Must-see attractions in Vilnius

  • Vilnius Cathedral

    Vilnius Cathedral

    Vilnius

    Stately Vilnius Cathedral, divorced from its freestanding belfry, is a national symbol and the city's most instantly recognisable building. Known in full…

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    Palace of the Grand Dukes of Lithuania

    Vilnius

    If you only see one museum in Vilnius, make it this one. On a site that has been settled since the 4th century AD stands the latest in a procession of…

  • Vilnius University

    Vilnius

    Founded in 1579 during the Catholic Counter Reformation, Vilnius University was run by Jesuits for two centuries. During the 19th century it became one of…

  • Lithuania, Vilnius, Names Of Victims On Wall Of Museum Of Genocide Victims, Formerly KGB Headquarters

    Museum of Genocide Victims

    Vilnius

    This former headquarters of the KGB (and before them the Gestapo, Polish occupiers and Tsarist judiciary) houses a museum dedicated to thousands of…

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    Cathedral Bell Tower

    Vilnius

    Climb the creaky stairs into the free-standing belfry of Vilnius Cathedral, once part of the city's 13th-century defences. Towering 57m high, it's one of…

  • Mindaugas

    Vilnius

    This landmark statue depicts the early unifier of the Lithuanian tribes in the mid-13th century and the country's first king.

  • Cathedral Square

    Vilnius

    Katedros aikštė buzzes with local life. In the 19th century markets and fairs were held here and a moat ran around what is now the square’s perimeter so…

  • Tolerance Centre

    Vilnius

    One of the main branches of the Vilna Gaon Jewish State Museum, the Tolerance Centre is simultaneously a museum of Jewish history and culture, and a…

  • Sts Johns' Church

    Vilnius

    The full name is 'Church of St Johns, St John the Baptist and St John the Apostle and Evangelist', but 'Sts Johns' (plural) will do nicely. Founded in…

  • Užupis Art Incubator

    Vilnius

    One of two branches of the creative powerhouse of the Užupis Republic, the Galera shows exciting temporary exhibitions by local talent and invites artists…

  • MO Museum

    Vilnius

    Opened in October 2018, this assemblage of contemporary Lithuanian art and photography is the country's first private museum. An orderly union of sharp…

  • Energy & Technology Museum

    Vilnius

    Vilnius' first power station, in operation from 1903 to 2003, now houses exhibitions on energy, technology and their historical development. The original…

  • Antakalnis Cemetery

    Vilnius

    In this leafy suburb, little-visited by tourists, Antakalnis Cemetery is the final resting place of Lithuanian luminaries and locals lost to war…

  • View of the facade, the New Arsenal, home to the National Museum of Lithuania, Vilnius Castle Complex, historic centre of Vilnius (Unesco World Heritage List, 1994), Dainava, Lithuania

    National Museum of Lithuania

    Vilnius

    This wide-ranging museum (inside the New Arsenal) exhibits art and artefacts from Lithuanian life from Neolithic times to the present day. Early history…

  • 500px Photo ID: 97929297 - Gediminas caslte 2013 autumn. Vilnius. Lithuania.

    Gediminas Castle & Museum

    Vilnius

    With its hilltop location above the junction of the Neris and Vilnia Rivers, Gediminas Castle is the last of a series of settlements and fortified…

  • The Presidential Palace in Vilnius, the official residence of the President of Lithuania.; Shutterstock ID 692036209; Your name (First / Last): Gemma Graham; GL account no.: 65050; Netsuite department name: Online Editorial; Full Product or Project name including edition: Vilnius destination page

    Presidential Palace

    Vilnius

    The Bishops of Vilnius’ Palace in the 16th century, this classical edifice now houses the president and chancellery. It gained its current Russian empire…

  • Church of St. Michael the Archangel in Vilnius. Lithuania.; Shutterstock ID 712536580

    St Michael the Archangel Church

    Vilnius

    This grand early-17th-century chuch, built by the Sapiega family, now houses a wonderful museum of sacral art. The building itself, with its single Gothic…

  • Gate Of Dawn In Vilnius, Lithuania

    Gates of Dawn

    Vilnius

    The southern border of Old Town is marked by the last standing of five 16th-century portals that were once built into the city walls. A suitably grand way…

  • 500px Photo ID: 121014055 - The historians suppose that in the 13th century before the conversion of Lithuania to Christianity on this hill seven Franciscan monks, that preached the new religion, were murdered. The monks were crucified and then four of them were tossed into the river to check whether a new god could work wonders and save his servants..In the 13th century the third Vilnius castle, the so called Crooked Castle, stood on the hill on the bank of the river Vilnia. In 1390 it was burnt to the ground by the sword-bearers and never rebuilt. On its spot, in 1613, the first crosses were erected to honor the monks that had died the death of martyrs. In 1916 the concrete crosses designed by the architect A. Vivulskis replaced the old wooden ones. In the postwar years at the behest of the Soviet Government the crosses, as well as many other religious monuments, were blown up and buried. The Three Crosses Monument was re-erected on the day of commemoration of the June massive exiles of the population in 1941 (June 14, 1989). The blasted crosses lie nearby the new ones to remind the contemporaries of the tragic Lithuanian history and to warn the posterity against the neglecting of the country's tradition..From the top of the hill one can enjoy a breathtaking panorama of Vilnius.

    Three Crosses

    Vilnius

    Crosses were first erected in the 17th century, in memory of a group of monks martyred by pagans three centuries earlier. The current crosses replace…

  • The Church of St. Casimir in Vilnius, Lithuania.

    St Casimir's Church

    Vilnius

    This striking church is the city’s oldest baroque place of worship. St Casimir’s dome and cross-shaped ground plan defined a new style for 17th-century…

  • Užupis Republic Constitution

    Vilnius

    The 'Republic' of Užupis's Constitution is engraved in English, French, Lithuanian and several other languages on plaques running along Paupio gatvė. It…

  • St Anne's Church

    Vilnius

    Flamboyant and Gothic St Anne's Church, a vision of undulating lines and red-brick arches, was built in 1500 on the site of a wooden church that burned to…

  • Mickiewicz Memorial Apartment & Museum

    Vilnius

    ‘Lithuania, my fatherland…’ is from Poland’s romantic masterpiece Pan Tadeusz. Its Polish author Adam Mickiewicz (1798–1855) – muse to Polish nationalists…

  • Orthodox Church of the Holy Spirit

    Vilnius

    The peachy facade gives an understated first impression but there's an electric atmosphere inside Lithuania’s chief Russian Orthodox church. The 16th…

  • Holocaust Exhibition

    Vilnius

    The 'Green House' exhibits the unvarnished truth behind the destruction of Lithuania's once-vibrant Jewish community, the Litvaks. The displays – mostly…

  • Bernadine Church & Monastery

    Vilnius

    The massive buttresses and towering walls of this, one of the most impressive churches in Vilnius, are capable of providing defence as well as worship…

  • TV Tower

    Vilnius

    It’s hard to miss the 326m TV tower on the city’s western horizon. This tall needle symbolises Lithuania’s strength of spirit: on 13 January 1991 the…

  • Make Everything Great Again Mural

    Vilnius

    In 2016 the mural by artist Mindaugas Bonanu, depicting Trump and Putin kissing and the slogan 'Make Everything Great Again', went viral. It was a…

  • Museum of Applied Art

    Vilnius

    The Old Arsenal, built in the 16th century and restored in the 1980s, houses temporary exhibitions and a permanent collection showcasing 15th- to 19th…

  • Parliament House

    Vilnius

    This squat, unlovely Soviet-built 'palace', home to the Lithuanian Seimas (Parliament), was the scene of a historic standoff. On 13 January 1991…

  • Vingis Park

    Vilnius

    At the western end of Čiurlionio gatvė is the wooded Vingis Park, surrounded on three sides by the Neris. The park has a large open-air amphitheatre used…

  • Choral Synagogue

    Vilnius

    Vilnius' flourishing Jewish communities and 100 synagogues gave the city the nickname 'Jerusalem of the north' until WWII. The Choral Synagogue, built in…

  • Chapel of the Gates of Dawn

    Vilnius

    Above the Gates of Dawn you'll find this 18th-century chapel, aka the Gates of Dawn Chapel of Mary the Mother of Mercy. Inside is a venerated painting of…

  • Theatre, Music & Cinema Museum

    Vilnius

    Artefacts of Lithuanian song, stage and screen are the stars of this museum. Three centuries of notable instruments – including the pūslinė (a primitive…

  • Samuel Bak Museum

    Vilnius

    This art gallery, a branch of the Jewish State Museum, showcases the bold, vivid, somewhat surrealist paintings of renowned artist Samuel Bak, whose works…

  • House of Signatories

    Vilnius

    Lithuania's Declaration of Independence was signed here on 16 February 1918. Today, across 14 rooms of this 18th-century house, you'll find a reverent…

  • Amber Museum-Gallery

    Vilnius

    Dedicated to Baltic gold and the beautiful things it can be crafted into, this enthusiastic little museum occupies a 17th-century baroque house. Upstairs…

  • Cathedral of the Theotokos

    Vilnius

    An Orthodox church has stood here since Lithuania's late pagan days of the 14th century. Over the years it was burned, abandoned, rebuilt, transferred to…

  • Frank Zappa Memorial

    Vilnius

    West of Vilniaus gatvė, rock 'n’ roll legend Frank Zappa is immortalised in a bronze bust atop a 4.2m-high stainless-steel pole. It was the world’s first…

  • St Nicholas Church

    Vilnius

    Lithuania’s oldest church, this red-brick Gothic pile was built by German Christians around 1320, when the country was still pagan. From 1901 to 1939 it…

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