Ventspils

Latvia’s most family-friendly city!

This city port has it all: blue flag beaches, a modern cityscape, an old town, sports, entertainment and more than its fair share of tourist attractions. It’s especially family-friendly which makes it very popular, particularly in the summer.

Get your bearings by starting in the old town where you’ll find cobbled streets and 17th century storehouses. You’ll also find the Livonian Order Castle which is the only surviving medieval building in the city. Today it is home to the city’s museum. The Market Square is also here and markets are held every day until noon. Saturday is the best and busiest day and you’ll enjoy browsing a wealth of fresh local produce and pick up some lunch.

Ventspils beach has more than a blue flag and beautiful dunes. You’ll find the Water Park close by too, complete with warm pools, lots of slides - some faster than others - plus saunas and bubble baths. The Seaside Park offers even more to see and do. It’s a relaxing, lush environment with picnic spaces and a train that will take you to the Open-Air Seaside Museum. Mazbānītis’ mini-locomotive and Narrow-Gauge Railway Track is the Museum’s most popular exhibit and it’s all connected to Ventspils Adventure Park where you can test your agility on an obstacle course, hire a bike, go to kids’ driving school or, in winter, try skiing or snowboarding.

And if they’ve still got energy for more, take them to Children’s Town. This free park is much more than your average playground. There are more than 40 pieces of play equipment, most of epic proportions.

Star gazers – and those ready to sit down for a rest – can visit the Creative House where you can kick back and watch planetarium star shows and 360˚ overhead films featuring nature, the universe and the planets. Check out the observatory to see the sun and stars through a state-of-the-art telescope.

There are a couple of other unusual ways to explore: hop on the Ventspils excursion train to see the city highlights, taking in the tourist attractions, historical buildings, magnificent city parks, and squares, while listening to an entertaining audio guide of fascinating stories. Or get aboard the "Hercogs Jēkabs" which sails from its berth at the intersection of Tirgus and Ostas streets in the summer. Sailings take around an hour and you’ll get a very different view of the city, taking in the mouth of the Venta river, the Ostas street promenade, and the Freeport of Ventspils.

You can sail direct into Ventspils with us from Nynäshamn in Sweden – it’s a great way to travel into Latvia. You’ll get there feeling refreshed and ready to discover everything this incredible country has to offer on your own car-cation.