Vilnius, Lithuania was a surprise gem on our tour of the Baltic states. We arrived with virtually nothing planned to do and left feeling we had completely fallen in love with the city and were sad to say goodbye. I little trust and a lot of “winging-it” led to the perfectly un-planned trip.
These 5 Things to See in Vilnius will turn what may be an unknown city into one of your favorite trips yet!
1. The Museum of Illusions
The Museum of Illusions is Vilnius’ version of LA’s “Ice Cream Museum” — essentially made for social media. For only 10 euro, you can wander around all the exhibits that are made for you to touch and interact with. We had so much fun acting like children and testing everything. They tie it all back to the science so you may even learn something new! The weather isn’t always so great there (it rained both days for us) so this is also the perfect way to stay warm and dry!
2. Trakai Castle
A 30 minutes bus ride (for 2 euro) or a 20 euro Uber gets you out to the city of Trakai and its island castle. There are tons of paddle boats and small boat tours you can take around the island for next to nothing or just wander through the beautiful park before making your way across the bridge. The castle is cute and full of old artifcats and history but if you are looking for something to do, they also have some archery! After the castle be sure to stop for lunch to enjoy more of the views. We loved the pizzeria that was right on the water and had clear views of the castle from our table.
3. A Market or Festival
Festivals are always a great idea because you get to see and taste the culture. There won’t always be the 100th anniversary festival like we were there for, but there are often weekend markets where you will see all of the local handmade goods. We bought an insanely delicious cake roll for less than 2 euro that was the best thing we ate the entire trip. It was all in Lithuanian though so we don’t know what it was and we ate it so fast there was no time for a photo! All of the locals were so sweet and asked where we were from and how we liked Lithuania. They really care about how people feel about their city!
4. Uno Park
Uno Park is another hidden gem just outside the city, and I mean literally hidden…in the woods! A 4-level ropes course plus zip-lining track and river zipline are tucked away just off the highway. We had NO idea what we were getting into when we paid for admission. This course is no joke, we were all sweating and shaking after a couple hours of scaling up trees and balancing on wires. It was a really fun way to spend an afternoon. If you do it early enough you have more than enough time to head back to your hotel to freshen up and then wander through the old town the rest of the day.
5. Traditional Restaurant
There are tons of restaurants with high ratings but what we found especially unique was how many restaurants have caved ceilings and underground rooms. There are so many like this that I don’t think you should eat anywhere that ISN’T caved or old indoor architecture. It really gives that old european vibe as you are eating their traditional venison or boar dishes. Lithuanian food is a bit like German but healthier thanks to the addition of far more druits and vegetables. They even have their own types of wine made from different fruits (instead of grapes).
Plan on these must-sees in Vilnius and fill in the gaps wandering around the city and its old town architecture. It’s impossible not to love this city!
Happy traveling!
Xx
Kali