Traveldocs.io
Weekend in Vilnius

Vilnius, Lithuania's capital, has become a cool place to visit in Europe tempting tourists with its large and beautiful medieval old town, its architectural heritage and urban cool spots.

We arrived in the Cathedral Square, that stands for the city's core at the intersection of two major streets of the capital. It's where Vilnius Cathedral, the main Roman Catholic Cathedral of Lithuania, stands as well.

Built in the 15th century for the rulers of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the future Kings of Poland, the imposing palace was recently reconstructed and now houses a museum displaying art and history exhibits.

Not far from the Palace, situated on a hilltop, Gediminas Tower is what left of the 15th century Upper Castle of Vilnius. There's a nice windink path that goes to the tower. From the tower, there are nice views both over the old town and new city over the river. Inside there's a small history museum.

We took a really nice walk on Neris Riverfront up to the point where the two rivers in the cities meet, Vilnia River and Neris River. Neris is the more important and central one from the two.

We made our way to Hill of Three Crosses, the highest point of the city with nice views over Vilnius. It's a peaceful green area with tree crosses standing at the top of the hill.

We ended our first day exploration with a visit in Republic of Užupis neighbourhood, actually the neighbourhood that self declared its independency from Vilnius in 1997. It's a colourful bohemian area situated over the Vilnia River. The funniest thing I saw here is the "constitution" written on city signs. I remember one of the funny articles there that said: “Everyone has the right to celebrate or not celebrate their birthday”.

We started our second day in the city with a visit to Presidential Palace in the Old Town. The 14th century palace is the official residence of Lithuania’s President.

In Southern part of the town, the blue Dawn Gate is what is left of the city walls today. It hosts a Catholic shrine and it's am important religious site.

Not far from the Gate, there's Hales Market, the oldest market of Vilnius where local people sell goods and local products. Within the market, there are also places where you can order food dishes. From the market towards the train station, there there are cool graffiti and street art.

We got back to the city center and visited the Museum of Occupations and Freedom Fights. The museum, housed in the former KGB headquarters, details the Soviet Union ocupation era.