Baltic Visitor

My recent posts about Latvia have tended to highlight the negative – arrested tourists and nightclub scams (although the latter story was about the police cracking down successfully) – so I thought it was about time that I wrote something more wholeheartedly positive. After all, Latvia is a great country to visit. I am particularly keen to encourage readers to tear themselves away from Riga and explore further afield.

The fourth largest settlement in Latvia, the port city of Liepaja is one of the highlights of the country. It hasn’t seen the large-scale investment in public facilities witnessed in Ventspils, largely because it hasn’t benefited in the same way from Russian oil money. Yet despite the poor condition of some of its old buildings, Liepaja has much more character than its booming west coast rival. So why should tourists visit? Here are five of the best reasons:

1. Liepaja is considered the capital of Latvian rock music, and has a vibrant live music scene. The Rock Cafe (aka Pablo – website in Latvian only) is a decent place to grab some fast food or a drink and watch a band. For a more ‘underground’ atmosphere, however, the Fontaine Palace is rated more highly by those in the know.
2. The city has some of the country’s best hotels outside of the capital, including the classy Libava and the quirky bohemian Fontaine (owned by the same person as the club mentioned above)
3. Karosta, the military city-within-a-city which was off-limits until independence, is one of Latvia’s most unusual attractions. Most of the population has left, giving the place a fascinatingly desolated feel, and there is also an impressive Russian Orthodox church. The biggest draw, though, is the chance to be locked up in the old military prison – either for a couple of hours or overnight.
4. The beach is very close to the old town, and has won an EU Blue Flag for its cleanliness (a real change from its polluted Soviet era state). It is also the site of the annual Baltic Beach Party music festival.
5. There are a couple of great museums – Liepaja Musem (covering local art and history) and the Liepaja Occupation Regime Museum. And the wood carving in the Holy Trinity Church is hugely impressive, particularly as the exterior of is so bland.

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