Riga

Country:	Latvia
Time Difference:	-2 hour(s)
Flight time from UK:	2hrs 30mins
Visa required:	No
Currency:	Euro
Health advice:	No obligatory vaccinations are required going to Latvia. However if spending some time in forests and certain other endemic areas between March and October it is recommended that visitors have a vaccination against tick-borne encephalitis.

Riga is the capital of Latvia and has 806,000 inhabitants. Situated the mouth of the Daugava River, on the shores of the Riga Gulf of the Baltic Sea, Riga has good air, rail and road connections, which makes it a major tourist attraction in the country. Riga is rich in history with buildings of remarkable Gothic, Baroque, Classicism and Art Nouveau architecture. This variety and richness of styles has been recognised by the United Nations Organization and in 1997 the Central part of Riga was included into the UNESCO World Heritage List. Riga traditionally has been the trade and business connection between East and West. It had joined the Hanseatic League in 1282 and was an active partner until the League disintegrated about three hundred years later. Riga is destined to become a commercial and tourist centre in the coming decades and in a few years it ought to compete favourably, on a smaller scale, with Prague, Paris and other cities. Riga International Airport is located about 13 km from the city centre.