"Vilnius - mix of cultures" Top 5 Page for this destination Vilnius by Raimix

Vilnius Travel Guide: 1,711 reviews and 3,495 photos

Mix of cultures - it is nice to say about Vilnius like about cosmopolitan city in mostly all history of this town. Lithuanian, Polish, Russian, Jewish and other cultural influences shaped this town and it can be seen from Vilnius old town's architecture and population, where only about 55% of people are Lithuanians, differently from other places of Lithuania.

It's hard to introduce Vilnius with two - three words. It is just beautiful: unique old town with beautiful churches, castle, river Neris and much more to see.

In the 5th century, a wooden castle occupied a site overlooking the junction of Neris and Vilna rivers. By the 13th century, a town had grown up beside the protective walls of the castle. The first written mention of Vilnius was in 1323 by the founder of the city, Grand Duke Gediminas.

I hope Vilnius is going to be the main town of North-East Europe, because it shows a lot of attempts to do this purpose.

I am always trying to update this page by new things I experienced in my home town - Vilnius is changing so fast, that sometimes I feel like tourist in city I live for 25 years.

Old town and architecture

It takes lot of time to explore old part of Vilnius, because of this old town is one of the biggest in Europe.

What is more, Vilnius sometimes is called "baroque town" due to lot of baroque architecture in old part of town. It is not really right phrase, it seems architecture is much more different - there are Gothic, Renaissance, classicism and more styles too for exploring. The real example of mixed architecture can be Vilnius University, working from the year of 1579.

Vilnius historical centre (old town) was included to UNESCO World Heritage list in the year of 1994.

Vilnius - town of churches

The most fascinating trip in Vilnius is a trip of all churches in old town and not only there. The styles of churches ranging from Gothic to classicism makes special feeling and broadens the knowledge of architecture.

Lithuania is the only Catholic country of three Baltic countries and the Catholicism especially is highlighted by the great number of old churches in Vilnius.

Pros and Cons

Pros:Beautiful city and nice people.
Cons:Some ugly sovietic micro-regions, crowd of cars.
In a nutshell:Go and see the all main architecture styles of Europe in Vilnius!

Intro Updated Dec 11, 2011
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Reviews (70)

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(c) http://www.meniu.lt/cat_item.php?strid=1079&id - Vilnius

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Off The Beaten Path (5)
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Shopping (4)
See All Big shop near river Neris
Nightlife (2)
See All To go for a dance :)

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Comments (92)

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tini58de May 16, 2012 at 8:36 AM

Looking forward to visiting your home town! Leaving tomorrow early morning - and hoping for good weather!!!
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zadunajska8 Apr 4, 2012 at 4:47 AM

Vilnius looks great, especially the old town and Trakai castle. I hope I get a chance to visit your fine city one day.
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asiantraveler Mar 6, 2012 at 5:12 AM

beautiful! thanks for the info
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sylina Oct 20, 2011 at 11:05 PM

Vilnius looks very beautiful.. would love to visit it someday.. :)
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betako3 Jul 1, 2011 at 9:15 AM

I've just come back from Lithuania, just a short trip,but enough to see the beauty of the land. I envy you long stretches of unspoiled countryside and 'forest in the city' as you put it in a comment about Vilnus. Wish I had read your page before the trip.
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Arkeolog Apr 12, 2011 at 7:57 AM

A good page.
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IreneMcKay Mar 9, 2011 at 11:51 PM

Interesting page. I loved Vilnius when I visited. Now I want to go back and see some of the sights in the surrounding areas,too. Irene
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ZiOOlek Mar 5, 2011 at 1:05 AM

Great page! I prefer ballet than opera. ;-)
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BruceDunning Mar 3, 2010 at 1:49 PM

I again visit your home town city and your knowledge and description is helpful to tell us about culture and the mix of people here.
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Tuna_ank Jul 19, 2009 at 9:25 AM

Your city looks very nice. I will see there soon. Thanks for explanations.