The cosmopolitan Latvian capital city of Riga has a plethora of activities to offer budget travellers. Not only are there many wallet-friendly options for exploring the town, there are also many fun things to do in Riga for free.
This list of fun and free things to do in Riga will really help you experience the city’s nature and history without spending a penny!
We’ve also included a free Riga itinerary covering all the sites mentioned here. You’ll find it at the end of the post.
Free Things to do in Riga – Walk Along the Pilsētas Kanāls/City Canal
Located in the heart of Riga, the Pilsētas Kanāls is leftover from medieval times. The moat was once used for protection from invaders, but now its location at the centre of the city makes it popular with visitors.
Many of those visitors will pay €18 for a one hour ride down the canal in a small boat.
While floating down the moat sounds nice, it’s really just an optional extra. You can take in the canal’s beauty at a much slower pace, by walking along it’s banks!
Walk the East and West Banks of the Pilsētas Kanāls/City Canal – Free Things to do in Riga
When you’re thinking about what to do in Riga to see some nature and history, the Pilsētas Kanāls should be on top of your list!
The canal runs for 4 kilometres from the city centre and is flanked by parks, memorials and Vecriga or Old Riga. Each bank of the canal offers a different experience.
You can access the east bank from the Riga Central Market and follow it to Kronvalda Park. You’ll pass through quite a few of the city’s green spaces and see a lot of pieces of history on the way.
What to do in Riga – Museum of Occupation Near the East Bank
Perhaps the most interesting place to see some history in Riga is the Museum of the Occupation of Latvia. It’s right near the canal and entry is free.
It may be a little confronting and will leave you scarred by human nature, but sometimes we need to see these things to realise how lucky we are now.
Walk Into History From the West Bank – Things to do in Riga Latvia
The west bank will also take you through some green spaces with monuments. Then you could also take a detour into beautiful Vecriga/Old Riga and literally walk into history.
You might want to allow a day just to get lost in Old Riga!
Free Things to do in Riga – Discover the Cobbled Streets of Vecriga
Vecriga/Old Riga was added to the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites in 1997 and it is Riga’s historical centre.
The best thing about Vecriga is that it’s made for pedestrians, which makes it lovely to walk around.
Upon entering Old Riga, you’ll feel like you’ve stepped into another century. It’s jam-packed with historical buildings.
You could easily spend a whole day wandering around the narrow cobbled streets of Vecriga just checking out the history and architecture.
There are also no less than ten museums within the confines of Vecriga. These include the Cosmos Illusion Museum and the Literature and Music Museum. Most have admission fees of €2-8.
As this is a list of FREE things to do in Riga, we recommend the Latvian War Museum. It is free and offers insight into Latvia’s political and military history.
Free Things to do in Riga – City Parks
There are at least five small parks located within a 10 minute walk of the old town.
Once you step inside these parks, the buzz of the city fades away and it’s very easy to forget that you’re still in the city. Many contain sculptures, historical monuments and other points of interest.
Each of these city parks has its own unique features, so you’ll want to visit them all to make sure you see the best of what Riga has to offer.
Free Things to do in Riga – Vērmanes Garden Park
Riga’s second oldest public garden, Vērmanes Garden Park, is spread over 5 hectares.
This tiny park is full of things to occupy your senses. From sculptures, gardens and fountains to historical monuments and a flower market. There’s even a play area for kids, an open-air stage and cafes where you can sit down and relax.
The walking paths running all through this park are well-maintained and easy to follow. There are also plenty of benches around if you get tired or just want to stop and take it all in for a bit.
Esplanāde – Fun Things to do in Riga
With an area of 8.75 hectares, Esplanāde is the second largest of the inner city parks in Riga, taking up a whole two city blocks. Like the other parks in Riga, it has monuments, fountains and many well-maintained paths running through it.
What’s a little bit different about this park is that it has a cafe in the middle of it. Furthermore, it contains one of the city’s biggest attractions; the Riga Nativity of Christ Cathedral.
Bastejkalns Park – Free Things to do in Riga
Bastejkalns Park is a thin strip of greenery running along both sides of the Pilsētas Kanāls/City Canal, between the bridges of Krišjāņa Valdemāra iela and Krišjāņa Barona iela.
It is home to some of the most unique flora in Riga, as well as fountains, bridges, important sculptures and monuments.
Three of the city’s most recognisable sites, the Freedom Monument, the Peace Dance Sculpture and the Laima Clock can be found within this park.
Not to mention the adorable Nymph Fountain.
See Bastejkalns Park at Night – What to do in Riga
Bastejkalns Park is lovely to walk through both during the day and at night. At night there is the added bonus of the bridges over the canal been lit up.
The lights of the city also cast surreal reflections on the impossibly still waters of the canal. If you’re in Bastejkalns Park at night, expect to lose all track of time while the reflections on the water mesmerise you.
You’ll definitely want to take your camera along to capture pleanty of pictures of the beautiful lights and their bewitching reflections.
Free Things to do in Riga – Kronvalda Park
The largest of Riga’s inner-city parks can also be found on the banks of the City Canal. Aside from memorials and fountains, the 11.92 hectares of Kronvalda Park include walking paths and a cafe.
For the more active among us, there is also a playground, roller skating tracks and bicycle hire.
The unique thing about this park is that it contains some of Latvia’s largest willow, oak and beech trees. Additionally, the Chinese Pagoda in the park was an anniversary gift from Riga’s sister city Suzhou, China.
Viesturdārzs – Free Things to Do in Riga Away From the City
As Viesturdārzs is on the outskirts of the city centre, it is the quietest of all the parks in Riga. It’s not near the City Canal like the other parks, but it has its own tranquil bodies of water.
Like all the other city parks, Viesturdārzs has monuments and playgrounds for the kids. And also for dogs! Viesturdārzs is a dog-friendly park.
Aside from being furry-friendly, something that sets this park apart from the rest is its art. There are permanent art installations all around the park.
Free Things to do in Riga – Visit the Castle of Light/Gaismas pils
The Castle of Light is the combination of two significant ideas from Latvian culture; the Glass Mountain and the Castle of Light. The Glass mountain represents obstacles faced by creative folk, while the Castle of Light symbolises human creativity and freedom.
So it’s quite apt that the combination of these two ideas should house the National Library of Latvia (Latvijas Nacionālā bibliotēka).
World Class Library – Things to do in Riga
With its striking design and 68 metre height, the Castle of Light has become a dominant part of Riga’s cityscape since its construction in 2014. It is said to be one of the most beautiful modern libraries in the world.
That would definitely explain it’s inclusion in the BBC list of the Ten Most Beautiful Modern Libraries in the World in 2017.
The thirteen floors of the library are home to over 5 million titles, including manuscripts from the 14th century! So it has something for the book worm in all of us.
Did I forget to mention that it has free WiFi?
Grab Our FREE Downloadable Riga Itinerary
Finally, we’ve done the route planning and popped it into a PDF just for you.
So as promised, here’s your FREE Riga itinerary!
This handy, downloadable Free Things to do in Riga Itinerary covers all the sites we’ve mentioned and can be kept on your phone, or even printed out if you’re old school, to reference while you’re on the go.
Related Post: Reflections of Riga
Check out all our Northern European guides –
Free Things to do in Vilnius
Free Things to do in Riga
Free Things to do in Tallinn
How to Prepare for Finland in the Winter
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43 Replies to “Free Things to do in Riga”
I love being able to go places and find free things to do. There certainly seems like a lot going on here.
Thank you for sharing!
I always look for the free stuff! Luckily the Baltic countries seem to have a lot of cool free stuff to do! :o)
The best list of free things to do in Riga. Everyday looks to do free things on tourists places…
It’s always good to be able to find free things to do!
I haven’t been here before, and never heard it before reading your blog. Thanks for the info!!
The Baltics are great! Everyone should visit them :o)
I’ve never been to Riga but it seems like my kinda place! I would love to visit it one day soon…Can’t wait.
Any place with free stuff to do is my kinda place! :o)
I’ve never been but your pictures sure make it look like a great place to visit. Free things to do is always a plus for me too.
I always look for the free things to do in a place. It’s surprising how much you can find out about a place just doing free stuff.
What a beautiful place! First time hearing about it from you. The parks are also very interesting!
Green spaces near a city centre are always awesome!
wow. being part of the world heritage sites is already something! no doubt, Riga is indeed a beautiful place to be.
There’s normally always something interesting at sites that have been included on the UNESCO list.
These photos are beautiful, and who doesn’t like saving money! I would love to visit and take in all the architecture!
There’s quite a few different styles of architecture throughout the city, due to historical politics and such. It’s all very nice on the eyes.
My bucket list of places to travel is growing! And I am always interested in budget travel. I’m a bargain shopper!
The Baltics are great for budget travel!
What a beautiful city! You have now successfully put another place on my list of things I must see in my lifetime….and free? Yup. Count me in.
I’m all for free stuff! Especially when it gives you such a great snapshot of the city!
Wow, another nice place to see!
Your pics are amazing too!
The Baltics are beautiful!
These “free things to do” guide are always so helpful!…now i’m gonna be dreaming of Riga ☺️
I’m always dreaming of anywhere else but here!
When you are travelling on a budget its always great to find things you can do that gives you the experience for free. This is a great list.
Yup! I’m all for the free stuff! Especially when it helps you see so much of a city!
I miss Riga a lot and these are all such great suggestions I will keep in mind when I go back! :)
I cant wait to go travelling again!
Another place added to the old bucket list :)
The Baltics are beautiful! :o)
What lovely photos of a lovely place. I have always wanted to visit since being in a teacher training course with two Latvian women who were incredibly gracious and I imagine they represented their country well.
It’s always great when we have personal connections to countries.
Latvia is on my bucket list of places to see! Can’t wait to travel again.
It’s a beautiful place!
I’m so ready to travel again!
Beautiful place!
It is! Thanks for the comment :o)
Riga looks like a beautiful place to visit! Thanks for sharing these tips.
It is defiitely a beautiful place! So easy to get around too!
Wow! Your pictures make this look amazing!
I love discovering free ways to enjoy a new city.
I’m all about the free stuff! I believe it shouldn’t cost a fortune to find out about a new city.
I’m all about the free stuff and finding our about cities without spending a fortune!
This is such a cute little town! Love all the cobblestone and brick.
Yes, it’s beautiful! I love old timey places.