Vilnius

Vilnius – I flew to Vilnius in Lithuania with my friend in May for a vacation.

Without any prior preparation or knowledge of the city, the flight was booked completely spontaneously.

The decision turned out to be very smart in retrospect.

The purpose of this post is to introduce you to Vilnius, the Lithuanians, what options are available to the traveler, and to convince you that Vilnius should be your next destination.

You can also visit another republic as a surprise.

Vacation in Vilnius – Content

introduction to Vilnius

As a writer, I usually skip the informational part of writing about a destination since there is already a lot of information online.

I will try to provide some more information from my perspective about Vilnius since there is not much information about it already.

It is not a popular tourist destination.

There are very few tourists in the city.

You are glad to be in Vilnius, to see the city free of tourist traps even though the streets are empty.

Flight to Vilnius

Vilnius, which is more or less north of Poland, has a few direct flights.

There are three ways to reach Vilnius from the airport:

• Taxis cost between 5-15 euros depending on the hour, and the journey takes about 5 minutes.
• Taking the bus from Central Station (about 10 minute’s drive) costs only 1 euro.
• The train station is adjacent to the bus station.

The bus and train only operate until the evening.

Lithuania Demographics

The size of Lithuania is three times that of New Jersey.

In terms of population, it is smaller than in NJ and shrinking every year.

There has been a negative migration from Lithuania to destinations in Europe and the United States.

Previously, there were 3.8 million inhabitants, but today there are 2.8, and immigration has not yet stopped.

In addition to wanting to be exposed to the world after years of Soviet occupation, some immigrants also want to improve their economic situation.

Due to this negative migration, the country has a very large adult population relative to the rest of the world, and fewer young people.

Likewise, women outnumber men 55-45.

Vilnius is the largest capital city of Lithuania, with 500,000 inhabitants.

The people of Vilnius

According to the paragraph above, this is a poor country with poor people.

The people may be poor in the country itself, but in Vilnius, this is not apparent.

As a matter of fact, life is very good in the Old City, which is the center of the entire city, a very clean and well-kept city, with very beautiful and impressive houses, and a classic European celebration.

Overall, the atmosphere is great, there is no crime, no violence, and everyone is happy and smiling.

Because Vilnius is a student city, you can find cafes everywhere, restaurants, bars, pubs, and clubs where you can speak English.

Lithuania can be described as a small country that wants and does everything to make tourists happy.

You can always ask someone to help you with tourist information on every street corner.

They usually won’t leave until you’re satisfied.

In one of the evening sections, I had to get to the bank.

I asked a girl in the middle of the street where there was an open bank, and she went with me until we found one. Well done!

Lithuania has no minorities, most of the population is Lithuanian, and a small part is Russian and Polish.

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Your money in Lithuania

Aside from the people being nice and friendly, and the fact that they are beautiful, the city is also clean and safe, and the buildings are of European design.

Furthermore, this is a very cheap country.

An Airbnb apartment with two beds costs around 60 euros per day.

1 Euro gets you from the airport to the main station by bus or train

Our apartment is 5 euros away from the central city by taxi at night.

Beer in supermarkets costs between 0.5 and 1.5 euros.

Nighttime prices are higher – a Big Capuccino can cost 2 EUR, and a beer at the best bar can cost 3 EUR.

Over the course of 3 nights and 4 days, we spent about 200 euros each on the apartment inside, food, transportation, and nightlife.

Weather in Vilnius

In May, we visited Vilnius.

The sun sets only at 10 p.m. in May.

Due to the late sunset, you can travel more in the city and experience more of it.

It was a rainy day most of the day, but sunny and pleasant the next day.

A coat is recommended for the cold evening hours, an umbrella in case of rain, and light clothing for the sun.

Vacation in Vilnius – Getting to know the city

Tourists gather in the Old City.

Restaurants, cafes, bars, nightlife, and sightseeing are all located here.

The Old City was largely Jewish until World War II when it became the Ghetto (there were actually two adjacent to each other).

I have uploaded a map of the Old City complex for your convenience.

Old City complex is roughly represented by the yellow dotted line.

In this post, the red line shows the Old City’s main streets, and the green circles are recommended travel spots.

Have you noticed? The colors are the Lithuanian flag’s colors.

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Vacation in Vilnius – Apartment in Vilnius

I recommend only apartments in Vilnius’ Old City if you are looking for an apartment there.

Our apartment was found through the Airbnb apartment site.

The apartment was the first to be occupied by us.

New and well-maintained apartments are easy to find

Considering our flight to Vilnius landed at 2 a.m., we paid around 40 Euros for the entire apartment for three nights and the owner also waited for us at 3 a.m.

Thursday in Vilnius

After arriving early Thursday morning, we took a quick nap before going to lunch in the Old City.

There was no one in the city.

Students were the only people we saw.

Everything was empty and deserted, with no tourists or locals around.

Tourist attractions were hardly populated.

At night, all places of entertainment were empty.

There was certainly a serious drop in motivation at the end of the day.

Friday in Vilnius

When we got up on Friday, we went back to the Old City and there weren’t that many people, just a little bit more.

Apart from a few minutes of rain, the weather was good, so there was no reason for the streets to be empty.

When we left the restaurant in the afternoon, the picture changed.

Weekend in Vilnius

We noticed that the number of people was increasing momentarily on Friday afternoon.

The weekend has just begun, so the reason is obvious.

We made an unfair comparison with other European cities.

The people in Vilnius go out primarily on Friday evenings until the beginning of next week.

We suddenly met hundreds of locals who were just happy to meet us from that moment on.

Without exception, everyone was interested in us, what we thought about their country, their city, what we had done so far, and how life was in our countries.

Their fear of Russia (as a result of what is happening in Ukraine) was shared with us.

As they did not get to see many tourists on the streets of their city, they were excited to meet us since they were interested in what was going on around the world.

Most Lithuanians are extremely nice people, and if you ask them, they will go with you to the next point.

People are kind, everyone is dressed nicely, the streets are clean, and everything feels good.

Vacation in Vilnius – Places to see

• Vilnius cathedral – very impressive including an exterior extension.
• The Citadel of Gedimino – an impressive view of the city.
• The university – everything is beautiful and impressive. Includes Yiddish Studies School
• St. Anne’s Church – a Gothic church with Baroque influences.
• The President’s House – is adjacent to the University.
• The Republic of Uzupis – Republic within the city of Vilnius, the most expensive real estate in Lithuania.
• Vilnius Municipality and Central Square – a good starting point for a city tour.
• Shofar Museum – Jewish Culture – Includes a real underground room where Jews hid during the war.
• The area of ​​the Vilnius ghetto is very beautiful with lots of shops and yards behind.

Vacation in Vilnius – The streets of Vilnius

• Gedimino Street, the main shopping street
• Vilniaus Street – The street of bars and pubs
• The streets of the old city – this is all the beauty of this city with the narrow sidewalks, the roads made of stones, the low houses that are painted in soft and beautiful colors, the courtyards of the houses that hide in every corner.
• Phyllis Street – the university street and cafes
• And last, the street next to Neris, the river of the city.

What to do outside of Vilnius

Trakai

Look at the pictures and you’ll understand alone.

Very special and beautiful place.

About 40 minutes by bus from the main station or train.

In the area are several restaurants, cafes and ice cream parlors.

Kaunas

A city with history.

We did not visit there but according to the locals the city is beautiful and recommended.

Nightlife in Vilnius

The nightlife in Vilnius is not many but because it is a student city so many clubs and bars can be found.

Most clubs do not charge entrance fees unless the place is full.

It is possible and desirable to enter several clubs until something is found.

The places are mostly small, intimate and fun.

There are few places that fill up to the end and which you will want to go to as well.

Invino Bar

Of all the places we’ve been there is one that stands out above all and which I would highly recommend going to – Invino Bar.

If most of the clubs and bars in the Old City have mostly students, the Invino Bar is a little more mature and a lot happier.

The place is large and can accommodate many hangers with complexes of different styles.

In Invino we discovered the Lithuanian people in full glory and we knew a lot of locals who we were happy to keep in touch with us.

We returned to Invino again the next day and again the pleasure was perfect.

Other nightlife locations

In addition, close to Invino is the entertainment complex adjacent to the town hall and contains several entertainment venues.

There are some places of entertainment on Vokieciy Street

And there are many more on vilineos and Icelander.

Where to eat in Vilnius

Cafes in Vilnius

• There are 3 great coffee chains: Coffee In, Vero Cafe, and Caif Cafe
• Vokieciy Street – a short street where we mainly sat for coffee.
• When you reach the street, enter the cafe and go to the left on the armchairs that overlook the street.

Restaurants in Vilnius

Most of the restaurants are just enough.

There is a very cheap hamburger network by the name Hesburger.

There is the Cili pizza which is a high cost, but the pizza is quality.

Usually, you will not find Lithuanian food in restaurants, because modernization has taken over Lithuanian cuisine.

If you still insist, then there is one on 6 Stiklių gatvė street (enter the back yard if pleasant outside).

The restaurant’s street itself is topped with crazy little shops.

Vacation in Vilnius – Summary

I would love to come back to Vilnius again.

I would love to meet all the locals we knew and to spend more time with them,

Of course, make new friends and continue to explore other new sites and get to know Lithuania even more deeply.

Lithuania has come to my heart and I hope to return before the whole world finds out.

More to read

Have you read my other posts:

Warsaw – 3 days in this beautiful city.

Barcelona – a football story.

Wonderful Paris tips