Jewels of Art Nouveau in Riga (4h)

From: 325 

This is probably the most comprehensive general Art Nouveau tour in Riga. Your tour will be guided by an experienced tour guide that is an art nouveau expert because we want you to discover the beauty and history of Art Nouveau in the city of Riga in the best of the ways.

This complete Riga private tour will let you discover the most popular areas of Riga: Old Town, Quiet Quarter, and the Central Districts.

With over 700 buildings, Art Nouveau in Riga is astonishingly diverse: Eisenstein’s “decorative eclecticism,” the Natiional Romanticism of Pēkšēns, Laube, and others, “Vertical” Jugendstil, even unique early 20th century additions to Medieval buildings like Doma Cathedral.

Riga is a city that holds a very important place within the history of Jugendstil in EuropeOver a third of all buildings in the Central part of the city belong to this art style because Art Nouveau was at the height of its popularity when Riga was at the zenith of an unprecedented financial boom.

This tour is an opportunity to discover most of Riga’s Art Nouveau heritage accompanied by a local guide interested in Art Nouveau.

If you love Art Nouveau and travel to the Baltic states, this tour is a Must!

Duration: 4 hours.

Departure time: From 8.30am to 3.30pm.

Prices according to size of your private group:

1 – 8 PAX = 325
9 – 16 PAX = 350
+16 PAX – Please Contact Us

Book your private tour

Tell us your group size and choose the Date and Time of your Art Nouveau experience. Reserve early to guarantee availability.

Having trouble booking online? Don’t hesitate to WhatsApp/Call us at +34 667 823 001 or email us now

Language *

Starting point of the tour – Where are you staying?

This private tour will start either in the Riga Old town or in the Art Nouveau District, it depends on where you want to start the tour.

Private tour emphasis

Which is the main interest for the tour (if any special one; otherwise leave blank)

Airport Pickup one way trip

Pay 125  now by Direct Transfer (pref.), Paypal or credit card to confirm booking.
Pay the rest to your guide the day of the tour.

Description

Itinerary

This complete 4-hours walking private tour will show you all the most remarkable Jugendstil buildings in the three main areas of Riga:

  1. Riga Old Town, including the Esplanade area – Old Riga (1899-1913)
  2. Central Riga, Valdemāra and Brīvības streets (1900-1910)
  3. The ampliated Art Nouveau District, also called Quiet Center (1900-1910)

We will discover the history of dozens of interesting buildings during this amazing and amusing half day private tour in what is probably Europe’s best Art Nouveau city.


Riga Old Town

Some of the buildings visited in this prat of the itinerary are:

  • The first Art Nouveau building in Riga on Audēju iela
  • Art Nouveau elements in Doma Cathedral
  • The yellow Cat House has a funny story relating to the cats in the roof
  • The smallest Art Nouveau building in Riga by Jewish architect Paul Mandelstam
  • Peitav Schul Synagogue, one of the world’s few Art Nouveau synagogues
  • Some beautiful stairwells can be glimpsed from the street during this part of the tour

During summer season we will visit a rooftop with very nice views to the city, a visit that will take you only a few minutes. If you want to discover the best views you can go on your own to St. Peter’s Church tower, The Academy of Sciences or The Skyline Bar. We don’t include these alternative viewpoints in this private tour because they require plenty of time that we prefer to dedicate to discover Art Nouveau jewels.

On your way to the Central Riga area, we will visit the Esplanade, with the National Art Museum and Art Academy of Latvia buildings: Esplanade park is interesting because it is rich in stories from the 1901 fair held there to mark Riga’s 700th anniversary, with many of the pavilions in Art Nouveau. The art museum is from 1905, and while its a neo-Classical structure, it has paintings in Art Nouveau style. The nearby Art Academy is a hybrid eclectic Art Nouveau building.


Central Riga

You will see plenty of Art Nouveau around main street called Freedom street, the area where Riga citizens go to work and shop, the most lively area of the city.

Several Jugendstil stairwells we can gain access – stained glass portraits at Pēkšēns building on Tērbatas iela, a stained glass portrait of Richard Wager – 1910 in the corner of Dzirnavu and Brīvības (in the 1830’s Wagner lived in a wooden house on the site during his Riga period).

In these area we will see National Romantic gems by architect Eižens Laube and Vertical Jugendstil by Jānis Alksnis.


The classic Art Nouveau District

You will see the main highlights and some hidden gems around the popular Alberta Street which holds several impressive buildings by Eisenstein. We will visit the Museum of Art Nouveau at Alberta 12. Pēkšēns designed this iconic building and lived there until 1907. We will visit the flat of the architect and learn some curiosities. Of special beauty is the magnificent stairwell of this building, one of Peksens masterpieces.

We will also head into Vīalndes/Rūpniecības iela, west of Alberta. You will see plenty of Pēkšēns buildings from his “vertical’ period as well as some magnificent decorative eclecticism by less well know architects.

This part of the tour will include the Large Circle, the area which is going to port direction. One example are the buildings at Eksporta Street.

This is our most popular private tour in Riga and probably the most complete Art Nouveau private tour available in Latvia.


Pick Up and Drop Off

Pick up from your accommodation (within Riga old town or Art Nouveau district) or at the cruise ship terminal in Riga Passenger Port (near Old Riga). If you require transport from/to Krievu Sala cruise port, contact us to know quotation for transfer into the city.

The guide will leave you at the other side of the city (if you started at Old Riga, the tour will end at Alberta street, and opposite). If you need to start and end the tour at the Riga Passenger Port, we can do that.


Inclusions

Professional fully licensed guiding service. Our guide will also be flexible to alter the route according to your wishes. The time to start the tour will be at the visitors convenience.

Our guide will also be flexible to alter the route according to your wishes. each tour will be tailored to suit the individual clients.

Choose your option right after selecting a date in the calendar.

Grand Palace Hotel Riga is our recommended hotel in town. When booking our private tour you will get a 10% on their Best Available Rate (BAR). See option below the calendar to enjoy our exclusive discount.


Exclusions

Entrance fee to the Synagogue: 3€ per person.

Tickets to the Museum of Art Nouveau: Adults: 9€; Students and Seniors: 5€; Family ticket (2 adults + 2 children): 9€; Photo permission: 1.5€. Taking photos and photo printing: 2€; Taking photos with Art Nouveau hats: 1.50€. See Entrance Fees by CLICKING HERE. Closed on Mondays.

Entrance fee to the Jans Rozentals an Rudolfs Blaumanis Museum, closed on Mondays and Tuesdays, is also located in the Art Nouveau district (Optional visit).

Food and drinks.


Additional Info

Click on the calendar to book this tour.

It is possible to visit the Synagogue everyday except on Saturdays and Jewish holidays. Practicing Jews can go inside the building during the service.

We will suggest you to continue the journey having lunch in a restaurant with an Art Nouveau interior. Your private guide will recommend you several options.

Pay the tour in full when booking. Payment options: Bank transfer (recommended) or PayPal, which allows you to pay by PayPal account or Credit Card.

In the event that you have difficulties while booking (not availability for your desired date/time,…) or that you have any additional query please go to the CONTACT section or clicking HERE.

To book this tour start by selecting the group size and the date of your tour on the calendar available in this page. To access detailed information about the provision of the service (process of purchase, payment options, cancellation and date change policy,…) visit the Customer Service section at the bottom of the website or click HERE.


Riga at the turn of the Century

The early 20th century was the golden age for the development of Riga. Its population doubled over the course of 15 years, surpassing 500,000 on the eve of World War I and becoming one of the major centres of industry, trade and culture on the eastern coast of the Baltic Sea.

The boom in the construction of the city happened between 1899 and 1913, and it has been estimated that during these 15 years more than 800 buildings were built in Jugendstil style in Riga. Nowadays more than one third of all buildings in the Central part of the city have art nouveau style, making Riga a paradise for Art Nouveau lovers.


Reviews

This tour allowed us to see all the Art Nouveau of Riga in a single morning. During the afternoon we went to see again the area that we love the most. Great guiding

Manuel, Madrid

Amazing Art Nouveau in Riga. go with a guide so you don’t miss some interesting details. Our guide was knew many anecdotes of how Art Nouveau landed in Latvia

Peter, NYC


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