23 Best Sights in Lithuania

Vilnius’s beautiful cathedral is the most important place for worship for Lithuania’s Catholic community and has been a national symbol for centuries. The building itself was completed in the 18th century, but some original portions of the church date from the 13th and 15th centuries. In 1922, the church was named a basilica by Pope Pius XI. It is centrally located on Cathedral Square, next to the bell tower, which was originally a watch tower, and the recently reconstructed Palace of the Grand Dukes of Lithuania. In its catacombs, several key figures of Lithuanian history are buried, including Saint Casimir, Alexander Jagiellon, and the heart of the Polish king Władysław IV Vasa.

The museum is located in a carefully restored old blacksmith’s workshop, displaying a wide collection of various forging tools and forged items, such as iron crosses, fences, architectural elements, household articles, and fishing equipment.

Klaipeda's botanical garden is located along the Danes River, north of the city center, in an area of great historic importance. It was founded in 1993 and spans approximately 23 acres. Here, domestic and foreign plants of great variety are exhibited in four collections, including those focused on herbs, medical plants, roses, and vines and bulbous plants.

The gorgeous and elegant late-Gothic facade of the 16th-century church was created using 33 different types of brick in a complex pattern. It is said that when Napoléon passed through town, he wanted to take the church back to Paris "in the palm of his hand."

The church has an astounding Baroque interior, with nearly 2,000 ornate, white-stucco figures and an extraordinary boat-shape glass chandelier.

The first floor illustrates principles of measurement and the evolution of clock construction—from ancient to modern times—with a collection sundials, hourglasses, and mechanical clocks. Second-floor displays highlight the development of mechanical clocks from the 16th to 20th century, showcasing more than 1,700 works by Lithuanian and international master clockmakers.

This house was originally the home of Dr. Jonas Sliupas, Palanga's first mayor and an important public figure during the Lithuanian national revival in the early 20th century. It now accommodates a museum dedicated to Sliupas’s life and the history of Palanga.

The Gates of Dawn is the only one remaining out of the city's original five 16th-century gates. It has a beautiful chapel, a quiet place for prayers whose walls are covered with metal and silver hearts. It also contains an icon of the Virgin Mary renowned for its healing powers, making this chapel one of the most visited in Vilnius, popular with both Lithuanians and foreigners.

Castle Hill is topped by the 15th-century Gedimino Tower, once part of the city's fortifications. Inside the tower is the Vilnius Castle Museum, a subdivision of the Lithuanian National Museum, which has beautiful city views from its observation deck. A funicular helps you reach the Castle Hill more easily, at €2 per round-trip. However, you will still have to pay to enter the tower itself in order to view the exhibitions and the panorama of the Old Town.

This museum is housed in one of Klaipėda's oldest surviving structures from the 18th century. It includes exhibits on the history and culture of the inhabitants of the area in and around Klaipeda, but it also offers geological information on how the region was formed. On display are both pagan and Christian items, as well as archaeological finds, old photographs, maps, and postcards.

This museum is housed in the remnants of Memelburg Castle, which dates from the 13th century, when the town was known as Memel and was a stronghold for the Teutonic Knights. The museum opened in 2002, in honor of the city's 750th anniversary. It shows the development of Klaipeda from the 13th to 20th century, with various objects such as documents, city stamps, and costumes, as well as a model of Klaipeda and the city’s Renaissance symbol, a golden ring with a diamond.

Founded in 1977, the park is at the location of the city's former central cemetery. It displays a total of 116 artworks by 61 sculptors, which were created during symposiums for sculptors held between 1977 and 1991. Today, it's a pleasant space for leisurely strolls. Some of the valuable metal works from the old cemetery are now exhibited at the Blacksmith's Museum, which is also at this location.

In the historic Kopgalis Fort complex on the Curonian Spit, this museum sits across the bay from the mainland and port and can be reached in a few minutes by ferry. This family-friendly museum recounts Klaipeda’s rich maritime heritage, which is an important part of the city’s identity. It includes exhibitions on marine fauna, shipping history, ethnographic exposition, as well as an aquarium and dolphinarium. Among other things, visitors will be able to discover ship models from different periods, along with authentic fishing boats, sail boats and boat remains.

This museum is in an authentic,1927, fisherman’s homestead typical of the Curonian Spit. It shows an exhibition of interior and everyday life for a local fisherman around the turn of the 20th century.

This is one of Palanga’s best-known sights and one of the most visited museums in the country. It displays approximately 4,500 amber objects (from a total of 28,000 pieces), as well as information about the trade routes, formation, extraction, and processing of amber. The museum is housed in a beautiful early 20th-century mansion that once belonged to Count Feliksas Tiskevicius, whose family has played a major role in Palanga's development. In addition to the actual amber exhibition (as well as changing exhibits), you can tour beautiful period interiors on the ground floor

Surrounding the Palanga Amber Museum is a vast botanical park, which was founded on the palace grounds by Count Feliksas Tiskevicius in 1897. The park was designed by the famous French landscape architect and botanist Édouard François André, with assistance from Belgian gardener Buyssen de Coulon. Today it is a beautiful place for leisurely strolls, picnics, and relaxation, as well as concerts and other cultural events.

The beautiful, Baroque, 17th-century church is named for Lithuania’s patron saint, Prince Casimir Jagiellon. During Russia's reign, an onion-shape cupola replaced the original tower with its significant crown.

To learn about Vilnius's Jewish heritage, visit this museum, which is divided into several different parts, including the Tolerance Center, a Holocaust Exposition (at Pamenkalnio g. 12), the Samuel Bak Museum, and several other sections that are still being developed.

Once referred to as “Jerusalem of the North,” Vilnius used to be Europe's major center of Jewish culture; Jews were by far the largest minority group in Lithuania prior to World War II. By the end of the war, only a tiny fraction of the city's once-thriving Jewish community survived. During the 17th and 18th centuries, the intersection of Stikliu, Gaono, and Zydu streets was the location of a glass market, with a wide variety of Jewish merchants and goods. During the Nazi occupation, this area was turned into the “small ghetto,” but the area was later liquidated. More than 95% of the Jewish population of Lithuania—which in the early 1930s numbered some 210,000—was killed. Today, the Jewish Quarter contains little trace of its original greatness. However, a number of murals have been created to honor the area's Jewish past, and some street names are written in Hebrew in addition to Lithuanian.

The country's best collection of Lithuanian art covers the period from the 16th to early 20th century, including works by artists of the Vilnius Art School. It is housed in a beautiful building that used to be a nobleman’s residence and is noteworthy for its late-classicist interior. In addition to a permanent exhibition, the gallery also organizes various special exhibitions, cultural events, and classical concerts.

Founded by the Jesuits in the 16th century, Vilnius University is one of the oldest universities in Europe. Its campus consists of 13 courtyards and 13 buildings. Highlights include the hall of frescoes, dating from the 1980s, which is based on a traditional poem; the library; a beautiful bookshop; and the Gothic-style Church of Sts. Johns, which has one of the largest organs in Lithuania and whose bell tower is one of the tallest structures in Old Town. Guided tours of the campus can be booked in advance.