Latvia is a small country on the Baltic Sea with
ancient history and traditions. If you want to enjoy nature, there is not only the serene Gulf of Riga and the open Baltic Sea, but also
nature parks,
lakes and
beautiful forests.
Old
Riga offers not only fabulous architectural monuments, but also various nightclubs and pubs. According to legend, once every 100 years the devil rears his head from the waters of Riga’s River Daugava and asks whether Riga is ‘ready’ yet. If the answer is ‘yes’, the now nearly
900-year-old city will be condemned
to sink into the waters.
For now, however, there is no chance of Latvia being ’ready’ to sink. Long the
Baltic favorite, Latvia is now also beginning to emerge as a tourist destination further afield, championed as one of Europe’s
hidden treasures. Those who visit will appreciate the small
picturesque medieval towns,
country castles,
museums and
folk parks,
ruined fortresses and, occasionally,
grand palaces. They will also appreciate the little Latvian quirks still entrenched in customs, crafts and culture.
GeographyLatvia is situated on the Baltic coast and borders Estonia in the north, Lithuania in the south, the Russian Federation in the east and Belarus in the southeast. The coastal plain is mostly flat but, inland to the east, the land is hilly with forests and lakes. There are about 12,000 rivers in Latvia, the biggest being the River Daugava. The ports of Riga and Ventspils often freeze over during the winter.
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