When it comes to budget travel, the Baltic states are some of the best for value for money.
Lithuania is probably the cheapest of all of them. The Lithuanian capital, Vilnius isn’t just cheap. There are also many free things to do in Vilnius.
The following list of free things to do in Vilnius could keep you occupied for days! In fact, we’ve included a 3 day Vilnius itinerary at the bottom of the article to help you plan.
We’ll also answer your questions –
⭐ Is Vilnius Lithuania worth visiting?
⭐ Is 2 days enough for Vilnius?
⭐ Is Vilnius a walkable city?
⭐ Is 3 days in Vilnius enough?
Can You Find the G-Spot?
As an aside and possible answer to the first question, you may be interested to know that the Lithuanian government decided a few years ago to market the capital city as the G-Spot of Europe.
The tagline for the campaign was, ‘Nobody knows where it is, but once you find it – it’s amazing‘. They even have a website.
You should absolutely take the test on the site for a laugh.
Now onto the free stuff!
Free Things to do in Vilnius – Search For Street Art
You can find art all over Vilnius. There isn’t necessarily one place to see it all though.
This means you could easily spend a day wandering around town finding random murals. There is definitely more street art in the old town.
Sometimes it’s hiding in back streets, so make sure you explore everywhere!
Art is All Around!
The great thing about the art in Vilnius is that it isn’t always confined to walls.
There are random sculptures around town too, especially in parks or in front of buildings. There are art installations that light up at night.
Sometimes the canvas isn’t a wall, but a car. Just keep an open mind and there is art waiting to be found all around the city.
Free Things to do in Vilnius – City Parks
From small river-side and street-side parks, to massive inner-city parks covering thousands of hectares, Vilnius has a lot of green spaces.
We’re going to look at four of the main parks in the city for this article because they are easily accessible and contain a lot of interesting and fun things to do. You could probably spend at least half a day in each one.
Free Things to do in Vilnius – Pavilnių/Pavilniai Regional Park
First, let’s talk about the Pavilnių/Pavilniai Regional Park.
It is located 5 kilometres east of the Vilnius City Centre. The park covers over 2100 hectares, making it small for a regional park but it’s still one of the biggest city parks in the world.
Getting There and What You’ll See
It can be accessed from the Pūčkorių Atodanga bus stop or the Pavilnys Train Station. The park has the highest geological monument in all of Vilnius.
The monument, called Pūčkorių Dam, towers 65 metres above the city and offers great views. As you can guess, the city of Vilnius is rather flat.
Panoramas of the City from Pavilniai Regional Park
Aside from apparently having the ‘most impressive’ view over Vilnius from the platform of Pūčkorių Dam, Pavilnių/Pavilniai Regional Park has 15 other hills that offer panoramic views over the city.
It also has botanical reserves, waterfalls, an adventure park and a river running through it. In addition to that, there is an old water mill and hiking trails within the park’s borders.
You could probably spend a whole day there.
Free Things to do in Vilnius – Vingis Park
As the second largest park that the city has to offer, Vingis Park is a popular spot with locals.
It has a stadium on its grounds that has hosted many international music acts.
You might find people cycling or running on the many trails going through the park. Or maybe you’ll get distracted by the pretty flowers of the small botanical gardens.
Free Things to do in Vilnius – Bernardinų/Bernadine Park
This park is located right in the city centre along the banks of the Vilnia River.
It can be surprisingly quiet, despite its location. It has served a few different purposes and had a few different names throughout history.
Now it contains many paved walking paths, sculptured gardens, children’s playgrounds and a giant chessboard. Then it has something unique in Vilnius; singing fountains. But only between 9 and 10pm in summer.
Free Things to do in Vilnius – Kalnų/Kalnai Park
Kalnų/Kalnai Park is located right near Bernadine Park on the opposite side of the Vilnia River.
Its name means park of hills. There are four main hills in the park that you can climb to get a view of the city. One of them is Crooked Hill, where a famous historical monument stands.
We’ll get to that one in a bit.
Free Things to do in Vilnius – Monuments with City Views
As mentioned before, Vilnius is a rather flat city, which means that firstly, it’s great to walk around.
Secondly, you don’t have to work very hard to get a decent view of it.
As an added bonus, many of the viewpoints in the city come with a free history lesson.
Free Things to do in Vilnius – Gediminas Castle Tower
Gediminas, sometimes referred to as the father of Vilnius, was the Grand Duke of Lithuania in the 14th century.
He had a dream that led him to build a city around the hill the castle tower now stands on. It was named after the Vilnia river.
The tower is the only remaining remnant of the castle built by Gediminas.
Free Things to do in Vilnius – Panoramic Views from Gediminas Castle Tower
The great thing about it being on a hill is that you get an almost panoramic view of the city below.
To your left you’ll see the old town with all its old-world architecture. In stark contrast, on your right, you’ll see the new town with all its modern metal constructions.
It’s also an amazing place to watch the sunset!
Free Things to do in Vilnius – Trys Kryžiai/Three Crosses
The historical Trys KryZial/Three Crosses monument lies atop Crooked Hill in Kalnai Park.
The crosses are said to be a monument to Franciscan monks. Legend says they were murdered for trying to convert the city to Christianity.
Some versions of the legend say they were crucified and floated down the river. Some versions say they were beheaded on that hill.
No matter which legend people believed, the crosses became an integral part of the city’s skyline. They can be seen from almost everywhere in town, which means you can get a great view of the whole town from them.
Free Things to do in Vilnius – Take a Walk Along a River
While most cities in the world will have just one main river, Vilnius has two!
Not only that, both have a fair amount of green spaces touching their banks. Let’s talk about the Vilnia River first.
It may be the smaller of the two rivers, that doesn’t mean there isn’t a lot of things to do and see along its course. The Vilnia River winds through the old town and following it will bring you to some interesting sites.
Free Things to do in Vilnius – Vilnia River
You may have noticed that three of the four parks mentioned earlier are connected in some way to the Vilnia River.
That means a walk along this river gives you an almost never-ending list of things to see and do! Not only that, but it passes through a bit of the old town as well.
That means you can see the best of nature, history and modern day living in Vilnius, all from one river. Here are just a few things you might see on your walk –
Free Things to do in Vilnius – Neris River
The Neris River forms the dividing line between the new and the old city. It is a 510km river that starts in Belarus and flows all the way to Vilnius.
While the Vilnia River winds through the quieter areas of the old town, the Neris River is flanked on both sides by a main city road.
Despite that, it can be surprisingly quiet and soothing to walk along its sunken banks. Along this river you’ll see a beach as well as many green spots. You might also spot some street art on one of the several bridges that cross the river.
Free Things to Do in Vilnius – 3 Day Itinerary
Just to sum up for you, the 9 free things to do in Vilnius mentioned here are:
1 looking for street art
2-5 exploring four of the city’s parks
6-7 viewing the city from Gediminas Castle Tower and the Three Crosses
8-9 walking along the city’s two main rivers
As you can see, a lot of the things mentioned above are inter-connected
So we’ve thrown them altogether to give you a free Vilnius itinerary. Click the link to download your copy.
Related Post: Experience The Old World Charm of Vilnius
⭐ Is Vilnius Lithuania worth visiting?
If you love nature and being able to explore a lot in a relatively small area, then yes! If you like seeing a lot without breaking the budget, then yes again!
⭐ Is 2 days enough for Vilnius?
No, but you can certainly see a lot in 2 days using the above itinerary.
⭐ Is Vilnius a walkable city?
Absolutely! All of the activities we’ve mentioned are within walking distance of each other. That been said, the transport in Vilnius is pretty good if you get tired of walking.
⭐ Is 3 days in Vilnius enough?
It’s enough to see quite a bit!
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44 Replies to “Free Things to do in Vilnius”
Great post! Thanks for sharing this information.
Thanks for reading :o)
I’ve never been to this area before. I am all about free, so I’ll have to go one day! I’d love a walk along the river.
I’m all about free too! There’s definitely plenty of river to walk along in Vilnius! :o)
I’ll have to check these out on my next trip, let’s see when that is… take care!
I’m hoping things are okay by summer. I have an epic trip planned!
This is great! I am sure that many people are dreaming of travel plans when this all lets up, but finances are going to be tough. These are great activities that people are going to be able to leverage to plan a trip on a tight budget. Thank you for sharing!
Yes, I’m one of those people dreaming and planning my next epic trip! I think finances are going to be a big issue in the coming months. So I’ll be doing more posts about free or cheap things to do while travelling. I know I intend to get back to travel when this is all over! :o)
I would love to go walking almost anywhere there because there is so much great architecture.
Yes, some of the architecture in Europe is amazing!
I love finding free things to do on vacation. This is a place that I need to visit
I always look for free stuff to do wherever I go!
I love the Gediminas Tower and the street arts! Indeed it’s a nice place !
Yes, the tower was quite nice.
?? That tagline!.. Love it!
This sounds like an amazing city to peacefully stroll through while taking LOTS of pictures.
I love public art, so i’m most excited about that aspect of it!
Yes, there are a lot of places to stroll peacefully in Vilnius! :o)
If I ever have the chance to visit this area, I will make sure I have this bookmarked so I can refer back to it! Thanks for sharing!
I hope you get there one day!
Oh I would love to check these out on my next trip, hopefully soon. Thanks so much for sharing this with all of us!
I miss travelling. I love the environment and the peace this place is offering! :) I want to go there someday… <3
I miss it too! I can’t wait to go on my next adventure!
Your post is very informative the points like Vilnius city, Vilnius river, castle Tower looks very attractive for tourists.
The rivers and the castle tower have great views!
This is a very useful post highlighting some lovely things to do . It just shows that you can travel on a budget and still enjoy the place you are visiting .
Yes! I always travel on a budget always have a great time wherever I go!
I love finding free things to do when I’m away. It can be expensive to travel so it’s always lovely to walk around and simply take in the local art.
Yes, exactly! I think the best way to find out about a place is to walk around it and find all the random stuff.
Wow this is such a nice area. I would love to wander around and look for street art.
Yes! Who doesn’t love wandering around looking for art? :o)
Vilnius is on my travel bucket list. A friend of mine leaved there for a year and loved it so I am really keen to see the city! Thanks for this list!
It’s a nice quiet city! :o)
I’ve never been there but when I’m visiting places I like to see as much as possible especially when it’s for free
I always look for free stuff like parks and hikes!
This is a great post I’ve never heard of it l, this great to check out.
Such gorgeous and unique sites! I would love to go there someday!
It is quite a pretty town to look at!
love this post, have to check this out!
It’s always good to find free stuff to do, right? :o)
Great guide. Thanks for sharing this. Wish to visit Vilnius one day. Sounds like a really nice place to spend holidays.
It’s nice and quiet! And whi doesn’t love rivers? :o)
Never heard of this place before, but it looks really nice and interesting.
Yeah, it’s a sleepy little European town.
This is such a great guide – thanks for sharing, I am hoping to visit Vilnius as soon as possible (once the virus has gone) as it’s been on my list for a while and I’m all about the free things to do
Laura x
I’m all about the free things too! There are enough of them in Vilnius to keep you occupied for several days! There are actually a few other parks I didn’t mention because they’re a bit further from the city.
I’m sure you’ll have a great time once you get there and you’ll probably get nicer weather than I did too! :o)