Photos: Wind_Mill, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0 Virtual-Pano, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
Photo credits
Photos: Wind_Mill, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0 Virtual-Pano, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
Riga Art Nouveau in the quiet centre
Your local guide
Līga Bērziņa
View profile
Highlights
- Eisenstein's masks and peacocks on Alberta iela
- Screaming faces built into the stonework
- National romantic buildings from the 1900s
- Stained glass inside an original stairwell
- The architects behind Riga's building boom
About this tour
This session is an Art Nouveau walk through Riga's quiet centre, from the decorated facades of Alberta iela to a plainer national romantic street and an original stairwell inside one of the apartment blocks. You see the masks and peacocks Mikhail Eisenstein built into his facades, and the architects who shaped the city during its early twentieth-century boom. The route stays within a few streets of the quiet centre.
After the sound check, the guide walks street to street, pointing out details on each facade and pausing for your questions, before finishing inside a stairwell. A short list of the addresses shown is sent once the call ends.
This suits anyone with an interest in architecture, or curious why Riga has more Art Nouveau buildings than almost anywhere else.
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.
-
Alberta iela 21 min
Looking up at Mikhail Eisenstein's facades, the guide points out the masks, peacocks and the screaming faces built into the stonework, and explains what each was meant to signal about the building's owner.
-
National romantic buildings 21 min
A short walk further, the guide shows the plainer national romantic style that followed, built from rough stone and steep gables rather than Eisenstein's decoration, and explains the architects behind Riga's building boom.
-
An Art Nouveau stairwell 21 min
Inside one of the apartment blocks, the camera looks up a stairwell lined with stained glass and ironwork, original to when the building went up at the turn of the century.
-
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: Grey peas with bacon and Old Town, 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 Art Nouveau District 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 any background in art?
No. The guide explains what matters as you go, whatever you already know or do not.
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: Thu 29 Oct · 12 seats left From 24,00 €
Book