Embark on an in-depth journey through Vilnius, Lithuania, with our complete city guide, uncovering everything you need to know after our week of exploration. This cinematic tour takes you through one of Europe’s best-preserved medieval old towns, a UNESCO World Heritage site known as the “City of Churches.” Discover architectural marvels like the Gothic St. Anne’s Church and the sacred Gate of Dawn, the last remaining city gate. We’ll guide you to the top of Gediminas’ Tower for breathtaking panoramic views and wander through the bohemian, self-proclaimed Republic of Užupis, an artistic neighborhood with a unique history.
Our guide provides essential travel tips, from navigating the cobblestone streets to understanding the local culture and currency. Learn about the city’s affordability, the best times to visit, and what to expect from traditional Lithuanian cuisine, including hearty potato dishes like cepelinai. From the bustling Hales Market to the tranquil Bastion of the Vilnius Defensive Wall, this video showcases the must-see sights and hidden gems for an unforgettable trip, all with a slight humor.
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🔻Video Timeline Links🔻
00:00 Intro to the Vilnius, Lithuania City Guide
00:46 The Essential Things to Know for Traveling to Vilnius
03:52 Getting in and Around Vilnius, Lithuania
05:18 The Must See Things in Vilnius, Lithuania
08:58 The Language in Lithuania
09:28 Food in Vilnius, Lithuania
10:11 Attractions in Vilnius, Lithuania
11:47 When to Go to Vilnius, Lithuania
12:18 Where to Stay in Vilnius
12:53 Vilnius City Guide Outro
we just spent 7 days exploring the old medieval
city of Vilnius and countless hours planning the trip! We’re now providing you with everything
you’ll want to know including how do you get there is it safe? cash or credit card? can you
drink the water? hidden gems? when to visit? i mean really If you come away with this still
having questions just give this video a thumbs up! I’m not saying we know everything after
spending a week here but we visited more churches in the city than most people do
in a lifetime and frankly it’s exhausting This is the Vilnius city guide Let’s go! Without wasting any more time let’s dive right
into the essential information on the city. So how do you get there from Vilnius International
Airport the best option to getting into town would be taking a ride share using either Uber
or Bolt. Bolt was our preferred option especially when traveling with luggage since wheelie bags
don’t farewell on those cobblestone streets. Can you drink the water why yes you can Vilnius
tap water has some of the cleanest you’ll find in Europe What’s the language lithuanian is the
official language but English is widely spoken in the old town. Is it safe the city is very safe
with one of the lowest crime index numbers in all of Europe making it one of the safest cities to
visit for solo or female travelers Take a bite out of crime. Well when’s the best time to visit
may through October is the ideal time to visit the city And July and August will be the busiest time
for tourism. But if you really enjoy those cold wet and never ending cloudy days please visit
during February or March just like us. What’s the power outlet the type F power socket is used
in Lithuania If you’re visiting from America you will need an adapter But what are the prices like
by European standards Vilnius has some of the best prices we’ve seen Hotels host Airbnbs were all
well below what we’ve come to expect in Europe But as for food drinks and transportation
Vilnius still has very inexpensive prices even at the city’s most popular Lithuanian
restaurant Etno Devaras Speaking of prices what’s the currency in 2015 Lithuania finally
adopted the Euro as its currency And here’s a tip Avoid using currency exchanges and grab all
your euros from ATMs that are widely available throughout the city and in the airport when you
arrive Cash or credit card By far the majority of places we visited accepted credit cards The only
exception to this is if you’re buying something from a local market using a public bathroom or
buying from a small street vendor Do you need a visa currently as of 2025 the only thing North
Americans need to visit Lithuania is a passport and you can stay up to 90 days at a time. But
if you’re watching this video from the future first off hello I’m from the future Second off
you’ll need to fill out a ETIAS that costs around $8 USD. How long should you stay having stayed in
Vilnius for 7 days you could easily cover most of what this city has to offer over a 3-day period.
Do you need to wear anything special with Vilnius Old Town having one of the most church dense
areas in all of Europe wearing modest clothing to cover up your shoulders and knees is highly
recommended Recommendation Can you drink alcohol in public you cannot drink booze in public and
shops will stop selling alcohol after 8:00 p.m but there are a bunch of outdoor bars and patios
where you can enjoy a drink Is there tipping a 5 to 10% tip is standard for most restaurants if
service is not already included into the bill Credit card readers won’t have the option to
add a tip so you have to tip in cash There’s no tipping for taxi drivers and in bars and
cafes tipping will be optional. Finally a little random bit of information you should know
Stores will post their hours of operation based on the numbered day of the week So instead of
Wednesday 9 to5 it’ll be number three 9 to5 And that my friends is the essential things you’ll
want to know before visiting the city of Vilnius! Vilnius has a large international airport where
most tourists will be arriving from From there the old town is only 6 km away and you have a few
different options of getting there You can take a train that leaves once every hour or two You want
to visit the link below to see what time the train actually leaves compared to when your flight
lands so you aren’t sitting around for hours The second option is taking one of the more
frequent buses that leaves around every 10 minutes or so The Express Bus 3G stay connected
will get you downtown in only 20 minutes and it’ll cost almost the same as the train You can pay
by using a tap to pay credit card or smartphone directly on the bus The third and most expensive
option is ride shares Even though it’s the most expensive the prices are pretty reasonable and
they can drop you off at the doorsteps of your accommodations instead of walking the old town
with your wheelie bag You have a wheelie bag what i have a wheelie bag Now that we’re in the
city we just need to figure out how to get around Luckily Vilnius offers a wide variety of options
to explore the town From the hop- on hop off buses bike rentals scooter rentals ride shares
and previously mentioned really bad The best option is obviously walking With the small bumpy
cobblestone streets and the old town encompassing around 2 miles walking is by far the best option
to explore Vilnius’s old town There are a handful of sites to see that are a little further out
like the old prison or the local farmers market But if you’re only staying three or so days it’s
unlikely you’ll have enough time to visit these. This is our required list for anyone looking to
visit Vilnius especially if you only have a day to do it And the best way to kick things
off is the neighborhood where almost all the must-seas are found the Vilnius Old Town In
this area you’ll find one of the largest and best preserved medieval old towns in Northern Europe
The entire area is a little bit over two square miles and was founded way back in 1387 because the
old town is so old Maybe sit the next couple plays out The architecture styles vary from Gothic
to Renaissance to Baroque to Neoclassical all standing side by side The area also has a pretty
bananas amount of old churches 28 of them can be found in the old town with Roman Catholic churches
making up the majority of them This is why Vilnius is known as the city of churches Three of these
churches actually make our must-see list like St Ann’s Church This is a Gothic masterpiece that was
completed in the year 1500 The intricate Gothic architecture is made out of 33 different bricks
and one of the most iconic structures in all of Lithuania Apparently when Napoleon took over this
region he was so fascinated by the beauty in this he wanted to take the entire thing back to Paris
The next must see church from the city of churches is the gate of dawn which oddly enough was built
into one of the original city walls and is now the only gate remaining The gate of dawn contains an
icon of the Virgin Mary which attracts thousands of pilgrims from around the world Unfortunately no
photos or videos are allowed inside so video not provided And the final must-sea church on our list
is the Church of St Peter and Paul which you’ll find just on the outside of the old town and
puts all the other churches we’ve seen to shame Built in the 1800s the outside of this church is
nice and all but the inside is what really makes it special The white interior features over 2,000
intricate stucco figures and is widely considered one of the most beautiful Catholic churches in the
world with some actually ranking it as number one This ship-shaped chandelier is made out of
glass beads and is one of the most unique pieces we’ve seen inside a church The next must
see is Gibbina Tower and Castle Hill You can either hike up for free or take the funicular
up to the top It has sweeping panoramic views of the city and has a museum inside the tower
for a fee The glass quarter is a very narrow street filled with charming glassware shops
studios and restaurants It’s a pretty quick area to walk through so be sure to take
your time and stop into some of the shops The Hails Market is a food market pretty close to
the train station and just outside the old town The current marketplace has been in operation
over a century This market felt a little bit more geared towards tourist tourism Stroll
through the Užupis neighborhood a Bohemian self-proclaimed republic The history in this
neighborhood is actually pretty fascinating I’ll give you the quickest overview possible
Most of the city’s Jewish population used to live here but during World War II 95% of the
Lithuanian Jewish population was murdered by the German occupation So the neighborhood was
basically abandoned with many squatters and drug dealers taking over the buildings Eventually
in the late ’90s artists moved into the area because of the cheap prices and transformed the
entire place into a lively artistic neighborhood which is what it is today The last must see on
the list is the Bastion of the Vilnius Defensive Wall This is a pretty fascinating place to visit
It was originally part of the city wall fell into disrepair turned into the city dump and then
completely forgotten about It wasn’t until 1965 when the Bastion was unearthed reconstructed
and now turned into a museum which you can visit today The nearby park also has a great
views over the city as well Now if you really get your hustle on and start early in the morning
you’ll be able to visit all of these within a day The language in Lithuania the official language
is Lithuanian spoken by about 4 million people But lucky for you most of the locals also
speak English especially with people under the age of 40 All restaurants museums and
historical plaques that we found throughout the city all had English sections We’d recommend
learning a couple words ahead of time to immerse yourself further into the culture especially
hello which is Sveiki thank you which is ačiū hunger The food scene in Vilnius is pretty
interesting to say the least It wasn’t until 2024 when Lithuania made it into the famous
Michelin Guide And because Vilnius was recently recognized as one of the most affordable
cities to visit in Europe you can eat some of the best food around at much more affordable
prices compared to Tokyo Paris or even New York Having said that the Lithuanian food worth trying
mostly contains either potatoes or potatoes Maybe sit the next couple plays out We have Cepelinia
which is a potato dumpling Bulviniai Blynai which is a crispy potato pancake Vėdarai which
is a potato sausage and a dessert called Kugelis which is a pudding featuring potatoes
Attractions Here’s a handful of attractions available in Vilnius that may be worth checking
out if you have the extra time Churches With 28 different churches within the Old town stopping at
any of them just to peek inside is usually worth it One of them being Vilnius Cathedral and Bell
Tower Both of these buildings are right in the downtown area impossible to miss and surrounded
by so much open space The Three Crosses Monument is an important monument on the top of Bekesas
Hill with multiple viewing platforms perfect for watching the sunset The Paupys neighborhood
It’s in the location of the former industrial area that now has modern cafes and a food market
Video not provided Vilnius University has a few neat buildings a church and a courtyard worth
checking out The Kalvarijy Marketplace is a local marketplace selling basically everything
imaginable It’s also located in the Šnipiškės neighborhood which has a handful of old wooden
buildings to check out as well Palace of the Grand Dukes is a reconstruction of the former palace
and is now a history museum There’s actually four different sections to this museum and you could
easily spend an entire day visiting all of them The Lukiškės prison is a former prison and is now
open for tours and concerts But leave that camera at home because photos and videos are not allowed
The white bridge is a pedestrian walking bridge that connects the old town of Vilnius to the new
town The Museum of Occupation and Freedom Fighting is in the former KGB headquarters with a museum
detailing the Soviet and Nazi occupation of the city And finally we have Vilnius Street which
you can find tons of nightlife food and bars When to go If you can’t tell by now winter is not
the best time to visit Vilnius since everything is gray cold and cloudy But there’s also basically no
other English-speaking tourists or many tourists in general The best time to visit would be from
mid April until the end of June where all the plants flowers and trees will be blooming and the
tourists will not have taken over the entire city But if July and August are your only available
time to visit expect crowded streets and higher prices for your accommodations Where to stay
there’s two specific areas worth looking into staying while in town First is obviously going
to be the old town You’ll be centrally located to explore the entire city on foot and be able
to take breaks in your room whenever you need one You’ll find most the host and boutique hotels in
this area along with a bunch of Airbnbs to choose from The other option is just across the river in
the modern business district You’ll be surrounded by these large glass towers and basically
no history and further from the old town But if you just have to stay in one of those
popular international branded hotels you’ll find them all here And that my friends is the
Vilnius City Guide for tourists by tourists
1 Comment
Another great and informative video