyards of Vilnius University, founded in 1579 and the oldest in the Baltic states. Each courtyard opens onto the next, the architecture shifting from Gothic to Renaissance to baroque as the centuries stack up.

   Following the medieval street layout, we continue through narrow lanes lined with painted facades and heavy wooden doors propped open onto quiet inner courtyards. The route leads us to the Gate of Dawn, the only surviving gate of the city’s original defensive walls, with a chapel above it that still draws a steady stream of pilgrims.

   The afternoon is free. The old town is best taken slowly, with small craft shops, excellent cafés and side streets that look much as they did centuries ago.

   StayHotel Vilnia or AC Hotel by Marriott (Apr-Jul 2027)(or similar 4-star)MealsBreakfast
3. Day3
   Explore Kaunas and visit Trakai medieval castle+

   We travel west this morning to Kaunas, Lithuania’s second city and its interwar provisional capital, with around three and a half hours of driving across the day. On arrival, a walk along the riverside brings us to Kaunas Castle, then on to the Town Hall, known locally as the White Swan for its pale, slender proportions. The Church of Vytautas, built around 1400, is one of the oldest Gothic buildings in the city. A few streets on, Perkūnas House stops you mid-step. A 15th-century Late Gothic facade of ornate red brick, built by Hanseatic merchants and quite unlike anything else in town.

   Our walk continues along Laisvės Alėja, a tree-lined pedestrian avenue where interwar modernist buildings sit in clean lines above the café terraces. This is the architecture that earned Kaunas its 2023 UNESCO inscription, formally titled ‘Architecture of Optimism, 1919 –1939’, and it gives the city a character entirely its own.

   In the afternoon, we make our way back toward Vilnius with a stop at Trakai. The Island Castle sits on the calm waters of Lake Galvė, reached by a wooden footbridge, with forest-backed shoreline on every side. Built for the Grand Dukes of Lithuania, it looks exactly as a medieval castle should, and the walk across the bridge with the red-brick towers reflected in the lake ahead of you is a worthy photo stop.

   StayHotel Vilnia or AC Hotel by Marriott (Apr-Jul 2027) (or similar 4-star)MealsBreakfast
4. Day4
   Travel to Rundāle Palace before continuing to Riga+

   We cross into Latvia this morning, heading through flat, quiet countryside toward Rundāle Palace, with around four and a half hours of driving across the day. Arriving around lunchtime, we eat at a local restaurant before making our way to the palace.

   Rundāle was designed by Bartolomeo Rastrelli, the same architect behind the Winter Palace in St Petersburg, and built in the 1730s as the summer residence of the Duke of Courland. It’s smaller than its St Petersburg cousin but no less theatrical. Gilded halls, painted ceilings, mirrored surfaces and rooms arranged to impress visiting diplomats give a vivid picture of 18th-century aristocratic life on the Baltic fringe. Outside, French-style gardens stretch across 24 acres of formal hedges, flower beds and fountains.

   Later in the afternoon, we continue north to Riga.

   StayWellton Riverside Hotel (or similar 4-star)MealsBreakfast, Lunch
5. Day5
   Enjoy a morning tour of Riga with the afternoon at leisure+

   Riga opens up this morning with a panoramic drive that takes in the canal-side parks, the Powder Tower, the Freedom Monument and the National Opera House before we reach the Daugava River. From here we continue on foot into the Old Town, a former Hanseatic trading post where narrow lanes lead past St Peter’s Church, the old Guild Houses and the Swedish Gate. It’s a city that wears its trading history openly, and the further you walk, the more layers appear.

   We pause at the Riga Black Magic Bar, styled on an 18th-century apothecary and about as atmospheric as a drinks stop gets. Here we taste Riga Black Balsam, a dark, astringent bitter made to a recipe from 1752 using 24 natural ingredients. It comes with a truffle, cake and a coffee or warm blackcurrant drink.

   Our walk leads to the Dome Cathedral, founded in 1211 and the largest medieval church in the Baltic states. Between May and September we attend a short organ concert inside. For April and October visits, this is replaced by time at the Art Nouveau Museum, set inside a restored early 20th-century apartment.

   We finish at the Museum of the Occupation of Latvia, where thoughtfully presented exhibits cover the country’s difficult 20th-century history. The afternoon is free.

   StayWellton Riverside Hotel (or similar 4-star)MealsBreakfast
6. Day6
   Transfer to Tallinn with a stop at Turaida Castle and a countryside lunch+

   We leave Riga this morning and head north toward Tallinn, with around five and a half hours of driving across the day. Our first stop is Sigulda, a small town roughly 50km from Riga in the Gauja River Valley, surrounded by forested slopes and rolling hills. We pause briefly to take in the valley views before continuing to Turaida.

   Turaida Castle was built in 1214 on the orders of Albert, Archbishop of Riga, on a ridge above the Gauja River. Its red-brick walls and towers have been carefully restored, and the view from the top of the main tower across the forested valley below is worth the climb. A medieval crusader stronghold on a wooded hilltop rounds off the Latvian leg of the tour nicely.

   We sit down to a countryside lunch. On most departures this is at Zipari Restaurant, where dishes like smoked fish, fried rye bread, beetroot soup and locally foraged mushrooms give a taste of rural Latvian cooking. From here we continue through gentle Baltic farmland, crossing into Estonia as we approach Tallinn.

   StayNordic Hotel Forum (or similar 4-star)MealsBreakfast, Lunch
7. Day7
   Morning tour of Tallinn's old town with the afternoon at leisure+

   This morning we head to Kadriorg, a parkland district commissioned by Peter the Great in the early 18th century as an imperial summer retreat. Tree-lined avenues, formal gardens and quiet pathways lead to the baroque Kadriorg Palace, with its richly decorated interiors. The grounds alone are worth the visit. (This visit will only be included for 2026.)

   Back in the centre, we begin a walking tour of Tallinn's old town, a UNESCO World Heritage Site with some of the most complete medieval fortifications in northern Europe. Our route leads up to Toompea, the upper town, where we visit St Mary's Cathedral and the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral, an ornate Orthodox landmark built in the 1890s, its onion domes impossible to miss against the skyline. From here, narrow lanes wind downhill toward the lower town. (For 2027 the morning will start with the walking tour of Tallinn's old town.)

   Along the way we pass through St Catherine's Passage, where artisans hammer silver, blow glass and bind leather in studios set beneath medieval arches. Our morning ends at the Niguliste Museum, a 13th-century church displaying a surviving fragment of Bernt Notke's late 15th-century Danse Macabre, one of the most valuable medieval artworks in Estonia.

   The afternoon is free. Find a café, browse the artisan studios, or walk the old town walls.

   StayNordic Hotel Forum (or similar 4-star)MealsBreakfast
8. Day8
   Ferry to Helsinki and afternoon walking tour+

   We transfer to Tallinn harbour this morning and board the ferry across the Gulf of Finland to Helsinki, a crossing of around two hours. Passengers carry their own luggage on and off the ferry. The Baltic opens up on either side, and the Finnish coastline slowly comes into view.

   On arrival, a guided walking tour takes in central Helsinki and the South Harbour area. We begin at the Main Market Square, a lively waterfront gathering place, and stop at Toripojat, the well-known tent café that has traded here since 1956, for a traditional Finnish doughnut with coffee, tea or a soft drink. Still warm, dusted in sugar and eaten standing up by the harbour, it’s a good way to arrive.

   From here we explore Senate Square, framed by 19th-century neoclassical buildings that give Helsinki much of its formal character. Our route continues along the Esplanade, past City Hall, the Presidential Palace and the Central Railway Station. We then visit Oodi, the city’s central library, which has become a defining example of modern Finnish design: open, light-filled and full of people reading and contemplating. After a week of medieval towers and baroque palaces, it’s a reminder of how differently northern Europe does things now.

   StayHotel Lilla Roberts (or similar 4-star)MealsBreakfast
9. Day9
   Tour ends in Helsinki+

   Our tour ends this morning after breakfast.

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   MealsBreakfast

Accommodation

Where you stay

Hotels are as planned; occasionally similar alternatives are used.

Peace of mind

What's included

• ✦8 nights’ accommodation
• ✦Meals Included: breakfast daily, 2 lunches
• ✦Itinerary as described
• ✦Services of guides and local representative
• ✦Flights from the UK can be added — ask your adviser