Vilnius was the first stop on my weekend trip to the Baltic States. I had been to Tallinn, Estonia before and would pass through it on my way back to Helsinki the next day.
I reached Helsinki airport early in the morning for my flight Finnair 1101 to Vilnius. It was my first flight on the Oneworld carrier, Finnair. I only had my backpack with me; I had checked in online and used a mobile boarding pass, so I went straight through security and headed to the gate. The flight was booked through Finnair and operated by N°rra (Nordic Regional Airlines).
Boarding was by stairs, and it was nice to have an exit row seat, even for such a short flight. I had coffee onboard. We flew past Riga—where I would be the following day—and soon we were descending towards Vilnius.
We landed on time, and I took the city bus from the airport into town. I got off at Stotis and walked toward the Monument to Grand Duke Gediminas.
I made it just in time to join the Old Town Free Tour 🔗 at 10:30 AM. It was a great way to spend about three hours seeing Vilnius. After the tour, I walked back to Cathedral Square and saw the Vilnius Cathedral and the Bell Tower.
I spent some time in Cathedral Square seeing the Monument to Grand Duke Gediminas and the Commemorative Stone for the 650th Anniversary of Vilnius’ Founding, but somehow I missed seeing the Miracle Tile.
I had booked the 2:30 PM LUXExpress from Vilnius to Riga, so I bid the Vilnius Old Town farewell and walked to the bus station.
I bought something to eat at one of the small shops there and boarded the bus to Riga. The LUXExpress bus was comfortable and featured seat-back entertainment.
Watching the beautiful countryside go by, I rested a little during the journey. I was scheduled to meet a friend from work in Riga who was arriving from Tallinn at around the same time.
We met at the Riga bus station and walked to the Clarion Collection Hotel Valdemars. The hotel was nice and located near the city center. I had booked the stay using my Nordic Choice points.
They also included an evening meal with the room. Guests had access to the steam room, which was a great place to relax. The evening meal was a multi-course dinner.
The room was comfortable, and the bathroom was clean and spacious. Breakfast the following morning was also pleasant.
🚍 Local bus from airport into town
🚍 LUXExpress to Riga
🛏️ Clarion Collection Hotel Valdemars