Honest tour of Riga with the best private guide in town
Overview
Honest tour of must-sees with the best* private guide of Riga
Every city has it's good, bad and the ugly, and there's always the option of highlighting just one side of the coin. On this tour we try our hardest to stay as honest and objective as possible, not loosing the perspective of a local at the same time. 4-5 hours, including a coffee break, might seem long, but a half day tour like that is the shortest possible time to cover all the most important sights that Riga's heart has to offer without a rush. Still - depending on your desire or availability, it can be longer or shorter as well - you can decide during the tour. It's customisable as well, so if you'd like to drop a thing from the itinerary or add something different (eg, central market), the guide will be happy to adjust.
We don't take tours more than 5 times a week, so the tour would stay fresh and the guide wouldn't become a machine of spouting facts and figures.
* as described by his mother and some of his friends.
Every city has it's good, bad and the ugly, and there's always the option of highlighting just one side of the coin. On this tour we try our hardest to stay as honest and objective as possible, not loosing the perspective of a local at the same time. 4-5 hours, including a coffee break, might seem long, but a half day tour like that is the shortest possible time to cover all the most important sights that Riga's heart has to offer without a rush. Still - depending on your desire or availability, it can be longer or shorter as well - you can decide during the tour. It's customisable as well, so if you'd like to drop a thing from the itinerary or add something different (eg, central market), the guide will be happy to adjust.
We don't take tours more than 5 times a week, so the tour would stay fresh and the guide wouldn't become a machine of spouting facts and figures.
* as described by his mother and some of his friends.
Inclusions
- Everything, except your coffee/snacks at the break.
What to expect
Itinerary
This is a typical itinerary for this product
Stop At: Old City Riga (Vecriga), Kungu Iela 3 Riga, Riga 1050 Latvia
This is the oldest part of Riga, here you'll see the history - how the city of Riga and nation of Latvians formed during last 8 centuries. The most important medieval churches, merchants' houses, parts of fortification systems and even last few residential buildings of simple people that have survived from medieval times. You'll hear stories of how people lived starting from times back when the city was just founded, through centuries up until soviet occupation and the modern life of the independent Latvia.
Duration: 2 hours
Stop At: Kronvalda Park, Kalpaka bulvaris 12, Riga 1010 Latvia
The circle of boulevards and parks serves as a transitional area between the centuries-old medieval German Riga and the "modern" Riga built by Russians and Latvians. Here you'll have a nice stroll through the greenest part of central Riga, see some monuments and museums, hear some stories of how the actual cultural transition happened.
Duration: 30 minutes
Stop At: Art Nouveau Riga, Strelnieku iela 9, Riga 1010 Latvia
So-called modern center of the city is the part of Riga that formed during the turn of 19th and 20th centuries - the last decades of Russian Empire. Here you'll see the beautiful facades of Riga's Art-Noveau (aka Jugendstil), and, if lucky, get a glimpse on the interiors as well. Riga is the city that has the highest concentration of Art-Noveau buildings in the world, so you're in for a treat. You'll hear about the time of new-found cultural identity of Latvian people, the art, the architecture, the bourjouis - everything culture related from the turn of centuries.
Duration: 2 hours
This is a typical itinerary for this product
Stop At: Old City Riga (Vecriga), Kungu Iela 3 Riga, Riga 1050 Latvia
This is the oldest part of Riga, here you'll see the history - how the city of Riga and nation of Latvians formed during last 8 centuries. The most important medieval churches, merchants' houses, parts of fortification systems and even last few residential buildings of simple people that have survived from medieval times. You'll hear stories of how people lived starting from times back when the city was just founded, through centuries up until soviet occupation and the modern life of the independent Latvia.
Duration: 2 hours
Stop At: Kronvalda Park, Kalpaka bulvaris 12, Riga 1010 Latvia
The circle of boulevards and parks serves as a transitional area between the centuries-old medieval German Riga and the "modern" Riga built by Russians and Latvians. Here you'll have a nice stroll through the greenest part of central Riga, see some monuments and museums, hear some stories of how the actual cultural transition happened.
Duration: 30 minutes
Stop At: Art Nouveau Riga, Strelnieku iela 9, Riga 1010 Latvia
So-called modern center of the city is the part of Riga that formed during the turn of 19th and 20th centuries - the last decades of Russian Empire. Here you'll see the beautiful facades of Riga's Art-Noveau (aka Jugendstil), and, if lucky, get a glimpse on the interiors as well. Riga is the city that has the highest concentration of Art-Noveau buildings in the world, so you're in for a treat. You'll hear about the time of new-found cultural identity of Latvian people, the art, the architecture, the bourjouis - everything culture related from the turn of centuries.
Duration: 2 hours
Additional information
- Service animals allowed
- Near public transportation
- Stroller accessible
- Most travelers can participate
- Transportation is wheelchair accessible
- Wheelchair accessible
- All staff members are either vaccinated or will be vaccinated as soon as it is permitted after recovering from covid19. Face mask use indoors enforced depending on the authority issued rules at the time of experience (masks provided if needed).
- This is a private tour/activity. Only your group will participate
- Confirmation will be received at time of booking
Ticket delivery
You can present either a paper or an electronic voucher for this activity.
Cancellation
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours in advance of the start time of the experience.
Chris S
August 2023
I was in a group of eight friends, Anete greeted us and apologised for the change of plan in guide. Anete needn't have apologised, as she did an amazing job of showing us around Old Town and explaining the history of the sights, attractions and rich architecture. Everyone in the group was delight...
I was in a group of eight friends, Anete greeted us and apologised for the change of plan in guide. Anete needn't have apologised, as she did an amazing job of showing us around Old Town and explaining the history of the sights, attractions and rich architecture. Everyone in the group was delighted with the experience and impressed with how well Anete kept us informed, engaged and interested, using personal stories from her life and even surprised us with a lovely singing voice to add colour to tour. Thank you to Anete from everyone in our group, Chris.885sashas
August 2023
Our group of 12 spent two days with Harijs, touring Sigulda and Riga's Old Town, and had a wonderful experience. He designed the two days of touring based on our initial input, and continued to be flexible throughout the two days, as we made requests to adjust the schedule and work in one or two ...
Our group of 12 spent two days with Harijs, touring Sigulda and Riga's Old Town, and had a wonderful experience. He designed the two days of touring based on our initial input, and continued to be flexible throughout the two days, as we made requests to adjust the schedule and work in one or two changes. We saw a broad range of Riga's highlights, and learned a ton about Latvian history. And we also got a great sense for modern Latvian culture, attitudes, and what life has felt like for the local population during the last couple years. Oh, and we got a taste of Latvia while visiting the market! Harijs was funny, engaging, and the many hours we spent with him seemed to pass very quickly, as his storytelling made the experience a lot of fun. He conducted the tour in flawless English, and was also comfortable switching to Russian for those in our group who speak it. And his love for Latvia came through constantly, even when undercut by his self-deprecating humor about the "lowly" achievements of his little country (e.g. in the olympics, as he introduced us to one of only ~10 bobsled tracks operating anywhere in the world). He clearly loves his country, and nowhere was that more evident than in the closing stages of our Riga Tour when he recounted the history of the Barricades, Latvians' heroic confrontation with Soviet forces sent to clamp down on Latvia's declared independence. Tour logistics were handled smoothly (coordinating a bus for us, managing the timing, breaks, etc.) throughout, and the whole experience worked well for kids and adults in our group. We would absolutely recommend Harijs to anyone looking for a great guide and a great tour, and we'd happily use Honest Tours again in the future!205boriss
August 2023
My extended family (3 generations) spent two fantastic days in the company of (without any doubt) the best private guide in Riga. And to say that Harijs is the best is really to say nothing. He is very knowledgable, very passionate about Latvia and its history, very attentive, has a very nice se...
My extended family (3 generations) spent two fantastic days in the company of (without any doubt) the best private guide in Riga. And to say that Harijs is the best is really to say nothing. He is very knowledgable, very passionate about Latvia and its history, very attentive, has a very nice sense of humor, and has an absolutely great personality. It is possible to list another half a dozen "very" with other Harij's' qualities but it still. will not be enough to describe how good he is. From the very beginning before we even arrived in Latvia when I was arranging the tours Harijs was very helpful with suggestions on how to fit as much as possible into the two days of sightseeings. He combined the historic tour of Riga with the Taste of Riga tour and hired a minibus for the second day to show our group of 12 people Sigulda, the Turaida castle, and a lot of other places in the Latvian Switzerland as the Sigulda area is sometimes called. Although some in our group used to live in Riga and thought that we knew the city well, a lot of facts that we learned from Harijs were new for us. Harijs's English was perfect. And last but not least he was very flexible and accommodating to our requests during the tours although this extended the length of the tours and the time that he spent with us. To those reading this review I can give only one advice: if you want to have the best private guide in Riga go with Harijs. You will not regret!Barbara L
August 2023
Hariys was absolutely the best! He is very knowledgeable about his city and very passionate about his country. It was very pleasant to learn about the Art Noveau buildings - something I knew very little about. He managed to get me inside one of the buildings to look at the amazing staircase. He g...
Hariys was absolutely the best! He is very knowledgeable about his city and very passionate about his country. It was very pleasant to learn about the Art Noveau buildings - something I knew very little about. He managed to get me inside one of the buildings to look at the amazing staircase. He gave a lot of good information about Latvia and the current political climate. He even walked me back to the ship, which was a blessing, as for some reason, I seem to have got lost at a lot of the ports on this trip. I really enjoyed my walk with Hariys and highly recommend it for anybody who wants to learn about Riga and Latvia.Trek14271516994
July 2023
We spent amazing 3.5 hours with Eva. She is very knowledgeable, enthusiastic and has a very warm personality which creates a special atmosphere. Both, my husband and I, enjoyed our tour very much and fell in love with Riga.
We spent amazing 3.5 hours with Eva. She is very knowledgeable, enthusiastic and has a very warm personality which creates a special atmosphere. Both, my husband and I, enjoyed our tour very much and fell in love with Riga.246steel
June 2023
Harijs has good communication skills and was very good at personalizing his tour and tailoring stops and discussions to our interests. We had lots of questions and he took the time to answer thoroughly without watching the clock. He ended up spending quite a bit more time with us than promised ...
Harijs has good communication skills and was very good at personalizing his tour and tailoring stops and discussions to our interests. We had lots of questions and he took the time to answer thoroughly without watching the clock. He ended up spending quite a bit more time with us than promised in his tour description to ensure that we got all of our questions answered, but still didn't miss out on seeing anything.