Baltic Capitals

Fly from London to Vilnius via Helsinki, and transfer to the 4-star Hotel Vilnia (6 September - Courtyard by Marriott Vilnius City Center) for a two-night stay.

A morning tour of Vilnius includes a visit to the Palace of the Great Dukes of Lithuania, now the National Museum, sharing Cathedral Square with the church and bell tower; and to the 16th century courtyards of Vilnius University, among the oldest and most renowned in northern Europe. Afternoon free to explore Europe’s largest Old Town.
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Travel to Trakai to visit the medieval castle complex on one of the many islets in Lake Galvé. Built in the 14^th-15^th centuries, it was home to all the Grand Dukes and now hosts festivals and foreign dignitaries. Continue (4hrs) to cross the Latvia border and enter Riga, for three nights at the 4-star Wellton Riverside Hotel.
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The elegance of Riga’s art-nouveau architecture prompts its epithet ‘the Paris of the Baltics’. A morning tour of the city visits the Museum of the Occupation of Latvia and the Dome Cathedral, where the 19th century organ boasts 6,718 pipes. Enjoy a short organ concert at the cathedral (May-Sept) or visit the Art Nouveau Museum (Apr/Oct). Later, enjoy a cocktail at the Riga Black Magic Bar.
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A tour to Rund­ale Palace is an interlude of opulence in its immaculately manicured gardens. The 18th century Baroque palace, built for the Dukes of Courland, aspired to match St. Petersburg’s grandeur and was designed by Rastrelli, the architect of the Winter Palace.
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Travel across the Estonia border and north to Tallinn (4hrs), where the medieval Old Town is little changed since its heyday. On a walking tour of the UNESCO listed town, visit the sumptuously lavish Nevsky Cathedral in the (upper) Toompea Hill enclave, and Tallinn’s Town Hall, in the lower town, the oldest in northern Europe, and the only one preserved in Gothic style. Two nights at the 4-star Nordic Forum.
(B, L)

Visit the beautiful, Roman-Baroque, Kadriorg (Catherine) Palace, in formal gardens of topiary, fountains and flowers, modelled on Versailles, and founded, in honour of his wife, by Peter the Great. Contrast this with his own humble cottage behind the palace, now the city’s oldest museum. In the afternoon, enjoy a walking tour of Telliskivi, a complex of former warehouses turned into a creative city, ending the tour with a tasting of Vana Tallinn. 
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Leave the Baltics behind and travel by ferry (2hrs) to Helsinki. On a walking tour of the city centre and South Harbour area, view Senate Square, the Esplanade, City Hall, the Presidential Palace, and the railway station, where urban legend has it that the clock on its tower is set a minute fast, so that travellers are on time for trains; and visit the Oodi, the city’s ‘new era’ library, designed as a vibrant meeting place with dedicated spaces for events, concerts, quiet learning and lively activities. Overnight at the 4-star Hotel Lilla Roberts. 
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Transfer to the airport for your return flight to London.
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Fly from London to Vilnius via Helsinki, and transfer to the 4-star Hotel Vilnia for a three-night stay.

A morning tour of Vilnius includes a visit to the Palace of the Great Dukes of Lithuania, now the National Museum, sharing Cathedral Square with the church and bell tower; and to the 16th century courtyards of Vilnius University, among the oldest and most renowned in northern Europe. Afternoon free to explore Europe's largest Old Town.
(B)

Travel to Kaunas, the second largest city of Lithuania, served as the temporary capital between two World Wars. The visit of Kaunas includes a walk around the old town viewing Kaunas castle, the Town Hall, known locally as ‘White Swan’, the Church of Vytautas, and Perkūnas House. We will stroll along Laisves Aleja pedestrian avenue (the Avenue of Liberty) – the main shopping and dining street of Kaunas observing some samples of the architecture of Optimism (built between the First and Second World Wars) which in 2023 was included in the UNESCO heritage list. On the return to Vilnius, we will stop in Trakai to visit the medieval castle complex on one of the many islets in Lake Galvé. Built in the 14th-15th centuries, it was home to all the Grand Dukes and now hosts festivals and foreign dignitaries.
(B)

Drive (4 hrs) across the Latvia border to Rundale Palace for a tour of the palace. Rundale Palace is an interlude of opulence in its immaculately manicured gardens. The 18th century Baroque palace, built for the Dukes of Courland, aspired to match St. Petersburg's grandeur and was designed by Rastrelli, the architect of the Winter Palace. Continue to Riga, for two nights at the 4-star Wellton Riverside Hotel.
(B, L)

The elegance of Riga's art-nouveau architecture prompts its epithet 'the Paris of the Baltics'. A morning tour of the city visits the Museum of Occupation Of Latvia and the Dome Cathedral, where the 19th-century organ boasts 6,718 pipes. Enjoy a short organ concert at the cathedral (May-Sept) or visit the Art Nouveau Museum (Apr/Oct). Later, enjoy a cocktail at the Riga Black Magic Bar.
(B)

Departure to Tallinn with a short stop in Sigulda (photo stop). Continue to Ligatne for a visit of Ligatne bunker, constructed 9 meters beneath the ground and was intended to serve as a shelter for Latvia’s Communist elite in case of hypothetical nuclear war. Enjoy lunch at Zipari farm.  Travel across the Estonia border and north to Tallinn (4hrs). Two nights at the 4-star Nordic Forum.
(B, L)

Visit the beautiful, Roman-Baroque, Kadriorg (Catherine) Palace, in formal gardens of topiary, fountains and flowers, modelled on Versailles, and founded, in honour of his wife, by Peter the Great. Continue with a walking tour of the medieval Old Town where little has changed since its heyday. The tour of the UNESCO-listed town visits the sumptuously lavish Nevsky Cathedral in the (upper) Toompea Hill enclave and finishes with the visit of Niguliste Museum which has Tallinn’s most famous artwork, a fragment of Bernt Notke's painting the Danse Macabre (the 'Dance of Death') and a 360° view of the Old Town from the church tower.
(B) 

In the morning, enjoy a walking tour of Telliskivi, a complex of former warehouses turned into a creative city, ending the tour with a tasting of Vana Tallinn. Leave the Baltics behind and travel by ferry (2hrs) to Helsinki. On a walking tour of the city centre and South Harbour area, view Senate Square, the Esplanade, City Hall, the Presidential Palace, and the railway station, where urban legend has it that the clock on its tower is set a minute fast, so that travellers are on time for trains; and visit the Oodi, the city’s ‘new era’ library, designed as a vibrant meeting place with dedicated spaces for events, concerts, quiet learning and lively activities. Overnight at the 4-star Hotel Lilla Roberts.
(B)

Transfer to the airport for your return flight to London.
(B)