Take a tour in beautiful Vilnius – Europe's greenest capital!

In 2023 Lithuania's capital Vilnius celebrates its 700th anniversary, with a host of events. But regardless of that, Lithuania's culture-loving capital is always worth a visit – the entire city center is a world heritage site and at the pub it's half price.

Vilnius is a magnificent city where the entire city center is a 700-year-old world heritage site. A city that is full of cafes and restaurants with favorable prices and that has an impressively vibrant cultural life and nightlife.

Beautiful Vilnius – Europe's greenest capital

This year, Lithuania's capital Vilnius celebrates its 700th anniversary, with a host of events. But regardless of that, Lithuania's culture-loving capital is always worth a visit – the entire city center is a world heritage site and at the pub it's half price.

Vilnius is a magnificent city where the entire city center is a 700-year-old world heritage site. A city that is full of cafes and restaurants with favorable prices and that has an impressively vibrant cultural life and nightlife.

A city for walking. The historic center of Vilnius is 3.6 square kilometers.

Vilnius has a fantastic historic city center that we are passing through, the largest in the Baltics and many times larger than, for example, Old Town in Stockholm. The area occupies 3.6 square kilometers and contains over 1,500 buildings.

This entire city center is practically historically intact, block by block. The buildings that have been erected in the 20th century are easy to count. Just Pilies str is a good example of the stylistic variations that Vilnius is known for. Houses in the Baroque, Gothic and Renaissance styles stand side by side with neoclassical buildings from the 19th century.

Here, those interested in history can wander for hours without tiring. There is always a coffee shop within sight wherever you go. Most courtyards are also open to the street in Vilnius. If you enter a farm, you are sometimes rewarded with finding a hidden farm restaurant or an unusual shop.

As many as fifty churches can be found in the inner city of Vilnius, ranging from swelling baroque churches to Orthodox churches about every other. The incomparable Late Gothic St. Anna's church is usually considered one of the foremost in its style.

- When Napoleon marched into Vilnius on his Russian campaign, he wanted to dismantle the entire church and take it home with him to France. All the better, he got something else to think about.

You should take a walk on the literary street Literatu, where house walls and walls are covered with small works of art that pay tribute to writers but also other famous Lithuanians in culture and sports, A fantastic French restaurant Pranciskonai has a lovely terrace there. Shortly afterwards, you can continue onto the so-called "glass street" Stiklių, which curves forward like a river through neighborhoods with low historic houses. Among Stiklių's many bars, cafés and shops, you can take a detour to Augustas & Barbora love story café, where large baskets of roses hang from the ceiling.

A piece of Literaty street where scores of Lithuanian writers, athletes and media personalities have been presented with a small piece of art or a plaque.

​Having a coffee in Vilnius hardly breaks your personal finances, but wages and prices have skyrocketed in Lithuania as well, and unfortunately not all goods here are pure bargains anymore. But in cafes and restaurants, the prices are ie. exactly half of Sweden's.

In Vilnius old town you can remark on how quiet it is in the inner city. Many streets are closed to car traffic.

You should absolutely visit the large Cathedral square. On the main square stands both the classicist cathedral, the impressive Clock Tower and the Royal Palace in Renaissance style. As if that were not enough, everything is overlooked by the medieval Gediminas Tower on its high hill. In front of the cathedral was one of the biggest Lithuanian demonstrations ever: when in 1989 a million people in all three Baltic countries held each other's hands in a 60-mile-long chain to show the then Soviet authorities that they wanted to be free in a peaceful way.

​The bell tower belongs to Vilnius Cathedral

With Lithuania's dark history as a Russian vassal state, it is perhaps not so surprising that support for Ukraine is massive in Vilnius today. You actually see more Ukrainian flags than Lithuanian ones. On every single bus in Vilnius, the front sign alternates between the destination and the text "Vilnius heart of Ukraine". On one of the city's skyscrapers is written in giant letters: "The Hague is waiting for you, Putin".

The medieval Gediminas Tower is a well-known symbol of Vilnius

However, Vilnius is not just history. On the north side of the river Neris, the city now has a growing financial district with many skyscrapers, and it has taken pride in building huge shopping malls on the outskirts of the city.

You should visit the new district of Paupys, where you can see another part of Vilnius' future. Here, elegant and tasteful residential buildings are located in block after block near the Vilnia River. Paupys just means "near the river". Here is also the new restaurant square Paupio Turgus with food from all over the world, with an emphasis on Asian. Paupio Turgus is a popular and green oasis with lots of plants, and it feels like the whole city gathers here.

The restaurant square Paupio Turgus is a very popular and green oasis in the new district of Paupys

As we walk from Paupys back towards the Old Town, Asta wants to show me Užupis, a neighborhood that has been inhabited since the 15th century and is today a colorful area with many artists and creative initiatives. In 1997, Užupis even declared itself a republic of its own – formally and legally, of course, a joke, but there are quite a few grains of playful seriousness.

Užupis has a border station after the bridge that leads into the district and a lot of other things that republics usually surround themselves with: a national anthem, a president, a foreign minister and their own currency, which, however, is only valid in one place. The own army reportedly consists of about twelve people, if they are free. Of course, you also have your own flag, although it changes in four different colors, one for each season.

Chill at the "border bridge" into the self-proclaimed republic of Užupis.

The constitution of the Republic of Užupi has been translated into fifty different languages, including Swedish, and these translations can be read along a wall. It is a very charming and poetic text and most people will find their own favorite paragraphs. My favorites were paragraph 34, "Everyone has the right to be misunderstood", and the last, paragraph 41, "Don't give up".

A number of places in Užupis are characterized by art. On the one hand there are sculptures and installations down by the river, and on the other hand you find a small cluster of art galleries up by the alley Skervejis. Culture is generally an important and visible feature of Vilnius' street scene.

A coffee under the Angel statue in Užupis.

When it's time for lunch - you should try something truly Lithuanian - the national dish cepelinai, something described as potato dumplings in the menus. As a Swede, however, it is difficult not to see the dish as a variation on Öland's body cake -kroppskaka.

"Stranger things" was recorded here

The rain pours down as I visit the gloomy Lukiškės Prison the next day, which closed in 2019. Nowadays, the prison is called Lukiškės Prison 2.0, as over 500 artists have been given studios here, creating yet another cultural center in the city.

You can take a walking tour with an English-speaking guide in macabre environments that have not yet been rebuilt. In a small cell with eight metal beds, the toilet is a hole in the floor. Most of the rooms look like you imagine a prison from the early 20th century, which it is. What is outrageous is that the prison was used in this condition until just a few years ago.

The arrived walls with crumbling plaster make nasty but cinematic environments. The producers of the American hit and horror series "Stranger things" thought so too, who filmed parts of season 4 in Lukiškės. The guide can take you and show where the different scenes were taken. The guide can also tell about both successful and unsuccessful escape attempts - there were prisoners who managed to feed the dogs secretly and won their trust ... The most daring escape was carried out by the prisoner who made himself a double of another prisoner who had served his sentence. The wrong person was let out and stayed away for six months before being recaptured.

Lukiškės was built in 1904 and only closed in 2019 despite macabre bad cells. There are now tours that show the prison's scary environments.

However, if you are not into scary things then you have to visit the stylish and eclectic champagne bar and restaurant just next to the prison, transforming the mysterious surroundings into a chick experience (see below).

And there is some much more to discover in Vilnius both new and old - as it has not been completely renovated yet. There are quite a few run-down houses, which feels more authentic than neighborhoods where all the old houses shine like new. Historically, not all houses have been new at the same time.

Europe's greenest capital

There are plenty of parks and outdoor cafes in what is considered Europe's greenest capital. It is also close to large green areas. As the surroundings closest to Vilnius are hilly, there are many natural viewpoints. In addition, there are good opportunities to fine-tune your well-being in Vilnius, which has significant wellness tourism with many spas.

Culture-loving Vilnius is home to many great museums, including the MO Museum from 2018 – an excellent modern museum of contemporary art. Open Gallery in the southern inner city is an eldorado for the street art lover.

The fact is that so many people underestimate how rich a history we have and how many influences from all over Europe have gathered here over the years.

TRAVEL FACTS LITHUANIA

• Travel here: Direct flights from Stockholm and Copenhagen with SAS. Ferry from Karlshamn to Klaipeda in Lithuania, from where you can take a bus or train to Vilnius.

• Best time: Spring, summer and early autumn are the times when the city definitely comes alive.

• Time difference: +1 hour.

• Language: Lithuanian. Younger people almost always know English.

• Currency: Euros (EUR).

• Price level: Cheap. Lithuania has 59 on the Forex holiday index (Sweden 100).

• Get around: Vilnius is a compact and manageable city and walking goes a long way. Buses (also charming trams) take you to places further afield. Taxis are affordable. Electric scooters that can be rented are becoming common.

• Good to know: The city is located at the confluence of two rivers, Neris and Vilnia. In 1994, the Old Town of Vilnius was added to the UNESCO World Heritage List.

Read more: govilnius.lt

GUIDE / VILNIUS

SEE & DO

1. Vilnius Old Town

The World Heritage listed city center of Vilnius has magnificent buildings from 700 years of history, around fifty churches, a medieval university, cozy courtyards, exciting alleys and a brilliant cafe culture. Here you can walk until you drop - into an inviting and affordable pub.

Vilnius is filled with cozy places. This tavern is located at the entrance to the popular "glass quarter" Stiklių.

2. Gediminas-castle This 14th century tower at the top of a hill is a symbol of all of Vilnius. It attracts with unbeatable views of the city and has an interesting historical museum inside. Mountain railway to the top of the hill is available if you want to save your legs.

3. Užupis

Historic district that has become an artist-dense cultural area and proclaimed its own republic. Do not miss to look into the alley Skervejis with art galleries in a row, swing in the hammock under the "border bridge" and say hello to Užupi's own mermaid right next door.

4. Lukiškės Prison 2.0

Terrifying prison that released the last prisoners in 2019 – now a cultural center with state studios. There are tours in the same environments that appear in the series "Stranger things", season 4.

Address: Lukiškių skg. 6

FUN & SHOPPING

Local House Amaty Namai

Vilnius is a fun shopping city with lots of personal shops. If you want an overview of Lithuanian arts and crafts, Local House is a good place to start. The stalls on Konstantin Sirvydotorget partly sell the same things.

Address: Pilies gatvė 22

Loft

The best nightlife in the Baltics awaits those who like to party in Vilnius. Many big clubs come and go, but Loftas sticks around year after year. The owner is a well-known music profile that attracts the country's best DJs and musicians to the former factory premises.

Address: Švitrigailos gatvė 29

VILNIUS 700 YEARS

In 2023, Vilnius turns 700, which is celebrated with a large number of events, from hot-air balloon tours over the Old Town to the "Opera on Wheels" project, which will perform excerpts from operas in unexpected places in the city. The international music festival As Young As Vilnius takes place on July 25 with a wide range of concerts in various genres from classical to pop, and the MO Museum presents the exhibition "Vilnius Poker", which recreates the atmosphere of the city in the 1980s before the fall of the Soviet Union.

Mer info: 700vilnius.lt/en