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Winding cobbled alleyways. A bohemian quarter with Baroque architecture. Michelin-starred restaurants and moodily lit jazz bars. It sounds like Paris, but this is what awaits visitors in Vilnius, Lithuania’s pocket-sized capital that’s on the brink of a moment.
Beyond the city’s 700-year-old walls is a charming town still reckoning with its complex past, where brutalist Soviet architecture meets high-end boutiques and a rapidly blossoming food scene. It’s been more than 30 years since Lithuania gained independence from the USSR, but the buzz of freedom is still in the air. And, drawn by vibey nightlife, dark history and reasonable prices, people are starting to take note.
But despite direct flights from major UK airports such as Stansted and Luton, Vilnius remains off the beaten path for British travellers. The tourism board is willing to laugh at its obscurity, declaring the country the ‘G-spot of Europe’ — ‘amazing, but nobody knows where it is’.
You can fly there from as little as £25, and at a time when so many destinations are feeling the weight of overtourism, frankly, you’d be silly not to.
Happiness found
I’ve barely begun my two-night trip when I am struck by how peaceful Vilnius is. Compared to the heaving Tube carriages of central London, the silence of the streets is like a warm hug, despite the November chill.
Only 5% of Brits know more than the name and approximate location of the Lithuanian capital, according to a 2019 survey, and there’s a distinct lack of the British accents you hear in steady streams on the streets of Prague or Amsterdam.
The city is convenient and exceptionally cheap, with an airport just 15 minutes’ drive from the Unesco-listed old town and tourist staples like bottles of local beer for £2.75 (€3.20). Vilnius was recently named Europe’s most affordable city break in a survey by Post Office Travel Money, and even luxury is accessible.
Arriving late in the evening, I head straight for 14 Horses, a farm-to-table restaurant serving up lamb dumplings, grilled eel on sourdough and potato pancakes with sweetbread (four courses for €55 per person). Another must-visit is Dziaugsmas, one of four local restaurants to receive a coveted star in this year’s first-ever Michelin guide to Lithuania (try the black pudding doughnuts and bone marrow from the €67 tasting menu).
Outside the city feels incredibly safe, to the point that I leave my bag and coat unattended on a stand by the door in Nick & Nora, one of Vilnius’ best cocktail bars that makes an excellent quince gin (€11).
Cheap, safe and up for a laugh; little wonder why Lithuania took the top spot in this year’s World Happiness rankings for the under-30s — the best place in the world to be young.
The republic of free spirits
On a riverbank near the old town is Uzupis, a free-spirited neighbourhood that declared itself a republic in 1997. Our tour guide Lina Dusevičienė tells us that the district was a no-go area during Soviet times, when its beautiful buildings were used as squats by creatives deemed ‘undesirable’ by the Communist regime.
The main thoroughfare was once nicknamed the ‘Street of Death’ due to high crime rates and the district’s Jewish population, which was decimated in the Holocaust. But life has returned. ‘It was here that people turned [when the Soviet Union fell],’ says Lina. ‘People had always been themselves here. They helped others to become individuals again.’
Uzupis is home to an eclectic group of writers, artists and musicians, with a constitution that captures the essence of the neighbourhood’s wacky but well-meaning ideals. Some of the more bizarre clauses include ‘a dog has the right to be a dog’, and ‘everyone has the right to understand’ (followed by ‘everyone has the right to understand nothing’). The charter is printed in more than 30 languages on mirrored rectangles on Paupio Street, right around the corner from parliament house — which also functions as a cafe-cum-pub. I sveikatą (cheers) to that.
I stop to refuel at Momo’s Grill, a cosy lunch spot that serves beef tartare (€15) and classic Lithuanian offerings such as pickled onion and beetroot soup (€7), the national dish which now has an annual festival in its honour.
‘We are Baltic’
Home to around 2.8 million people, Lithuania – the largest and most southerly of the three Baltic states – sits on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea, bordered by Latvia, Belarus, Poland and the Russian region of Kaliningrad.
Lithuania declared independence in March 1990, the first former Soviet country to do so, a move that prompted a full-throated embrace of its own ideals.
‘We are Baltic, not Russian, not eastern European,’ Lina explains. ‘We are proud of our heritage, and we want people to know about it.’
Where to stay in Vilnius
Vilnius has a smorgasbord of affordable accommodation, and it’s hard to look past the Comfort Hotel LT – Rock ‘n’ Roll, TripAdvisor’s top rated for value with rooms from £57 per night.
For luxury, head to Hotel Pacai, a stylish hotel inside a Baroque palace where Napoleon Bonaparte once stayed. The 104 rooms feature glossy marble bathrooms, centuries-old exposed brickwork and beds so comfortable you won’t want to get up. But the real draw is the location, on what was once Vilnius’ ‘royal mile’. Step out of the cobbled courtyard and you’re right beside the old town, minutes from the city’s finest restaurants, boutiques and landmarks. Double rooms with breakfast start from £162 per night.
In 2019, the prestigious Cato Institute published an article titled ‘How Lithuania destroyed the Soviet Union’, and it’s true that the country’s national pride played a key role in the collapse of communism. These dark days are detailed in the Museum of Occupations and Freedom Fights (£5/€6), an incredible archive of KGB brutality which was used as a filming location for the hit HBO miniseries Chernobyl. A harrowing but worthwhile glimpse into the most repressive parts of the country’s history, I spent 90 minutes here — but you could stay and learn for a lot longer.
Today, an enduring belief in the right to self-determination explains Lithuania’s fierce solidarity with Ukraine. Support is evident on every street corner, with Lithuanian and Ukrainian flags flying side by side and ‘Slava Ukraini!’ (Glory to Ukraine) banners in most shop windows.
It’s cold, and eager for respite from subzero temperatures, I book into Bokšto Spa, a sleek retreat in a restored cellar beneath the old town. Three saunas, a jacuzzi, a 25-metre swimming pool and a silent room with marble water features are just some of the restorative options on offer, and I can feel the remains of the outside world melt away in this subterranean maze. At €80 (£67) for three hours, it’s not cheap. But compared to similar day spas in London that cost almost double for half the time, Vilnius is a veritable bargain.
Just make sure you explore this hidden gem before everyone else does.
Two-day Vilnius itinerary
Day 1
Coffee and breakfast at Barbara and Augustus
Take a self-guided walking tour of the Old Town, then head to Cathedral Square and
Dive into Soviet history at the Museum of Occupations and Freedom Fights, and Lukiskes Prison (where scenes from Stranger Things were filmed)
Dinner at 14 Horses followed by a cocktail at Nick and Nora
Day 2
Breakfast at Paupys market
Check out Uzupis, wandering through the cobbled streets and cafes
Unwind at Boksto Spa
Dinner at Dziaugsmas followed by drinks at cosy wine bar Bohema
Alice Murphy was a guest of Go Vilnius. Ryanair flies from London Luton and Stansted to Vilnius from £25; Wizz Air flies from Luton to Vilnius from £35.
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