Vilnius Shopping Tips by matcrazy1 Top 5 Page for this destination

On TV Tower: Poor choice, high prices

The cashier when I bought tickets to lifts leading to the viewing platform of the Vilnius TV tower offered very poor choice of gifts. Additionally I found all of them less or more kitschy, although... if you like... say small figure if TV tower or ceramic dishes with churches of Vilnius painted or...

What to buy: None. Better save for delicious Lithuanian food :-).

What to pay: Very high prices as for Lithuania. 43 or 78 Lt (larger) for a figure of TV tower. 29 or 39 Lt for a ceramic dish. 20 Lt for a T-shirt.

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Address: Sausio 13-osios st. 10, LT-2050 Vilnius, Lithuania

Directions: From the center take bus # 11. Download and check the map of public transportation: click here

Other Contact: info@lrtc.net

Phone: 8-5 2525325

Theme: Gifts

MINIMA: Chain food supermarket

Excuse, it's more Lithuanian (and Latvian) shopping tip than only Vilnius tip. I will transfer it to my Lithuania page soon.

I could find quite many small supermarket chain groceries called MINIMA in Lithuania and Latvia. They were open daily from 8.00 am till 10.00 pm :-).

MINIMA groceries were run by private Lithuanian joint-stock company VP Market founded in 1992. The company operated a supermarket chain consisting of numerous supermarkets called: MINIMA, MEDIA, MAXIMA, HYPER MAXIMA, SAULUTE (former name: T-MARKET) mainly in Lithuania, but more and more in Latvia, and Estonia as well.

MINIMA, MEDIA and MAXIMA and HYPER MAXIMA supermarket chains were named according to their sizes of which MINIMA were surely the smallest ones and most numerous.

What to buy: Food and drinks - very good choice. Look for famous Lithuanian honey (lietuviskas midus), Svyturis beer (alus) or vodka (by Vilnius degtine)... if you like it.

What to pay: Prices for food were a little bit lower than in Poland (in June 2004) which meant that they were lower in western Europe, sometimes even much lower than in say Germany. Great option for budget travellers!

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Address: Mk Ciurliono gatve, Vilnius

Directions: West of the centre/downtown: from Crowne Plaza hotel (Mk Ciurlionio 84 St.) walk a few min. eastwards, on southern (right) side of the street.

Theme: Food and Drink

Website: http://www.vpmarket.lt/en/index.php

Street stalls at Pilies gatve: Buy Lithuanian witch riding a broom :-)

There were a few street stalls at the beginning (close to the Cathedral Square) of Pilies gatve - the main tourist street of the old town. Most of the stuff they offered was a little bit kitschy in my opinion. Anyway, take a closer look and you will find something interesting for you, I am sure.

What to buy: Very friendly Lithuanians sold there various stuff including some dolls of Lithuanian traditional witch ("ragana") - always riding a traditional witches' broom. The Devil told the early Lithuanian witches to ride the broom like a horse. They could then levitate safely, because they were afraid.

What to pay: Cheap area! Not so easy to find in Europe nowadays! Enjoy! No fixed prices, do barhain, bargain, bargain and... do not except large dicounts. Prices in stores were higher, well, the quality better as well.

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Address: Pilies gatve, Vilnius

Directions: Walking from the Cathedral Square at the very beginning of Pilies gatve (Castle Street) on the left.

Theme: Local Craft

Website: http://www.sacred-texts.com/neu/srp/srp11.htm

Ravel: Good quality clothes,reasonable prices

It was a chain cloth store. Ravel company was established in 1989 in... Krakow, Poland and now offers clothes for both women and men, mainly younger folks, in Poland, Czech and Lithuania (Germany, Slovakia and Latvia soon).

What to buy: Good quality cloths and some accesories.

What to pay: Reasonable prices, mostly a little bit lower than in Ravel stores in Poland, discounts up to 30% for some clothes. Credit cards accepted.

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Address: Gedimino pr. 3a, LT-01001 Vilnius

Directions: Walking Gedinino prospektas from the cathedral, on the right at the beginning of a street.

Theme: Women's Clothes

Poste: Postcards and postage stamps

There was a store with great choice of postcards and limited choice of souvenirs inside the main post office (Poste) building. I bought a few postcards there. Well, there were available at many places around the old town, esp. at Pilies gatve (street).

What to buy: Postcards from Vilnius. Postage stamps at the post office.

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What to pay: Postage stamps for postcards sent abroad: 1.00 Lt for ordinary/surface or 1.20 Lt for priority (first class/air) mail. Check here.

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Address: Gedimino pr. 7, LT-01001 Vilnius

Directions: 3-5 min. walk from the cathedral, second block on the right side.

Other Contact: Fax: (8~5) 212 01 73

Phone: (8~5) 261 67 59

Theme: Other

Website: http://www.post.lt/en

Danija Classic: Great shoes at attractive prices

Danija was quite large shoe store located close to the Vilnius Cathedral on the most represantitive, commercial street of Vilnius - Gedimino prospektas. It was Danish-Lithuanian joint venture which sold shoes in other cities in Lithuania as well.

Don't forget to take a look at old, stone sculpture of three bears eating chocolate put left to the entrance.

What to buy: I took a quick look and I... liked some designs. Urszula (matcrazy0) found some fancy, beautiful shoes. Well, she didn't buy any. She has a lot of shoes... :-))), well no Lithuanian ones yet.

What to pay: The prices were high as for Lithuania but... lower than for the same qualty shoes (I think) in Poland or say Berlin I visited 2 months before.

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Address: Gedimino pr. 2, Vilnius

Directions: In the heart of Vilnius: at the western beginning of Gedimino prospektas, walking from the Cathedral on the right side.

Phone: (5) 231 37 20

Theme: Shoes

Gedimino prospektas: For non-Lithuanian clothes, shoes...

If you are looking for fancy jewelry, shoes or clothes, esp. of top world fashion designers and popular European fashion companies take a walk along Gedimino prospektas. There were ATMs, banks, restaurants and a post office there as well.

This was the most representative street of Vilnius and probably of Lithuania, renovated recently and closed for traffic... from 6.00 pm to 3.00 am.

What to buy: Clothes, shoes, glasses, accesories both for women and men.

What to pay: Well, prices were very high, high or low depends on a store. Sometimes lower than in Poland :-). Look for discounts and sales.

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Address: Gedimino prospektas, Vilnius

Directions: Look at my picture! Well, the street runs westwards from the Cathedral and its belfry.

Theme: Women's Clothes

Souvenirs: Local decorative ceramic tiles

This store on my picture offered limited choice of Lithuanian gifts and books/leaflets on Vilnius, its art and history. To be honest, I am not sure whether the items sold there were Lithuanian, but I suppose they were.

What to buy: There were a few types of local (I think) decorative ceramic tiles hang on the wall. I liked this one on the top left on my picture but so much to buy it but... look and decide by yourself.

What to pay: Less than in any western European capital :-)

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Address: Katedros aikste, Vilnius

Directions: By the fence of the Lower Castle reconstruction area, east of the cathedral on the left side of the trail to the Gediminas Hill.

Theme: Local Craft

Souvenirs: Painted plastic mugs

This store on my picture offered limited choice of Lithuanian gifts and books/leaflets on Vilnius, its art and history.
The salesman could speak Lithuanian and Russian and he understood a little bit Polish (similar to Russian). There was younger saleswoman as well. She could speak Lithuanian and Emglish.

What to buy: Plastic mugs (enlarge my picture) with painted portraits of Vilnius heroes or local architecture, if you like them. I didn't.

What to pay: Less than in any western European capital :-)

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Address: Katedros aikste, Vilnius

Directions: By the fence of the Lower Castle reconstruction area, east of the cathedral on the left side of the trail to the Gediminas Hill.

Theme: Local Craft

Souvenirs: Temporary gift store

When I walked down by a walking trail from the top of the Gediminas Hill I reached the Cathedral Square with the cathedral on my right. But before the cathedral there was fenced area of huge construction works of the Lower Castle. This small store (on my picure) decorated by Lithuanian flags was located just there. I think, they will transfer it to better and larger rooms when they complete the construction that is by... 2009.

What to buy: Poor choice: some books/leaflets on old art, history and Vilnius but mainly in Lithuanian language, ceramic tiles, pictures, T-shirts and kitschy mugs.

What to pay: Less than in any western European capital :-)

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Address: Katedros aikste, Vilnius

Directions: By the fence of the Lower Castle reconstruction area, east of the cathedral on the left side of the trail to the Gediminas Hill.

Theme: Gifts