Vilnius

Vilnius is a great destination for a weekend trip. The city is beautiful, hilly, with a large river, promenade and the old town, one of the largest in Europe. In addition, the city is inexpensive by the standards of Europe.

Vilnius is also a good base for visiting other interesting places in Lithuania, such as Trakai or Kaunas.

It is good idea to start a visit from an viewpoint. On the following map we marked few of them.
1 - a wooden staircase to the Three crosses
2 - the road to the Three crosses
3 - the path to the Tower of Gediminas
4 - the path to the Tower of Gediminas
5 - funicular to the Tower of Gediminas
6 - abandoned path to Užupis district


Three crosses viewpoint is located in the woods and at the same time almost in the city center. We climbed there by the old wooden stairs.




View of the old town


The second viewpoint - tower of Gediminas can be clearly seen from Three crosses.


Gediminas Tower is the symbol of the city and the most famous place in Vilnius. You can climb to the top on foot and by cable car.










Tower offers a great view of the river Vilija and business district Shnipishkes.


We lived there, at the Radisson Hotel (booking.com). It also offers a good view of the old town from the top floors.




Two steps away is a huge green area on the banks of the river Vilna, the venue of various events.


In the distance you can see the TV tower. It can be visited, find info here.

Business district of Vilnius in the morning


There are paved paths along the river, ideal for jogging or cycling.




Some sponsor has placed plastic seats everywhere along the banks.


The city's main street - Gediminas Avenue is the place where mayor of Vilnius pressed improperly parked cars with a tank :) (video). Not these ones, it's just a car show.


Btw, we saw in Vilnius a dedicated lane for electric vehicles.


Avenue starts from the Cathedral Square which is the heart of the city. The area is beautiful, especially at sunset.


Be sure to visit Vilnius University. It's territory forms the main architectural ensemble of the old town.










Do not miss the lobby of the Faculty of Philology with crazy murals "Seasons" by Petras Repsys.






Church of St. John is located on the territory of the university. Use the lift and climb the tower.






View of the Užupis district


View of Three crosses


Užupis district is most unusual area of Vilnius. Located in the old town, and separated from it by the river Vilna (map). The main entrance is through the bridge on Uzupio street.




Comic Užupis republic is similar to Christiania in Copenhagen, but more civilized and well-groomed. It has its own currency, army, elections, president, ministers and multilingual constitution on Paupio Lane Street.


The area in general looks like the rest of the old town with some interesting places along the river.
















These two cats are famous residents of Uzupis.




They live in the yard near the river.


In the evening be sure to climb the hill with the tower of and watch the sunset. Access is free and gates are open till 23.






More photos of Vilnius:










Catholic church of St. Anne


Rub the belly for good luck :)


Interesting wall on the Literatų street




Unfortunately in the old town there are also few "masterpieces" like this one.


Many old buildings are not yet restored


One of the new sculptures in the city - Lithuanian Hound, the oldest breed of hunting dogs in the country.


Monument to the famous ukrainian poet Taras Shevchenko


Monument to Timofei Shabad, who became the prototype of Doctor Aybolit, a fictional character from the children's poems Aybolit and Barmaley by Korney Chukovsky.


Bastion (Bokšto g. 20), beautiful place, worth a visit.




The negative impression we received only in the airport of Vilnius where spent 80 minutes on the passport control, a world record for us.


Where to eat in Vilnius:
 - Čili Pica, pizza chain with Lithuanian cuisine elements
 - Berneliu uzeiga (Gedimino pr 19/1), Lithuanian cuisine
 - Forto Dvaras (Pilies g. 16), Lithuanian cuisine
 - Meat Lovers (A. Šv Ignoto g. 14.), Great burgers
 - Jurgis ir Drakonas (locations), good pizza
 - Šnekutis (locations), Lithuanian cuisine

Useful links:
 - A map of hiking trails around the city (5 Mb)
 - Scheme of urban transport (16 Mb)

Getting there: The international airport is located almost in the city. You do not needa taxi, as right at the exit from the airport there is a bus stop of the following buses: 3G (map and schedule), 1 (map and schedule), 2 (map and schedule) and 88 (map and schedule). The fare on the bus is 1 euro (2016).