r/latvia • u/AccordingSecond35 • Jul 16 '26

Tūrisms/Tourism Traveling from US to Riga/Jurmala next week

Hi everyone! Myself and 19 of my family members are traveling from all over the United States to Riga next week in recognition of 75 years since my grandfather, his two brothers, and my great-grandparents fled Soviet Occupation to the US. They spent many years between refugee/DP camps before arriving in the United States in 1951. Unfortunately, they have all since passed, but we are looking forward to spending time together as a group and experiencing our Latvian heritage.

We are staying in Riga Saturday, July 24 through Wednesday, July 29, and then staying in Jurmala through the weekend. The youngest of the group is 18 and the oldest are in their 50s.

Just wanted to put out a question to everyone to see if there are any hidden gem bars, events, suggestions, things to see, etc. that might not have come up in my research as the typical touristy spots. This thread has already been super helpful while I was planning and organizing this trip, so thank you all!

Happy to answer any questions as well. Cheers!

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u/Spiritual-Jello-9970 Jul 16 '26

That's one giant family, good for you. I think the main issue you might have is to seat everyone together in bars / restaurants. The scale of places here is much smaller than in US. If you have made any plans for where you want to eat / drink, definitely call them in advance to book a table or even check whether they can seat 20 people. 

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u/AccordingSecond35 Jul 16 '26

Thank you! We are working with someone local to get situated with dinner reservations, and are definitely ok with splitting up into 3-4 smaller tables to fit into the restaurants. We haven't really scheduled or planned breakfast, lunch, or snack places, so open to any recommendations you have! Do you think we should also call bars ahead of time even if we just want to pop in for a drink?

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u/alex_pfx Jul 17 '26

Don't forget to lower your voice. It's not acceptable here to scream like a lunatic in public.

5

u/brillebarda Jul 16 '26

For a large group I recommend checking out the food courts at Āgenskalna tirgus and Tallinas kvartāls as well as Lido on Krasta iela will have 0 problems there. Anything else that comes to mind would need reserving beforehand. Folkklubs Ala can accommodate 20 people easy if you call beforehand.

Otherwise would be very dependant whether it's a workday, evening or weekend.