Riga

Vigorous, vehement and vivacious, Latvia’s capital city is the quintessential mixture of the old and the new. Greatly resembling a canvas splashed with a wide array of colors, here is where serpentine alleyways wind in the midst of soaring, varicolored edifices, whereas the vast tapestry of parks, gardens and rumbling lawns lend it natural nourishment. With a history which is almost as old as time itself, Riga, from once being a humble tribal settlement, to now being one of the most bustling megapolises of the continent, has come a long way. An incredible historic powerhouse, the city yet reverberates with traces of the Russian, Germans and Livonians who reigned over it, with each leaving substantial political, cultural and architectural influences in their wake. The very centerpiece of the city’s archaic tenor is Vecrīga, i.e. the Old Town, where an arsenal of iconic landmarks like the imposing Riga Cathedral and the exuberant House of the Blackheads, look out over the meandering Daugava River with harmonious grace. On the flip side, the city boasts an ever-evolving, contemporary landscape which is permeated with culinary and artistic finesse, and a scintillating nighttime revelry, which is evident in the increasing arsenal of restaurants, bars, cafes, galleries and boutiques that lie delightfully strewn across its burgeoning fabric.