Vilnius is a fascinating city that has come a long way since its independence from the Soviet Union in 1990. I had thought this was an undiscovered destination, as I knew few people who had visited, and it did not make many must-see lists. However, I was pleasantly surprised by the number of people walking in the city. Tour groups and couples were walking, and locals enjoyed the many restaurants and cafes.
A number of the blog posts I read complained there was nothing to do and only “historical sites.” I found it completely the opposite, exploring the city’s rich history, vibrant culture, and delightful cuisine. If you have 24 to 48 hours to spend in Vilnius, Lithuania, I offer this itinerary to make the most of your time:
What stood out?
Blending Old and New
The old-world charm intermingled with modern shops and restaurants makes for an interesting contrast. There are many churches of afferent denominations. There are many restaurants and cafes, both local food and many other ethnic restaurants ranging from high-end gourmet French to Italian, Indian, and Chinese.
Lithuanian Food
We had great meals every night, eating local dishes. However, there are many other ethnic restaurants, ranging from gourmet French and Italian to takeaways for Indian and Chinese. I’m a huge fan of wild game, which is readily available. There are also many sweets, so you can get cakes, different cookies, and small snacks with a coffee to rest your feet.
Walkability
Vilnius is a very walkable city. After arriving, my wife and I walked just over 20,000 steps in the afternoon and evening and over 36,000 on the second day, making a major city loop and weaving into the fascinating side streets.
Automated Lawn Mowers
We saw automated lawnmowers in most parks and street corners, like a home Roomba racing along cutting the grass.
No Need for Cash
Everywhere we went, they accepted credit cards or various forms of digital payment. Lithuania uses the Euro, which is very convenient, but we never needed to use it.
Day 1 – Exploring Old Town
Start your day by wandering through the UNESCO-listed old town, one of the largest medieval towns remaining in Europe. They have done a great job of keeping the old-world charm and integrating high-end shops and restaurants.
Breakfast at a Local Café – Skip your hotel’s breakfast and start the day with a traditional Lithuanian breakfast at a café. Try local pastries like kibinai (meat-filled pastries) and a cup of strong coffee to get you fired up for the day.
Gediminas Tower: I suggest climbing up the hill to the tower for panoramic city views. You can take the funicular, which costs 3 Euros for a round trip or 2 Euros for a single ride. Starting here helped give us a feel for the city and the different areas.
St. Peter’s and St. Paul’s Church: – the church is about a 15-minute walk from where you exit from the rear of Gediminas Tower Hill. This is a very popular church with fantastic architecture and 2,000 different decorative attributes, including a pulpit resembling the ship of Saint Peter. There is also a large boat-shaped chandelier.
Cathedral Square and Bell Tower: Visit the Vilnius Cathedral and its iconic bell tower. The bell tower dates to the 13th century, first as a defensive tower as the site was home to a pagan temple. It was converted to a bell tower in the 16th century and took its current appearance in the 19th century. The city’s oldest clock is at the top.
The Cathedral Basilica of St. Stanislaus and St. Ladislaus: is located in Cathedral Square, the center of Vilnius. It is an impressive building with a large ornate pulpit.
Day 2 – More Old Town
Uzupis District, AKA the Republic of Uzupis or UZ- It is worth a walk to and around the Bohemian Uzupis district. It is an interesting few blocks with art galleries, murals, and their constitution posted on the wall in many languages. A local gift shop is the self-designated embassy and checkpoint offering a passport stamp. I don’t recommend stamping your passport as I am hearing more and more immigration agents are rejecting passports with novelty stamps from Machu Pichu and Check Point Charlie. We bought a postcard and stamped it.
Pilies Street: Stroll along this charming street with historical buildings, shops, and street performers. The walls were covered with a variety of art.
St. Anne’s Church and Bernardine Complex: Visit this stunning Gothic church, a masterpiece of architecture, and its neighboring Bernardine Monastery. This church is impressive, with various architecture and brilliant stained glass windows.
Gates of Dawn (Saint Teresa Parish): Originally part of the defensive wall, these gates remain the only ones still standing. It got it name due to it being east-facing, and you could see the morning light through the arch. It houses a small church with a Renaissance painting of the Masonna, regarded as magical by both Catholic and Russian and Greek Orthodox. The lines to enter were long with worshipers, but seeing it was worth the time. It seems to glow at night if you approach it from old town.
Restaurants
Lokys Restaurant: It was a bit more touristy than I liked, but the food and medieval dining atmosphere made it enjoyable. This restaurant is known for its wild game dishes. We shared a wild game sampler with elk, wild boar, venison, and something I’ve never had before: beaver stew. So that was quite an exciting experience.
Etno Dvaras: Enjoy a traditional Lithuanian lunch or dinner at this popular spot known for cepelinai (potato dumplings) and cold beetroot soup.
Hotel
We stayed at the Marriott Courtyard on the edge of the old town. The hotel was comfortable, and we had a good breakfast. It was a bit crowded in the morning with multiple tour groups. They have a great cocktail bar with signature cocktails made with local alcohol varieties.
If you want to get out of the city, about an hour’s drive away is a small town called Traki. It has a castle out on the lake. It’s a great place to walk and enjoy a nice day. This is a popular place for the locals to come on the weekends. The castle is nice but was under construction. My friend who lives there has been to concerts in the inner courtyard. There are many places to eat and just enjoy a good day. When we were there, the weather was a perfect way to spend an afternoon.
Vilnius Airport Transportation:
To get from the airport to the city and back to the airport, we used the Bolt App, which is similar to Uber, which we were told is not popular in Lithuania. It worked great, is is just like Uber, we found rides immediately and the drivers were safe and courteous.
Notes: You can download and set up the app before you depart, but you cannot add your credit card to it until you are in a city where they operate. I tried, and it locked my account. The support team was prompt, telling me to add that data when I landed.
Vilnius Airport Bolt Pick-up location: This was confusing as Bolt does not tell you. I found conflicting posts that both turned out to be correct. The official pickup is in the parking lot diagonal to the arrivals exit. That is where we waited, but our driver was in the Kiss & Fly dropoff directly in front of the exit about 20 steps away.
Side Trips:
Exploring Traki
If you want to get out of the city, about an hour’s drive away is a small town called Traki. It has a castle out on the lake. It’s a great place to walk and enjoy a nice day. This is a popular place for the locals to come on the weekends. The castle is nice but was under construction. My friend who lives there has been to concerts in the inner courtyard. There are many places to eat and just enjoy a good day. The weather was the perfect way to spend an afternoon when we were there.
Hill of Crosses
The Hill of Crosses is a pilgrimage site in Northern Lithuania. It is a stop on the route to/from Riga, Latvia. Starting with crosses and crucifixes, visitors later left rosaries and statues of the Virgin Mary. Estimates suggest that visitors have left as many as 100,000 items.
Photo Credit: Mariko Hunt Travennial
Visit Belarus
You can make a day trip to Belarus if you have extra time. We couldn’t go on this trip because of visa restrictions on Americans who cannot enter at a land border without a visa, but in the future, if things improve, it’d be a nice little side trip from it.