Beside the ruins of the Lower Castle stands the airy neoclassical Cathedral, the finest of the city’s many churches and one of the few not to date from the baroque era that saw Vilnius become an important city in the Polish-Lithuanian commonwealth as a center for the Counter-Reformation. Nearby, the interesting National Museum,Applied Arts Museum, and Archaeological Museum occupy a splendid set of buildings. Across Vrublenskio gatve is Gediminio prospektas, the center of the modern city and a lovely walking street.

Vilnius’ Baroque Old Town occupies the area directly south of the Cathedral and its square (Katedros aikste) and contains innumerable delightful buildings, including several fine churches. It’s best to first walk from the Cathedral to the Gates of Dawn, along a meandering pedestrianized street whose name varies, to get a sense of its scale and then to explore its sidestreets. The gates themselves are the only of the city’s original nine gates that remain, but they are better known for the miracle-working Icon of the Virgin housed above them.

Of particular note within the Old Town are the stunning brick St. Anne’s Church, the historic Vilnius University (and the fine St. John’s Churchinside its walls), the Orthodox Church of the Holy Spirit, and the ornate St. Teresa’s Church. The Old Town’s chief pleasure lies in aimlessly wandering it; there’s hardly a building that isn’t of either historical or architectural interest.

The most interesting attractions outside the Old Town are the infamous Frank Zappa Monument, Three Crosses Hill, The Lithuanian State Jewish Museum, and the Museum of Lithuanian Genocide Victims covering the horrors of Soviet rule. The television tower where Soviet troops killed unarmed civilians in 1991, bringing the country’s plight to the world’s attention, is located in the suburbs. ${QuickSuggestions} As soon as you arrive, purchase a copy of Vilnius in Your Pocket, a quixotic English-language city guide that has been given official status--it’s available just about everywhere. It’s updated regularly and contains information on sightseeing, accommodation, nightlife, and excellent maps. Many listings and a free smaller version are available online.

You may be surprised by how friendly people are. As always, when traveling, you should take precautions, but my experience in Vilnius (and throughout Lithuania) is that tourists are enough of a novelty that many people just want to help and to share a conversation.

There is an ATM in the airport and others throughout the Old Town, so avoid the currency exchanges, which are invariably give worse rates, unless absolutely necessary.

The main post office is at Gediminio prospektas 7. It’s the best place to make international phone calls, as well as to send mail.

The Old Town’s best Internet café is Collegium, located in a courtyard just off Pilies gatve and open 8am-midnight. Confusingly, the address is Pilies gatve 22-1.

Avoid the beggars who cluster around the Gates of Dawn in order to take advantage of the emotions visitors feel after seeing the shrine above them. ${BestWay} Getting to Vilnius:

Vilnius’ airport is 5km south of the bus/train stations, to which it is connected by Buses 1 and 2 (1 LT). A taxi from the airport costs LT25, and a taxi between the Old Town and these stations costs about LT10. Lithuanian Airlines and AirBaltic have the most flights to and from the rest of the Baltic region and Western Europe. Both carriers sell reasonably priced one-way tickets, making it economical to fly into Vilnius and out of Riga or Tallinn (or the reverse). Travel within Lithuania and to Latvia is best done by bus-– trains in Lithuania are nearly always slower, more expensive, and far more infrequent than buses. The train and bus station are next to one another south of the Old Town.

Getting Around Vilnius:

Vilnius is best appreciated and explored on foot. Indeed, a stroll between Gediminas Hill and the Gates of Dawn is pretty much essential for appreciating the Old Town and assimilating its sights. A walk down the new town’s Gediminio prospektas serves the same purpose for the rest of the city. Both of these routes are largely pedestrianized, and nearly all sights are near one or the other.