From 10 to 19 March, Riga Investment and Tourism Agency (RITA) in cooperation with the Latvian Bar Association and Riga Old Town restaurants is organising the "Riga Old Town Awakening Week", during which various events for gourmets, culture and art lovers, as well as nightlife enthusiasts will take place.
The "Riga Old Town Awakening Week" will be opened on 10 and 11 March with the Street Food Festival and will continue until 19 March with the Riga Old Town Restaurant and Bar Week. In museums, art galleries and cultural venues of the Riga Old Town during the Awakening Week, young and old will have the opportunity to discover and explore the Old Town's unique art and history museums, exhibition halls, concerts, try their hand in various activities, creative workshops and educational games.
The “Riga Old Town Awakening Week” is the first event of the year that we are organising together with Riga Old Town entrepreneurs to return the status of the capital's heart to the Riga Old Town. The attractiveness of the Old Town for tourists depends a lot on whether the residents choose it as their place for fun and relaxation, but in recent years the fun part of Riga has moved to other areas. Together with more than 30 participating entrepreneurs, our aim is to remind people that the Riga Old Town has quality restaurants, great bars and some of the most interesting cultural venues," Fredis Bikovs, Head of RITA.
During the two-day Street Food Festival on Vaļņu and Kaļķu Streets, visitors will have the opportunity to taste a diverse selection of dishes from different cuisines around the world, take part in a hot wings challenge, and children will be able to test their cooking skills at the Little Chefs Street Food Cooking Workshop. Throughout the event, visitors will be entertained by a DJ, and there will be various contests and trivia games for young and old. Event hours 10 March - 6 p.m. - 10 p.m., 11 March - 12 p.m. - 10 p.m.
The Riga Old Town Restaurant and Bar Week will treat gourmets from 10 to 19 March. 18 Riga Old Town restaurants will welcome you with special menu offers for the 3-course meal, as well as delicious surprises for children. And 14 Riga Old Town bars invite you to rediscover the Riga Old Town nightlife. Bars will treat visitors with various happy hour offers, a #TavaVecrīga cocktail and a chance to win 2 tickets to this summer's Postivus festival.
"Riga Old Town is the beginning and history of our Latvia, with its romantic, charming, narrow streets and beautiful buildings. It is a place with institutes of national importance – the Latvian Radio, the Saeima and the Riga Castle. Riga Old Town has always held hundreds of fascinating stories and secrets that attract tourists from abroad as well as locals in all ages. Riga Old Town's bars and restaurants know the tales and secrets of the places, buildings and streets, and are ready to reveal them to visitors of the Riga Old Town Awakening Week, but especially to the little ones. Riga Old Town is a place to admire and explore, to enjoy, to have fun and to learn. Young people, gastronomy lovers and families with children are always welcome here," Armands Mednieks, Riga Old Town entrepreneur, Board Member of BBārs.
As the "Riga Old Town Awakening Week" takes place during the school spring holidays, the Riga Old Town museums and cultural venues invite you to visit creative workshops and tours for children – the Riga Bourse’s "Spring Art School for Children", which will be Indian themed, the Pharmacy Museum's " The Mad Professor's First Steps in Chemistry", the Film Museum's Thaumatrope and Phenakistoscope workshops, the Museum of Decorative Arts and Design's "Spring School for Children" and many more exciting offers!
"Riga Old Town is a place where ancient cultural history intertwines with contemporary trends, and this is also embodied by museums that are becoming increasingly accessible and friendly to different audiences, including families with children. We are happy that the "Riga Old Town Awakening Week" takes place during the school spring break, when the Museum of Decorative Arts and Design also offers a rich programme for both children and adults: in the unusual exhibition "Not Things" by Jānis Straupe, the traditional Latvian material – wood – undergoes its own transformation; in the permanent exhibitions you can get acquainted with the history and the present day of our design, and you can enjoy games and new discoveries in the activities area "Design Studio for Children"," says Inese Baranovska, Head of the Museum of Decorative Arts and Design.
On 11 March, visitors are invited to use the opportunity to take free guided tours through the streets of Riga Old Town. During the walks, participants will learn about the stories and legends that the Riga Old Town walls hold, presented in a fascinating and interesting narrative. You can register for the tours by filling in the form here:
Information prepared by: Ance Tarvida, Head of Tourism Marketing Department at Riga Investment and Tourism Agency, e-mail: ance.tarvida@riga.lv