Friday Evening — Arrive & Get Oriented
Drop your bags and walk straight into Vecrīga, Riga's medieval Old Town. Start at the Freedom Monument — locally called "Milda" — the slender column that Latvians kept decorated with flowers throughout Soviet occupation, at real risk to themselves. From there it's a five-minute walk into the tangle of cobbled lanes around Doma laukums (Cathedral Square).
Riga Cathedral anchors the square — one of the largest churches in the Baltics, with a famous organ. Nearby, the House of the Blackheads (rebuilt after WWII bombing and Soviet demolition) is the most photographed building in the city, its ornate Dutch Renaissance facade lit up beautifully after dark.
Dinner somewhere in the Old Town, then find a bar for a Riga Black Balsam — the 45% herbal liqueur that's part medicine, part local ritual. Mixed with blackcurrant juice, it's the standard local order and a good way to end your first night.
Saturday — Old Town & Art Nouveau
Morning: climb St. Peter's Church tower for the best rooftop view over Vecrīga and the Daugava River — it's less crowded than you'd expect and worth doing early. Walk the surrounding lanes: the Three Brothers houses (the city's oldest stone dwellings, dating to the 15th century), the Swedish Gate, and the Cat House, where a disgruntled merchant reportedly installed cats on the roof with their tails pointed toward the guild that had rejected him.
Late morning: the Riga Central Market, five former German zeppelin hangars converted into market pavilions in 1930 — one of Europe's largest markets. Walk the meat, fish, and dairy halls, then graze on smoked fish and rye bread for lunch.
Afternoon: walk north out of the Old Town into the Quiet Centre (Klusais centrs) for Alberta iela and the surrounding streets — the densest concentration of Art Nouveau architecture in the world. Over 800 buildings in the city carry the style, many designed by Mikhail Eisenstein (father of the filmmaker Sergei Eisenstein). Faces, owls, sphinxes, and floral ornament cover entire facades. The Riga Art Nouveau Museum at Alberta iela 12 recreates a period apartment interior if you want to go inside one.
Evening: dinner around Miera iela, Riga's creative neighbourhood, for a break from tourist-priced Old Town restaurants. Follow with a drink at one of the area's craft beer taprooms — Valmiermuiža and Tērvetes are the leading Latvian breweries.
Sunday — Riverside & Departure
Morning: a walk along the Daugava riverbank, then into the Esplanade park behind the Freedom Monument — Riga's main green space, with the National Museum of Art at its edge if you have an hour to spare.
If your flight isn't until late afternoon, take the 30-minute train to Jūrmala, Latvia's Baltic Sea resort town. The wide sandy beach, pine-forested dunes, and wooden Art Nouveau villas along Jomas iela make for a genuinely restorative half-day, and trains run every 30 minutes from Riga Central Station.
Otherwise, spend the morning back in the Old Town — Kalēju iela and the streets around it are quieter on a Sunday, and it's a good final chance to pick up amber jewellery or Latvian linen before heading to the airport (Bus 22 from the centre, about 30 minutes).