Old Riga and hidden wonders in Jurmala (5.5h) – Contact us for proposal
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This morning private tour will let you Discover the Old Riga Art Nouveau buildings and Explore the beautiful wooden villas dispersed in and around Jurmala.
This exclusive 5 hours and 30 minutes tour will be guided by an experienced tour guide that is an Art Historian specialized in Art Nouveau because we want you to discover the beauty and history of these places in the best of the ways. She also works as an exhibition curator at the Latvian National Museum of Art.
The tour of the Old Riga will be done on foot, observing the most important Art Nouveau buildings in this part of the city. Although the old town of Riga has a very long history and preserves buildings that have been built since the 13th century, it also offers a wide variety of buildings in the Art Nouveau style.
Jūrmala is the most popular seaside resort in the Baltic states and we propose you to spend a few hours there with a private guide who is a. She will point out the historic Art Nouveau wooden cottages that were built there more than a hundred years ago.
It’s is a fact that Riga holds a very important place within the history of Jugendstil in Europe. Art Nouveau was at the height of its popularity when Riga was at the zenith of an unprecedented financial boom. But Riga isn’t the only place in Latvia famous for its Art Nouveau architecture. You’ll find a nice selection of prime examples in Jurmala and Daugavpils too. This tour goes to Jurmala. If you want information about our Daugavpils private tour CLICK HERE.
If you and your group love Art Nouveau and love seaside resorts, with its wooden houses, forests and beaches, this private tour won’t disappoint you.
If you love Art Nouveau and travel to the Baltic states, this tour is a Must!
Recommended Hotel in Old Riga: Grand Palace Hotel Riga is our partner hotel in the town. Please say you booked a private tour with us when booking at GRAND PALACE HOTEL.
Description
Itinerary
This 5.5 hours private tour will let you discover the most remarkable Art Nouveau heritage in the Riga Old Town and at the same time the hidden gems still preserved in the seaside villages that belong to Júrmala, the most attractive Latvian city on the Baltic Sea.
It is a combined exclusive tour that covers Riga’s Old Town and Júrmala that takes place any morning of the week. In these two areas you can see real jewels of Art Nouveau.
You will be accompanied all the time by a local guide, an Art Historian specialised and very interested in Art Nouveau. Your guide for this private tour works as an exhibition curator at the Latvian National Museum of Art.
Duration: 5 hours and 30 minutes.
Part 1 – Old Riga
During two hours you will discover the most important Art Nouveau buildings in this part of the city. Although the Old Town has a very long history and preserves buildings that have been built since the 13th century, it also offers a wide variety of buildings in Art Nouveau style.
Along the route through the streets of the old part of Riga your private guide will explain you the history of many buildings. One of them is the first Art Nouveau building of Riga, constructed during the last years of the 19th Century, when Art Nouveau was gradually arriving in Riga.
Many facades are decorated with animals (peacocks, owls, bears,…), masks, geometric motifs, symbols of Masons, stylizations of plant and other elements from nature like the sun,, and more.
During this amusing walk you will even discover the statue of a child reading a book on the roof of one of the buildings. In many façades your private guide is going to show you female and male figures, and anthropomorphic figures as well. Our guide will explain how a “beauty contest” was organised more than a hundred years ago to choose the best sculpture, and will show you the figure that won such a competition.
Apart from residential buildings and public buildings, you will see the only of all Riga’s synagogues that remains. On the outside the decoration is quite austere, but if you want to go inside the building (optional visit) you will be surprised by its sumptuous decorations combining Art Nouveau with elements that come from Egypt.
During the Art Nouveau years architects from many nationalities coexisted, for this reason we can see works from German, Latvian, Russian and Jewish architects. Most of the architects that worked in Riga also built summer villas also in different parts of Júrmala.
Part 2 – Jurmala
After the walk through the old town of Riga we will go to Júrmala by car (or minivan).
We will start our itinerary in Jurmala with the Lutheran Church in Dubulti, bulit between 1905 and 1907 by Wilhelm Bokslaff (during the first part of the tour your private guide will show you some buildings he desined in the Old Town).
After discovering the church, the most impressive Art Nouveau building in the city of Júrmala and one of the few churches built in Art Nouveau in Latvia, we will continue the tour discovering more historic buildings scattered around the Baltic coast. Most of them are made of wood, and combine elements of different neo-styles and Art Nouveau.
During the tour (partly by car and partly on foot) you will see a great variety of outstanding buildings , some with towers. Your private guide will pay special attention to those showing characteristics of Art Nouveau.
If you are interested in having a break, you will have some time to have a drink in one of the few selected restaurants in front of the Baltic sea which either are located inside an Art Nouveau building or have impressive views to Art Nouveau buildings.
It will also be possible to go to the beach during this tour. Our guide will also be flexible to alter the route according to your wishes.
Riga and Jūrmala 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 city of Júrmala actually consists of 16 summer villages (Majori, Bulduri, Dzintari, Dubulti,…) which until the beginning of the 19th Century were inhabited by fishermen. Since then, they have developed as a seaside resort with nice houses belonging to affluent people who wanted to rest during the summer somewhere outside the city, next to the beaches and forests.
Jurmala has been a beloved seaside resort for over 200 years and is a resort like no other. Its Art Nouveau is a difficult to access treasure that deserves to be explored.
Not many people go to discover the Art Nouveau Gems hidden in the Jurmala area.Be one of the first international tourists doing so, and go with our excellent guide.
Pickup & Drop Off
The point of departure will be the hotel where you are staying, the cruise ship terminal in Riga Passenger Port (near Old Riga) or an agreed meeting point (if your hotel is in another part of the city, tell us and we will tell you the place to meet).
The guide will leave you in the place that you prefer of Riga. As the tour ends at lunchtime, our guide can suggest you a place to have lunch according to your tastes, and leave you there.
Inclusions
Professional fully licensed guiding service with an Art Historian interested in Art Nouveau. Being specialised in the architecture of the 19th Century and beginning of the 20th Century, your guide is the perfect person to accompany you during this unique morning experience.
Vehicle and professional driver to go and return from Jūrmala.
Exclusions
Entry to the Synagogue.
Additional Info
It is possible to visit the Synagogue everyday except on Saturdays and Jewish holidays. Practicing Jews can visit inside during the service on their own.
Grand Palace Hotel Riga is our recommended hotel in town.
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