Not many talk about it, so discovering Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania, can be a true revelation for travellers in search of new experiences. But what’s it really like? First and foremost, you’re in for a compact and walkable city filled with urban green spaces and healthy doses of impressive architecture, tasty eats and all kinds of exciting leisure activities. Plus, Vilnius’ UNESCO-listed medieval Old Town is one of Eastern Europe’s biggest and most well preserved. Feel free to just wander around and let your curiosity lead the way through the courtyards and passageways further from the more touristic routes. You’re in for an array of exceptional discoveries.
The street art, murals and installations dotting Vilnius make it an urban gallery on its own, and the numerous high-level art festivals and cultural events throughout the year give the city its unique vibe. Longstanding food markets where people shop for local produce and eat either a pretty traditional lunch or something more contemporary; or one of the many boutiques, galleries and pop-up markets where local designers and artisans showcase and sell their latest creations allow you to feel the pulse of the city’s contemporary culture. Art is everywhere in Vilnius, but for the highest concentration of artistic ideas and sophisticated discussions visit Užupis, a district turned self-proclaimed independent republic with its own quirky constitution.
Vilnius is always ready to take you on an adventure. You can explore different parks and districts, take a kayak along one of the rivers for an entirely new perspective of the city, or go on a hike through beautiful natural landscapes sprinkled with historical landmarks. 46% of Vilnius is made up of green spaces, so you can definitely expect a breath of fresh air.
Gastronomy
Potatoes potatoes and… more potatoes. That’s how Lithuanian cuisine looks like when you first start searching for traditional Lithuanian food. It is true in some way. However, we have a lot more to put on the table. While tasting Lithuanian cuisine you will find a hint of German, Italian, Polish, Litvak cuisines.
Let’s start with Lithuanian classics – zeppelins (cepelinai). You might be confused at first. Zeppelins are airships, aren’t they? Well, yes, they are. But Lithuanians also call their most famous traditional Lithuanian dish zeppelin just because it looks like one, just much smaller. The official name is didžkukuliai, but even locals do not bother to use this word as cepelinas is much easier to pronounce. So what exactly is this traditional Lithuanian dish?
Cepelinai or zeppelins are massive potato dumplings stuffed with meat, mushrooms, or cottage cheese, often garnished with fried minced onion and bacon or sour cream. It is a pretty heavy dish! It is perfect for family gatherings or cold winter days. Our recommendation is to order only half of portion to get the taste of it. The half portion is one cepelinas, however, it will keep you full for the rest of the day! However if you are used to heavy cuisine and you want to act like locals do, try to finish the whole portion!
After cepelinai second most popular Lithuanian cuisine dish is šaltibarščiai – a cold soup made from beetroots, cucumber, spring onions, dill, boiled egg, and kefir. Everything is chopped, mixed and voila, soup is made. It is served with hot potatoes what we usually dip into the soup. Because of beetroots soup gets its pink color so don‘t worry if you forgot that complex name of this soup. Just say that you want pink soup and everybody will understand you. It is a perfect cold dish during hot summer day to refresh.
Kibinai are traditional Karaites’ pastries filled with mutton, mushrooms, beef, vegetables, chicken or other ingredients. It is quite usual to take a cup of broth with kibinas.
Karaite ethnic minority was brought to Lithuania over 600 years ago and you can learn more about them and their local cuisine in Trakai, a historical town only half an hour drive from Vilnius. That’s where Karaites live until this day. Kibinas is the most famous Karaite dish among Lithuanians. Although you can try it in Vilnius, the most authentic place to eat Kibinai is still Trakai. If you have a few days in Vilnius, it is definitely worth going to Trakai not only to taste kibinas, but also to enjoy beautiful views of the redbrick castle in the middle of the lake.
Lithuanians really like beer (we think that our beer is the best) and we have some snacks to eat while drinking beer. The most popular and the most delicious is fried bread (kepta duona) aka garlic bread. Try it at the bar and you won’t regret. Even though it is not the most healthy snack, is definitely worth a bite. Just note, that fried bread is served for sharing! One plate is usually enough for 2 or even 3 people.
Let’s finish this list with sweets. Šakotis (which means “branch”) is a cake made of butter, egg whites, and yolks, flour, sugar, and cream, cooked on a rotating spit in an oven or over an open fire. Lithuanians usually eat that during big celebrations like Christmas, New Year or weddings. Biggest šakotis was made in Lithuania in 2015 and it was 3,7 meters high.
Climate
The best months for good weather in Vilnius are from May until September.
May and September with an average temperatures between 13°C – 18°C. June between 16°C -21°C and July and August between 18°C – 23°C.
