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This yr has been a superb one for Vilnius. The Lithuanian capital celebrated its 700th birthday on 25 January 2023, and some months later it was named the European Union’s inexperienced capital for 2025. Maybe most symbolically – as Lithuania continues to firmly reject its Soviet previous and align itself nearer with the west – Vilnius performed host to the Nato summit in July.
In brief, there’s so much for the Vilnese to be happy with and comfortable about. Given the progress town has made since I first fell in love with it virtually 10 years in the past, native folks need to share their pleasure and sense of accomplishment with guests looking for a superb time. Town even not too long ago established a “night time workplace” to make sure an evening out is as pleasant, pleasant and protected as doable.
To prime it off, a latest survey carried out by the Put up Workplace confirmed Vilnius to be the second greatest worth metropolis break in Europe.
Cheers, or “į sveikatą”, to the following 700 years!
Tradition
Situated eight kilometres out of town centre, Lazdynai seems to be one more microdistrict of drab, barely crumbling Soviet tower blocks. But it surely isn’t. Not completely, anyway. Constructed from 1963 to the early Seventies, this residential space was developed by a bunch of canny Lithuanian architects who drew on analysis journeys to Finland to subversively create a western residing area within the sprawling mass that was the Soviet Union. The topography of Lazdynai is layered, its roads huge, and structure distinctive courtesy of the looping Architektų gatvė with its zigzag, conjoined five-storey Khrushchevka house blocks and now dystopian-looking 16-storey monoliths. Lazdynai earned the Lenin prize – the very best award attainable within the USSR – for structure in 1974, and it grew to become a vacationer attraction and the usual bearer for city planning throughout your entire union. In mild of Vladimir Putin’s warfare in Ukraine, microdistricts like this are a controversial subject in international locations as soon as illegally annexed by the USSR. But in my thoughts they continue to be a key a part of Vilnius’s social material, and Lazdynai could make a powerful declare to being an important of all of them.
Close to to Vilnius city corridor, Kazys Varnelis Home-Museum is house to greater than 40 exhibition areas curated by the Lithuanian emigré artist Kazys Varnelis, who returned to the nation in 1998 after virtually 4 a long time of residing within the US. Varnelis is understood for his optical artworks, which incorporate 3D illusions with parts of constructivism, minimalism and the summary. They’re thought of by some to be modernist interpretations of Lithuanian folks artwork. Along with his personal work, the museum displays Asian artwork, sculpture, and historic furnishings curated and picked up by the artist, who died in 2010. It is usually the one department of the Nationwide Museum of Lithuania to be devoted to artwork. Adults €5.
Meals
Within the coronary heart of town, Sultiniai is a valgykla – Lithuania’s equal of a Soviet-style canteen-cum-greasy spoon. Whereas the meals received’t be profitable any awards for presentation, it ticks all of the packing containers relating to wallet-friendly home-style cooking – a sq. meal will value about €6. Lithuanian soul meals, corresponding to pork-stuffed cabbage rolls (balandeliai), or the celebrated nationwide dish of potato and meat dumplings (cepelinai) are the go-to right here. Ought to an act of mass carbicide not enchantment, the freshly baked buns full of a selection of cabbage, rice, meat or sausage, alongside a glass of heat, equally recent hen broth, are simply as nourishing. Sultiniai opened in 1969 and is considerably of a time capsule. The inside is completed in largely brown Formica, and the kitchen, with its effervescent, steaming pots and pans, has virtually definitely not been renewed over the previous 5 a long time. The one trace of modernity on this pleasant piece of historical past is the addition of a card machine. Viva la valgykla!
A 30-minute stroll north of the centre, Kalvarijų turgus has been a part of town’s social material since 1903. This ungentrified market serves as a gritty, unpretentious cultural reminder that Vilnius has all the time been a spot of coexistence. Anticipate to overhear Lithuanian, Polish, Russian and Belarusian being spoken towards the backdrop of an Previous Believers’ church. Be aware that Lithuanians are world class at smoked meats, pickled greens and dairy merchandise – farmhouse cheese (varškės sūris) is especially particular.
Bars
For essentially the most half, folks listed below are keen on a drink, so it’s no shock that discovering a fairly priced bar in Vilnius isn’t laborious. Loads of watering holes supply an honest vary of craft beers, however Native Pub – with its naked brick partitions, small tables, chalkboard menus and well-stocked fridges – might be the standout. Most of its beers are from neighbouring Poland or Latvia, and the array of choices are a journey down the rabbit gap to the oft fairly dizzying world of jap European craft beer.
YDA is a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it bar specialising in natural wines from round Europe, and is just about filled with locals. This cosy venue combines the quirky (take a look at the outside YDA mural wall to see what I imply) with the standard – because the homeowners seem to have drawn on European wine bar stylish and put their very own, distinctive spin on it. In addition to wines and high-end cocktails it serves Burbulosé – a bitter cherry beer brewed with champagne yeast by an area brewery known as Kuro Aparatūra. It’s one of many best beers to come back from the craft beer scene that has taken Lithuania by storm since 2014.
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To round out the holy trinity of hops, grape and grain, there’s Flow Bar. This intimate, catacomb-like locale is pretty much standing only, and it specialises in vodka – Lithuanian vodka, which is clean and balanced in flavour. On top of its 30-plus selection, Flow Bar offers an array of cocktails, rums and – if you fancy it – Lithuanian bacon schnapps. Snacks, including the classic “pig fat on rye bread”, can be ordered as a soak up. There’s also a massive carpet woven with Jesus’s face on the wall.
Nightlife and music
The National Opera and Ballet Theatre is an outstanding piece of glass-fronted modernist architecture located near the banks of the River Neris. Built in 1974, the venue offers everything you would expect, from performances put on by local music schools to A-list opera and ballet performances. Ticket prices start at about €11. On top of being a low-priced venue in comparison with other European capitals, the dress code is much more relaxed than in the west – you’ll be fine in a decent pair of jeans and a shirt. As a side note, musical education is still a thing across the country as a whole.
Lukiškių kalėjimas 2.0 is at the other end of the cultural spectrum, and the site served as the city’s main prison from 1905 until it closed its doors in 2019. Once home to prisoners including Vincas Kudirka, the author of the Lithuanian national anthem, and Menachem Begin, future prime minister of Israel, the venue is now a playground for year-round gigs and exhibitions hosted by Vilnius’s abundance of bright, young alternative musicians and artists. It was also one of the filming locations for the Netflix series Stranger Things.
In the trendy Naujamiestis part of town, Gallery 1986 is one of the city’s hubs for contemporary art and culture. What makes it pop is the interior’s intriguing use of natural lighting, courtesy of colour-tinted windows, neon tubes and bare concrete surfaces. It’s mainly a club, but like Lukiškių kalėjimas 2.0, it also holds alternative art exhibitions, theatre performances and cinema screenings throughout the year.
Stay
Vilnius is 62% green space, making it Europe’s greenest city and the third greenest in the world. With that in mind, Downtown Forest & Hostel offers the best bang-for-buck Vilnius experience. Located in the redeveloped Paupys part of town, it’s wallet-friendly and a 20-minute walk from the old town. During summer it’s also home to live outdoor gigs. To me, it’s everything Vilnius should be about: friendly, green and inexpensive.
From €47.60 for a double with bath.
Despite its clunky moniker, Comfort Hotel LT – Rock ’n’ Roll Vilnius is an equallyworthy option. No prizes for guessing the theme of the hotel, but it’s clean, modern, and has a gym and a decent bar/restaurant called Mellow. Conveniently, it’s also 300 metres from the train station.
Doubles from €46.
George East is a freelance writer specialising in the territories formerly occupied by the Soviet Union
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