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The National Museum holds a fantastic collection of ethnographic exhibits ranging from costumes to tools, weapons and jewellery. Kids will love the reconstructed dwellings of ancient Lithuanian peoples. Well worth an afternoon's perusal.
Arsenalo gatvė 1
Gediminas Hill
www.lnm.lt tel info 5 262 9426
| full | Lithuanian Litas 4.00 |
| concession | Lithuanian Litas 2.00 |
The centrepiece of the old Lithuanian capital of Trakai is its picture-postcard Island Castle. The painstakingly restored red-brick Gothic castle is perched atop an island on Lake Galvė. It probably dates from around 1400, when Vytautas, Lithuania's Grand Duke of the time, needed stronger defences than the nearby peninsula castle afforded.
A footbridge links it to the shore and a moat separates the triangular outer courtyard moat from the main tower with its cavernous central court and a range of galleries, halls and rooms. Some house the Trakai History Museum (Trakų istorijos muziejus) which charts the history of the castle. The castle's prominence as a holy site is reflected in its collection of religious art on display in a seperate gallery. In summer the castle courtyard is a magical stage for concerts and plays.
(Lake Galve, Trakai Lakes)
www.trakaimuziejus.lt tel info 528 53 946
| full | Lithuanian Litas 8.00 |
| child | Lithuanian Litas 4.00 |
Lithuania's most incredible, awe-inspiring sight is the legendary Hill of Crosses. The two-humped hillock is covered in a forest of thousands upon thousands of crosses - large and tiny, expensive and cheap, wooden and metal. Some are devotional to accompany prayers, others are memorial.
It's thought that the tradition of planting crosses here may have begun in the 14th century. In the Soviet era the crosses were bulldozed at least three times, only to spring up again. It's an eerie place, especially when the wind blows and the silence is broken by the rattling of crosses and rosaries.
An alternative view of the cross-swamped hill is from the chapel of the modern brick monastery which is home to 10 Franciscan monks. Floor-to-ceiling windows behind the altar frame a breathtaking view of the hill.
The Hill of Crosses is 10km (6mi) north of Siauliai, which in turn, is 140km (87mi) north of Kaunas and has good rail and bus connections with both Kaunas and Vilnius.
(Central Lithuania)
bus from Siauliai bus station to Domantai stop then walk 2km
taxi ask tourist office to call you a cab
bicycle 24km return trip; count on at least 3hrs
The typical Baltic coastal scent of mingled ozone and pine is at its headiest on the northern Lithuanian half of the Curonian Spit, which dominates Lithuania's Baltic coast. This area is made up of four settlements, none of which are more than a couple of kilometres from the coast.
There's a magical air to this isolated 98km (60mi) thread of sand, which is composed of dunes and pine forests inhabited by elk, deer and wild boar. Here you can savour fish freshly smoked to an old Curonian recipe, hire jet skis or paddle boats, go ice fishing, or get some vodka into you.
Check on the cleanliness of the waters of the lagoon and the spit before you dive in - they're often not fit for swimming. The dunes along the peninsula are delicate, and their continual steady erosion is of great concern to environmentalists. It's for this reason that you should only walk along marked tracks and should not pick flowers, since they help to stabilise the sand.
Buses run along the spit from Smiltyné, at its northern tip. Ferries cross to Smiltyné from the mainland town of Klaipeda, which has bus and rail connections to Vilnius and other centres.
Tiny Vilnius is full of astonishing contrasts - eerie courtyards, an eccentric artist community, awesome arts and beautiful Baroque. Where else could the world's only statue of psychedelic musician Frank Zappa exist alongside the tragic reminders of loss and pain of the KGB's torture cells?
Its chocolate-box Baroque and skyline littered with church spires are intoxicating, decadent and fragile - so much so that Unesco has declared this, Europe's largest Baroque old town, a World Heritage site. But there is also an underlying oddness that creates Vilnius' soul.
Where else could there be the world's only statue of psychedelic musician Frank Zappa? Or a self-proclaimed independent republic inhabited by artists and dreaming bohemians? Where else is there the spirit of freedom and resistance that existed during Soviet occupation?
Medieval archways frame the life of the cobbled streets through which change has swept with flair and panache. With foreign cash and local vision, this stylish little city has big plans. But new infrastructure - even a skyscraper skyline - won't disguise the curious charm of eccentric, soulful Vilnius.
