Riga is the most walkable of the eastern-Baltic capital-city cruise calls. The Passenger Terminal at 3A Eksporta Street sits directly on the Daugava embankment, with the medieval Old Town visible from the cruise quay. The walk to Town Hall Square takes 10 to 15 minutes along the river, with the Riga Castle and the spire of St Peter’s Church marking the route.
Once in the Old Town, almost everything cruise passengers come to see is within a 20-minute walking radius. The Art Nouveau quarter along Alberta iela is the easiest single-day commitment beyond the Old Town; the Central Market in its repurposed Zeppelin hangars is a short walk south of the Old Town. The Latvian capital is one of the easiest in Northern Europe to enjoy without leaning on public transport.
Port Overview
| Category | Details |
|---|---|
| Port Type | Dock at Riga Passenger Terminal |
| Distance to Town | Riga Passenger Terminal sits beside the Old Town; the Town Hall Square area is within a 10 to 15 minute walk along the Daugava embankment |
| Currency | Euro (EUR) |
| Language | Latvian (Russian also spoken); English widely used in the centre and at the cruise terminal |
| Best Known For | The medieval Old Town around Town Hall Square, the Art Nouveau quarter along Alberta iela (the densest Art Nouveau street in Northern Europe), Riga Central Market in five repurposed Zeppelin hangars, and one of the easiest Baltic capitals to walk in a single day. |
- Riga Passenger Terminal , 3A Eksporta Street, beside the Old Town
- House of the Black Heads , Town Hall Square landmark, museum interior
- Riga Central Market , Five repurposed Zeppelin hangars, UNESCO buffer
- Alberta iela (Art Nouveau) , Densest Art Nouveau street in Northern Europe
- St Peter's Church , Gothic tower with viewing platform
Riga Passenger Terminal, Eksporta Street · View larger map
Getting From the Port to Town
Walking: The Best Option
Free- Walk time: 10 to 15 minutes from the terminal to the Old Town
- The Riga Passenger Terminal sits on Eksporta Street, on the Daugava embankment immediately beside the Old Town. The walk to Town Hall Square and the House of the Black Heads takes 10 to 15 minutes along the river. The Art Nouveau quarter is a short walk north of the Old Town, past the Freedom Monument and the canal that rings the medieval core.
Local Bus
EUR 1.50 single (90-min e-ticket), EUR 5.00 day pass- Riga's tram, trolleybus and bus network is run by Rīgas Satiksme. A single 90-minute e-ticket costs EUR 1.50, bought from machines or kiosks; a 24-hour pass is EUR 5.00. For most cruise passengers the walking distance from the terminal to the Old Town is short enough that public transport is only needed for outlying museums or the Jurmala train.
Taxi
Around EUR 5 to EUR 10 inside the city- Taxis queue at the cruise terminal during ship calls. Inside Riga's central districts fares are low compared with Western Europe, though it is sensible to confirm the price before you set off. The Bolt rideshare app is widely used by locals and is straightforward if you have data.
Top Excursions
Riga Old Town walking tour
Riga Old town walking tour runs every day at 10.30! It is ALL in ONE TOUR concept, with true local stories on Riga's and Latvia's history, introduction to art nouveau architecture, local food guidance, and tips on what else to explore in Riga! Welcome to join us – it will be both – informative and f
Check AvailabilityLatvian food tasting tour at Riga Central market (20 tastes)
Latvian food tour by Rigatrips is a tour of local gastronomy in the largest open-air market in Europe, that will give you an understanding of the local Latvian food traditions and provide a wide selection of traditional local food samples – meat, bread, cheese, fish, local fermented vegetables, non-
Check AvailabilityRiga Gun Range: shooting with Winchester, Glock17, & Kalashnikov
You will have a unique opportunity to fire weapons forbidden for public use at shooting ranges in many countries (Kalashnikov, Winchester, Glock17). For an additional cost, you can try the Smith & Wesson .357 Magnum revolver, Franchi SPAS-15, B&T APC 223, Vepr Pioneer, pistols like TT33, PM, H&K USP
Check AvailabilityRiga Sightseeing Tour by Canal Boat with Audioguide
Enjoy a 1-hour long boat tour along the charming Riga City Canal and Daugava River with an eco-friendly canal boat. See the most popular sights of the old town of Riga and historic city center. Audioguide for this tour is availible in English, German, Spanish, French, Finnish, Polish, Russian and La
Check AvailabilityMore Experiences in Riga
5,5 Hour Small Group Tour to Hill of Crosses from Riga
Our journey started on TripAdvisor with Latvia Tours on Tripadvisor by Latvian Gem where we became one of the first companies in Latvia to offer both transportation and tours, corporative events, activities for international visitors. Hill of Crosses – a site with hundreds of thousands of crosses re
Private Riga Old Town Walking Tour
If you’re looking for an engaging and informative tour that covers the complex history of Riga but also explores what it is like to live here today, then this is the tour for you. We will not miss any of old Riga’s most famous landmarks on our walk including St Peter’s Church, Town Hall Square and D
From Riga: Best of Kemeri National Park In One Day
Experience the very best of Ķemeri National Park in a single day with a journey that reveals the remarkable diversity of one of Latvia’s richest protected areas. Rather than simply visiting its highlights, you’ll discover how its landscapes, wildlife and history are all connected. Explore the famous
Private trip – Hill of Crosses / 2 countries in 1 day
Hill of Crosses is a truly unique site which will take your breath away! It is is a site of pilgrimage dating back to 1830ties when people started to place crosses here to pray for their loved ones they've lost in the battles (Lithuanian – Polish commonwealth uprising against Russian Empire). In Sov
The best excursions in Riga fill up ahead of peak sailings. Compare options and book before you leave port.
Things to Do in Riga
A focused day in Riga splits naturally between the medieval Old Town and the Art Nouveau quarter to the north. Most cruise passengers can comfortably cover both in a single port day, with the Central Market thrown in if the call is long enough.
Everything in the Old Town is walking distance from Town Hall Square. The Art Nouveau quarter is a short walk north on foot, past the Freedom Monument and the city canal. The market is a short walk south of the Old Town beside the central railway station.
- House of the Black Heads. The reconstructed 14th-century guild house on Town Hall Square is the photogenic centrepiece of Riga’s Old Town. Adult entry is EUR 10 and gives access to the restored interior. Open daily 10:00 to 17:00. The exterior is free to admire.
- Museum of the Occupation of Latvia. Opposite the House of the Black Heads on Town Hall Square, this is the essential introduction to Latvia’s 20th-century history under Nazi and Soviet occupation. Free entry; open Monday to Wednesday plus Friday to Sunday 10:00 to 18:00, Thursday 10:00 to 19:00.
- Latvian National Museum of Art. The country’s main national art collection sits in a restored Belle Époque building in the embassy quarter, a short walk from the Old Town. Adult entry for the permanent exhibitions is EUR 7. Closed Mondays.
- St Peter’s Church and the viewing tower. The Gothic St Peter’s Church on Skārņu iela has a viewing platform on the spire (lift access) with the best elevated view of the Old Town. Church open daily 10:00 to 18:00 (Friday and Saturday to 22:00). Worth the climb early to beat the cruise-day queue.
- Riga Central Market. Five repurposed Zeppelin hangars from the 1920s, listed as part of the UNESCO buffer zone, hold one of the largest covered markets in Europe. Free entry; pavilions open 07:30 to 18:00 (closed first Monday of the month for cleaning). The fish, dairy and meat halls are each worth ten minutes.
The walk from the Riga Passenger Terminal to Town Hall Square takes 10 to 15 minutes along the Daugava embankment, with Riga Castle on one side and the river on the other. It is one of the most pleasant cruise-port arrivals on a Baltic itinerary, and a public bus is unnecessary unless mobility is an issue.
Eating Near the Cruise Port
- Dock Port
- 10 to 15 min to the Old Town
- Euro (EUR)
What to eat in Riga
Grey peas with bacon is the Latvian national plate, a bowl of large brown-grey peas cooked with onion and fatty bacon, plain and filling and eaten at Christmas but served year round. Latvian rye bread is dark, sour and sold in enormous loaves. Smoked fish is the coastal speciality, particularly sprats, which Latvia has been tinning and exporting for a century. Pelmeni and cold beetroot soup appear on most menus.
What to drink
Riga Black Balsam is the local liqueur and it has been made since 1752: 45% alcohol, black as tar, and built from 24 plants, roots and berries. Almost nobody drinks it straight, and locals mix it into coffee, cola or blackcurrant juice. Latvian beer is good and cheap. Kvass, the fermented rye drink, is the traditional soft option.
Where to find it
It’s ten to fifteen minutes on foot from the berth into the old town. The restaurants around the Dome Square and Livu Square are the tourist-facing ones. Riga Central Market, housed in five vast former Zeppelin hangars, is the thing to see and the cheapest good eating in the city. The Art Nouveau district is a walk north.
Good for a short port call
The old town is fifteen minutes away and the Central Market is just beyond it. The market is worth the extra ten minutes for the building alone.
Getting Around
The reconstructed 14th-century House of the Black Heads on Town Hall Square is open daily 10:00 to 17:00, EUR 10 adult for the interior. The exterior is the most photographed building in the Old Town. The Museum of the Occupation of Latvia is opposite, free entry, also a worthwhile half-hour.
Essential Travel Tips
The Art Nouveau quarter is concentrated along Alberta iela and the surrounding streets north of the Old Town, with façades by Mikhail Eisenstein and Konstantīns Pēkšēns. The Art Nouveau Museum at Alberta iela 12 holds a preserved interior, but most of the experience is exterior on the streets themselves. Allow about an hour to walk the cluster.
The seaside resort of Jurmala (Majori station) is about 30 minutes from Riga Central Station by Vivi electric train, single fare around EUR 1.50. The wooden architecture and the long beach work as a relaxed half-day if you have done Riga before. Trains run hourly through the summer.
Getting ashore is only half the day in Riga: it is the return leg, and the all-aboard time, that catches first-timers out. A short packing list of layers, water and comfortable shoes covers most of what changes through a port day.
Deciding between a shore excursion and independent travel in Riga comes down to two things: how much you trust the local logistics, and how forgiving the return is if something runs late. First-time cruisers usually overestimate the difficulty of independent travel in compact ports and underestimate it in spread-out ones.
Before booking a Riga excursion, work out what the ship’s price actually buys you: transport, guide, entry, time. If you can replicate most of those yourself, your onboard spending budget keeps its room for a good meal or a souvenir at the end of the day.
Timing a cruise that visits Riga well comes down to two practical levers: when you book (which affects both price and cabin choice) and how your passport sits against the destination’s entry rules. Both are worth checking before you commit to a sailing.
Frequently Asked Questions
At the Riga Passenger Terminal at 3A Eksporta Street, on the Daugava embankment immediately beside the Old Town. Operated by the Freeport of Riga. The walk to Town Hall Square takes 10 to 15 minutes along the river.
Yes, easily. The Riga Passenger Terminal is directly beside the Old Town, with Town Hall Square and the House of the Black Heads within a 10 to 15 minute walk along the Daugava embankment. The Art Nouveau quarter is a short walk north of the Old Town. Public transport is only needed for outlying museums or the Jurmala beach train.
A combined Old Town and Art Nouveau day works best for first-time visitors. The Old Town centres on Town Hall Square, with the House of the Black Heads, the Museum of the Occupation and St Peter’s Church viewing tower within a few minutes’ walk. The Art Nouveau quarter on Alberta iela is a short walk north. Riga Central Market is south of the Old Town, beside the railway station.
Yes. The seaside resort of Jurmala is about 30 minutes from Riga Central Station by Vivi electric train, with a single fare around EUR 1.50 and trains running hourly through the summer. Jurmala works as a relaxed half-day, but requires the cruise call to be long enough to give you four to five hours away from the ship including travel.
Euro (EUR). Latvia joined the eurozone in 2014 and is in both the EU and the Schengen Area. Card payment is accepted almost everywhere, including small purchases at the Central Market.
Yes, especially among under-50s in the central tourist districts and at the cruise terminal. Russian is also widely understood. Almost no cruise passenger encounters a language barrier in central Riga.
10 to 15 minutes from the terminal to the Old Town. The Riga Passenger Terminal sits on Eksporta Street, on the Daugava embankment immediately beside the Old Town.
Ready to Explore Riga?
Riga is one of the lower-friction Baltic cruise calls. The terminal sits beside the Old Town, the city is walkable end to end, and a focused day combining Town Hall Square, St Peter’s tower, Alberta iela and the Central Market covers the headline experience without needing a transit pass. Latvia is one of the easier eastern-European capitals to read independently on a single port day.
How We Verify Port-Day Details
We aim for practical, low-risk guidance. Before publishing and during updates, we check core planning details against official sources and current operator information.
What We Check
- Berth and terminal details, including whether the port is walkable or requires a transfer
- Transport options and realistic return timing for different port types
- Details that change frequently, such as fares and schedules, with up-to-date notes where relevant
Typical Sources
- Official port authority and terminal updates
- Cruise line port notes and day-of-call instructions
- Local transport operators and official tourism resources
Know Riga well?
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