Photos: Diego Delso, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0 Mārtiņš Bruņenieks, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 Photograph: Radomianin, Wikimedia Commons, Public domain
Photo credits
Photos: Diego Delso, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0 Mārtiņš Bruņenieks, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 Photograph: Radomianin, Wikimedia Commons, Public domain
Old Riga and the Moscow suburb
Your local guide
Līga Bērziņa
View profile
Highlights
- Riga Cathedral, the largest in the Baltics
- The House of Blackheads, rebuilt after the war
- Wooden houses in the old Moscow suburb
- The Great Choral Synagogue memorial
- The Stalinist Academy of Sciences tower
About this tour
This session moves from Hanseatic old Riga to the Moscow suburb and its Stalinist-era tower, tracing several very different periods of the city's history in one walk. You see Riga Cathedral and the House of Blackheads, wooden houses in the old Moscow suburb, and the memorial to the Great Choral Synagogue, before finishing beneath the Academy of Sciences. The route covers roughly a thousand years of building styles.
After the sound check, the guide walks from the old town outward, pausing at each site for your questions and explaining how each period left its mark. A short list of names and dates is sent once the call ends.
This suits anyone with a broad interest in Riga's history, spanning the medieval, Jewish and Soviet periods.
Included
- Live video walk with a local guide
- Questions to your guide all the way
- A short list of places to visit later
Not included
- Internet connection
- Travel to the city
Itinerary
-
Welcome and sound check 7 min
The guide joins the video call, checks the picture and sound with you, and gives you a quick sense of Riga before heading out.
-
Riga Cathedral and the House of Blackheads 21 min
In the old town square, the guide points out the Hanseatic-era cathedral, the largest medieval church in the Baltic states, and the ornate guild house of the Blackheads rebuilt after wartime destruction.
-
The Moscow suburb 21 min
Crossing into the Moscow suburb, the camera passes wooden houses that once housed the city's poorer residents, and the guide points to where the old Jewish quarter stood and the memorial marking the Great Choral Synagogue.
-
The Academy of Sciences tower 21 min
Looking up at the Stalinist tower, built in the 1950s in the same style as similar buildings in Moscow and Warsaw, the guide explains why it still divides opinion in the city.
-
Your questions 14 min
Time to ask anything about Riga: prices, safety, food, or whatever you are curious about.
-
A short list to keep 6 min
Before you go, the guide sums up with a few things worth remembering: a dish to try: Riga sprats and Central Market area, worth a slower look.
Good to know
- A stable wifi or mobile connection makes the picture smoother than a shaky one.
- Any phone, tablet or laptop with a camera works. You watch, the guide does the walking.
- Times are shown in Riga time, so check the time where you are before you book.
- The session is not recorded, and recording it yourself is not allowed. Feel free to take your own notes.
- Ask questions any time, out loud or in the chat. The guide will pause to answer.
- Sessions run in small groups, up to 12 people, so there is room for everyone to ask something.
Questions about this tour
What will the session cover?
The guide walks through Riga, showing you St Peter's Church and House of the Blackheads live on camera, plus whatever else you would like to see.
What happens if my connection drops?
Rejoin with the same link within a few minutes and the guide will catch you up on anything you missed.
Can I ask the guide questions during the session, or is it a fixed script?
Anything, any time. Sessions leave room for your own questions throughout, not just at the end.
Do I need to know the history already?
No background needed. The guide explains everything as it comes up.
How it works
- You get one join link after booking.
- Join from any device: phone, tablet or laptop.
- We meet on Google Meet; the link comes with your booking. I walk Riga live with my phone and you ask anything as we go.
Times shown in Riga time (EET)
Cancellation
Flexible
- Cancel up to 24 hours before the start: full refund.
- Cancel less than 24 hours before the start, or no-show: no refund.
- If the guide cancels or the date does not reach its minimum group: full refund.
- Cancel in My Account → Bookings; the refund is calculated from the start time in the tour's local time.
Reviews
No reviews yet. Reviews appear here after travellers have completed this tour.
How reviews work
Only travellers who booked and paid through Locals Guide and whose tour took place can leave a review, within 60 days of the tour. Every review is marked "Verified booking". We check reviews before they appear and publish positive and negative ones alike; we remove only reviews that break our rules (insults, personal data, unrelated content). Guides cannot pay for, edit or hide reviews, and ratings are the plain average of all published reviews.
Next: Sat 7 Nov · 12 seats left From 24,00 €
Book