First time in Riga? Base yourself in Old Town (Vecriga): town Hall Square, the Dome and St Peter's tower all sit a short stroll from your door. Watching the spend? Miera iela trades a little buzz for more room per euro. The center is small enough to walk, so every area below puts the main sights within reach; what really changes is the mood of the street you come home to at night.
First visit
Old Town (Vecriga)
Budget pick
Miera iela
Nightlife
–
Mid hotel
~45 EUR
Short on time? Four Riga hotels we would actually book, splurge to budget, each sitting in one of the areas broken down below.
Special occasions€€€Grand five-star · Old Town (Vecriga)
This five-star sits in a restored 19th-century building on the edge of the old town, looking out over the Freedom Monument and the canal park, and it has a spa and a large ballroom for events. The old town's lanes and the National Opera are both within a couple of minutes on foot.
from ~220 EUR/night
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Couples€€Berga Bazars boutique · Art Nouveau Quarter (Quiet Centre)
Hotel Bergs occupies part of the Berga Bazars courtyard complex in the quiet centre, a short walk from the Art Nouveau district on Alberta iela. Every room is a full suite, and the leafy passage of shops and cafes beneath the hotel gives the block a residential, rather than touristy, feel.
from ~160 EUR/night
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First visit€€Riverside skyline views · Kipsala and Agenskalns
This large modern hotel sits on the Kipsala side of the Daugava river, with an indoor pool and rooms that face straight across the water to the old town skyline. It is about 15 minutes on foot over the bridge, or a short bus ride, and rates undercut the old town hotels.
from ~95 EUR/night
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Budget€Old town hostel · Old Town (Vecriga)
The Naughty Squirrel is a backpacker hostel right in the old town, mixing dorms with a handful of private rooms and running its own bar plus a regular schedule of tours and pub crawls. Riga is already one of the more affordable capitals, and this ranks among its cheapest, most sociable beds.
from ~22 EUR/night
Check pricesReal hotel photos · prices are indicative from-rates, not live quotes · booking links support the site at no extra cost
| Neighborhood | Book if you want | Watch out | Hotels |
|---|---|---|---|
| Old Town (Vecriga) First visitRomantic | Town Hall Square, the Dome and St Peter's tower all sit a short stroll from your door | Weekend evenings turn boisterous, with stag parties working some of the streets | Check prices |
| Art Nouveau Quarter (Quiet Centre) RomanticLocal life | Wake up among the carved facades of Alberta iela with the museum a short walk away | Little in the way of headline attractions or bars right around you | Check prices |
| Miera iela Local lifeBudget | Independent cafes, artist studios and street art here beat old-town prices by a mile | Do not expect any of the classic sightseeing right on your street | Check prices |
| Central Market and Maskavas BudgetLocal life | The Zeppelin-hangar market halls serve up the cheapest food and produce in the city | Some streets are shabby and feel edgy once the sun goes down | Check prices |
| Kipsala and Agenskalns FamilyBudget | Catch the postcard skyline of spires across the water from the riverfront | You will cross a bridge or hop a tram every time you head into the centre | Check prices |
Sleeping inside the medieval walls puts Town Hall Square, the rebuilt House of the Blackheads, the Dome cathedral and St Peter's tower all within a few cobbled minutes, so this is the pick for a tight first visit. By day it looks the part, floodlit and hushed before the crowds arrive; by night the mood flips on some streets, with stag groups and loud bars taking over and the cobbles fighting back against wheeled cases. Book here for the shortest walk to everything and the most photogenic mornings, and treat the weekend noise as the price of the location.
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North of the walls, a grid of tree-lined residential streets holds Alberta iela and the densest run of Art Nouveau facades anywhere in Europe, carved stone, embassies and grand apartment blocks most visitors only pass through on a tour. Cafes are good, the National Art Museum sits a short walk off, and the old town stays just ten minutes away on foot whenever the crowds are what you want. Book here if a calmer, architecture-led stay matters more than falling straight out of your hotel into the action.
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Past the Laima chocolate factory northeast of the centre, a street of independent cafes, artist studios, vegan kitchens and record shops has earned the nickname the Berlin of the Baltics. This is where young Riga actually spends its evenings, cheaper and more creative than the old town and lived-in rather than staged for visitors. Book here for the real local scene and lower prices, and count on a tram or a fifteen-minute walk whenever the sights call.
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Southeast of the old town, the five converted Zeppelin hangars of the Central Market anchor a rougher, unpolished pocket built around the old Maskavas (Moscow) suburb, the looming Academy of Sciences tower and streets of faded timber houses. Locals shop and eat here for a fraction of the square-side prices, and nothing about it is dressed up for visitors. Book here only if cheap and authentic beats polish, and expect a few streets to feel quiet and uneasy after dark.
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Cross the Daugava to the left bank and the city turns residential fast: wooden houses, quiet streets and, from the Kipsala riverfront, the clearest skyline view of the old town's spires anywhere in the city, best at sunset. Agenskalns adds its own restored market hall and a calmer, family-friendly pace well clear of the old-town bustle. Book here for space, lower prices and that view, and budget a bridge crossing or a couple of tram stops for every trip into the centre.
Book it for
Know before
First time in Riga? Base yourself in Old Town (Vecriga): town Hall Square, the Dome and St Peter's tower all sit a short stroll from your door. Watching the spend? Miera iela trades a little buzz for more room per euro. The center is small enough to walk, so every area below puts the main sights within reach; what really changes is the mood of the street you come home to at night.
For most trips, yes. Riga has a compact, walkable center, so staying inside it puts the main sights a short walk from your door and saves you any transit. The areas below are all central or a few minutes out, so choose on atmosphere and price, not distance.
Miera iela gives you the best location for the price. Past the Laima chocolate factory northeast of the centre, a street of independent cafes, artist studios, vegan kitchens and record shops has earned the nickname the Berlin of the Baltics. This is where young Riga actually spends its evenings, cheaper and more creative than the old town and lived-in rather than staged for visitors. Book here for the real local scene and lower prices, and count on a tram or a fifteen-minute walk whenever the sights call.
Kipsala and Agenskalns is the easiest base for families: Cross the Daugava to the left bank and the city turns residential fast: wooden houses, quiet streets and, from the Kipsala riverfront, the clearest skyline view of the old town's spires anywhere in the city, best at sunset. Agenskalns adds its own restored market hall and a calmer, family-friendly pace well clear of the old-town bustle. Book here for space, lower prices and that view, and budget a bridge crossing or a couple of tram stops for every trip into the centre.