Explore Lithuania

Vilnius

Lithuania's capital is one of Europe's most beautiful and least crowded UNESCO old towns — a Baroque city of soaring bell towers, cobbled lanes, and hidden courtyards that spreads across 360 hectares of remarkably intact 15th-to-18th-century fabric. The self-declared 'Republic of Užupis' bohemian neighbourhood, the Gate of Dawn pilgrimage chapel, and an outstanding café and restaurant scene make Vilnius effortlessly compelling for days.

Kaunas

Lithuania's second city earned a UNESCO World Heritage inscription in 2023 for its exceptional collection of interwar modernist architecture — the buildings constructed during the 1919–1940 period when Kaunas served as the provisional capital are among the finest expressions of optimistic Art Deco and functionalism in Northern Europe. The hilltop Vytautas the Great War Museum, Laisvės Alėja pedestrian boulevard, and a thriving street art scene give it a personality distinct from Vilnius.

Palanga

Lithuania's premier Baltic Sea resort town runs a broad sandy beach along a pine-backed shoreline that draws hundreds of thousands of visitors each summer — the pedestrian Basanavičiaus Street becomes a buzzing promenade of restaurants and bars, while the Palanga Amber Museum in the Tiškevičiai Palace park houses one of the finest amber collections in the world. In winter it's blissfully quiet, and the sunsets over the Baltic from the wooden pier are memorable in any season.

Klaipėda

Lithuania's only major port city sits at the mouth of the Curonian Lagoon and serves as the gateway to the UNESCO-listed Curonian Spit — ferries depart every 20 minutes to the narrow sand peninsula across the water. The old town's half-timbered German-influenced architecture reflects the city's complex history as the Prussian city of Memel, and its compact old quarter is pleasant to wander after arriving from the ferry port.

Nida

The most visited settlement on the Lithuanian side of the Curonian Spit, Nida is a beautifully preserved fishing village of traditional wooden cottages with brightly painted gables, surrounded by the highest sand dunes in Europe — the Parnidis Dune reaches 52 metres above sea level and offers a panorama over the lagoon and pine forests that feels otherworldly. Thomas Mann spent three summers here in his modest wooden cottage, now preserved as a museum.

Trakai

Thirty kilometres from Vilnius, Trakai is home to Lithuania's most recognisable landmark — a red-brick Gothic island castle that rises from the waters of Lake Galvė on its own island, connected to the lakeshore by a wooden bridge. The surrounding lakes and forest make it an outstanding cycling and kayaking destination, and the local Karaite community — descended from Crimean Tatars brought by Grand Duke Vytautas in the 14th century — still prepares their traditional pastry, kibinai, in the village's small restaurants.

Druskininkai

Lithuania's premier spa town, set in a forest of pine trees on the Nemunas River near the Belarusian border, has attracted visitors for its mineral springs and therapeutic mud since the 19th century — the Aqua Park and modern spa complex now draw visitors from across the Baltics for weekend retreats. The eccentric Grūtas Park (known locally as 'Stalin World') nearby houses a remarkable collection of Soviet-era monuments removed from Lithuanian cities after independence.

Šiauliai

Northern Lithuania's main city is the starting point for one of Lithuania's most extraordinary and moving sights — the Hill of Crosses (Kryžių Kalnas), 12 km north, where an estimated 100,000 crosses of every size have been planted on a small hillside in an act of religious defiance that survived three Soviet-era demolitions. The sheer density and devotion of the site makes it unlike anything else in the country.

Kernavė

A UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2004, Kernavė is the most important archaeological site in Lithuania — a cluster of five medieval earthwork hillforts above the Neris River valley that served as the first capital of a unified Lithuania in the 13th century. The surrounding landscape of rolling hills and archaeological park feels untouched, and the annual midsummer medieval festival draws thousands of visitors each June.

Birštonas

Set in a loop of the Nemunas River, this small spa town is known for its mineral springs, forested walking trails, and the peace that comes from being one of Lithuania's oldest health resorts. It's a favourite weekend destination for Vilnius and Kaunas residents, and the Nemunas Delta nearby is exceptional birding territory during migration seasons.

Anykščiai

In the heart of the Lithuanian highlands, Anykščiai is known for its remarkable narrow-gauge railway — an 'old train' excursion through forests and villages that remains one of the country's most enjoyable slow-travel experiences. The Anykščiai regional park, the Horse Museum, and the literary heritage of poet Antanas Baranauskas make this small town disproportionately rewarding.

Molėtai

Surrounded by more lakes than almost any other town in Lithuania, Molėtai is the gateway to the Aukštaitija National Park — the country's oldest and most beloved national park, a landscape of forest, wetland, and over 100 interconnected lakes ideal for canoeing. The Molėtai Astronomical Observatory on the hill above the town runs public viewing nights and is among the clearest-skied sites in the Baltic states.

Neringa

The municipality encompassing the Lithuanian portion of the Curonian Spit stretches for 52 km of pine forest, shifting sand dunes, and tranquil lagoon-side fishing villages — this is the Curonian Spit at its most expansive and peaceful, accessible only by ferry from Klaipėda. Cycling the dedicated path the full length of the peninsula and back is one of Lithuania's most celebrated outdoor experiences.

Panevėžys

Lithuania's fourth-largest city sits in the flat agricultural heartland of the country and is known for its cycle-friendly streets — several hundred kilometres of bike paths make it one of the most cycle-committed cities in the country. The Panevėžys Drama Theatre has been one of Lithuania's most celebrated since the Soviet era, and the region's craft beer scene is among the most developed outside Vilnius.

Telšiai

The capital of the Samogitian Highland region sits above Lake Mastis and serves as the cultural heart of Žemaitija — the historically distinct western region with its own dialect, folklore, and fiercely independent character. Nearby Žemaitija National Park encompasses the Plateliai Lake district, some of the most striking landscape in western Lithuania.

The largest surviving medieval old town in Northern Europe, Vilnius Historic Centre was inscribed in 1994 for its exceptional blend of Gothic, Renaissance, Baroque, and Neoclassical architecture spanning 360 hectares of largely intact historic fabric. The city's development as a major capital of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania from the 13th century and its remarkable preservation through successive empires make it one of the most significant historic urban landscapes in Eastern Europe.

Shared between Lithuania and Russia (Kaliningrad), this 98-km narrow sand peninsula inscribed in 2000 separates the Curonian Lagoon from the Baltic Sea and is characterised by the highest shifting sand dunes in Europe — some reaching 60 metres. The peninsula's cultural landscape of fishing villages, pine forests, and dunes has been shaped by millennia of human settlement that continuously battled the encroaching sand, making it an outstanding example of human vulnerability to and coexistence with nature.

Inscribed in 2004, this site in the Neris River valley preserves five medieval hillforts, an ancient town, burial sites, and other archaeological remains representing the full sequence of human settlement from the Palaeolithic to the Middle Ages. Kernavė served as the earliest capital of the unified Lithuanian state in the 13th century before its destruction, and its exceptional preservation in an agricultural landscape gives it unrivalled importance for understanding the rise of Lithuanian civilisation.

A chain of survey triangulation points stretching from Hammerfest in Norway to the Black Sea, the Struve Arc was used by the astronomer Friedrich Georg Wilhelm von Struve between 1816 and 1855 to establish the exact size and shape of the Earth. Lithuania is one of ten countries sharing this transnational UNESCO inscription (2005), contributing four of the arc's original 265 main station points — modest stone markers whose scientific significance far exceeds their appearance.

Inscribed in 2023, this site recognises the exceptional body of modernist architecture built in Kaunas during the interwar period when the city served as Lithuania's provisional capital following the Polish occupation of Vilnius. Over 9,000 buildings in the Art Deco, functionalist, and national-romantic styles were constructed in just two decades, creating one of the most coherent and best-preserved examples of interwar urban modernism in Europe.