Things to do in Riga

Riga, the capital of Latvia, sits on the Daugava river near the Baltic Sea. Its old town is a UNESCO-listed tangle of cobbled lanes, church spires and merchant houses, with the Dom Cathedral, St Peter's Church and the ornate House of the Blackheads on Town Hall Square.

Just beyond the old town, a ring of parks follows the line of the old city walls, and a narrow canal winds through them; small boats run along it and out onto the river. A little further on, the streets of the Art Nouveau district are among the finest in Europe.