Things to do
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Curonian Spit
A sand bar almost a hundred kilometres long separates the Baltic from the Curonian Lagoon, shared between Lithuania and the Russian region of Kaliningrad and UNESCO listed for its dunes and planted forests. The Lithuanian half runs from Smiltynė to Nida and is reached by ferry from Klaipėda. Cycling the forest track is the usual way to see it, and a vehicle entry charge applies.
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Curonian Spit National Park
Protection of the dunes, the pine plantations and the lagoon shore falls to the park, whose territory covers the Lithuanian half of the spit along with its fishing villages. An ornithological station near Juodkrantė rings migrating birds through autumn, and the Hill of Witches nearby carries carved wooden figures along a forest path. Visitor centres in Nida and Smiltynė handle trail information and permits.
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Parnidis Dune
Wooden stairs and a boardwalk climb the last great drifting dune on the Lithuanian side, topped by a granite sundial toppled by a storm in 1999 and rebuilt without its gnomon. The view takes in the lagoon, the forest and the border to the south. Walking off the boardwalk is prohibited because the sand is being stabilised, and rangers enforce it.
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Thomas Mann Memorial Museum
A thatched house on Skruzdynė hill was built as a summer home for the German novelist, who spent three seasons here before leaving Germany in 1933. Rooms hold letters, photographs and the desk where parts of the Joseph novels were written. Concerts fill the garden during the summer festival that carries his name, and opening is seasonal.