Things to do
9-
Gate of Dawn
The only surviving gate of the city wall carries a chapel above its archway, where a gilded icon of the Virgin draws pilgrims from across Poland and Lithuania. Worshippers kneel on the pavement below during services broadcast from the chapel window. Access is by a plain door and staircase on the street side, and modest dress is expected inside.
-
Gediminas' Tower
Brick remains of the upper castle stand on a wooded hill above the cathedral, the last piece of a fortress rebuilt many times since the fourteenth century. A small museum inside holds models of the castle and of the Baltic Way. From the roof comes the clearest view over the old town and the river. A funicular runs from the courtyard behind the cathedral when working; otherwise a steep cobbled path climbs.
-
Hill of Three Crosses
White concrete crosses stand on a wooded rise above the Vilnia, replacing monuments dynamited under Soviet rule and rebuilt in 1989. The climb from the path behind Sereikiškės Park takes around twenty minutes and ends on a terrace facing the old town, which is the reason to come. Dusk light favours the view, and the path is unlit after dark.
-
Museum of Occupations and Freedom Fights
Housed in the former KGB headquarters on Gedimino Avenue, the museum keeps the basement prison as it was: cells, a padded isolation room and the execution chamber, with upper floors covering the deportations to Siberia and the partisan war. The visit is heavy and takes about two hours. English labelling is thorough in the basement and thinner on the floors above.
-
St. Anne's Church
Thirty-three kinds of brick went into the flamboyant gothic facade that Napoleon reportedly wished he could carry back to Paris. Inside, the single nave is plain by comparison and takes minutes to see. The taller Bernardine church behind it is often missed, though the two together make the set piece photographed from the corner of Maironio street.
-
Trakai Island Castle
Red brick towers rise from an island in Lake Galvė, half an hour west of Vilnius by train or bus, and the restored fifteenth century castle now holds a museum of the grand duchy. Footbridges carry the summer crowds across, when boats and pedalos work the lake. The Karaim community that settled here keeps a kenesa and serves kibinai pastries along the lakeside street.
-
Užupis
Across the Vilnia from the old town, a former workshop district declared itself a republic in 1997 and has kept the joke running since, with a constitution posted on mirrored plates in dozens of languages. Galleries, studios and small bars fill the lanes, and prices have climbed with the district's fame. Its independence day falls on the first of April, when mock border guards stamp passports at the bridge.
-
Vilnius Cathedral
Neoclassical and white, the cathedral anchors the square where the city gathers for concerts, markets and national holidays. Crypts beneath it hold the tombs of Lithuanian rulers, including Barbora Radvilaitė, and are reachable only on guided visits booked in advance. The bell tower stands separate on the square, and the tile marking the end of the Baltic Way human chain sits nearby.
-
Vilnius Old Town
One of the largest surviving medieval cores in the region spreads across the slope below the castle, a UNESCO listed tangle of baroque churches, courtyards and narrow lanes. Pilies and Didžioji streets carry most of the traffic, though the quieter courtyards off them reward a slow wander. Most of it can be covered in a morning of walking, and the cobbles run continuously, which matters for wheeled luggage.