Riga Literary Culture and Tours
English-language guides to Riga walking tours, English books, and cafés for reading.
Riga · Literary culture & walks
An independent English-language guide for visitors and expats. Walk the Old Town, find a book in English, then sit down and read.
Latest guides
How iela, bulvāris, and laukums change a Riga address, and how not to lose the door.
A self-guided hour on Alberta iela, among Riga’s Art Nouveau facades, and the one house you can go inside.
Cafés in Riga that suit an hour with a book, including a bookshop café, an Old Town room, and a courtyard shop.
An independent English-language guide for visitors and expats in Riga. The notes cover free walking tours, places to find books in English, and cafés where you can sit and read. This site is not a bookshop, a café, or a tour company.
All three sit in the blog. Who publishes this guide is explained on About Us.
On the shelf
Three books in English for a first week in the city: a novel of Soviet Latvia, stories set in Riga, and a contemporary Latvian novel.
A literary walk
01
Town Hall Square — the House of the Blackheads, where many English walking tours meet.
02
Swedish Gate — a cobbled passage through the old city wall.
03
St Peter’s Church — the tower you use to keep your bearings over the Old Town roofs.
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