Vilnius, Lithuania is the perfect place for you to visit if you love small, quirky cities! There are a lot of things to do here and most of it is relevantly cheap also. I’ve even included a free map, just for you!
Contents:
Day 1:
On the first day, I suggest that you explore Vilnius at your own pace to get to know the city. You should start by exploring the Old Town, as it’s beautifully filled with colourful buildings and amazingly built churches. It’s very easy to get to Old Town as it’s in the centre and you will be able to tell if you’re there by the types of buildings and shops near it.
Then, I would suggest that you visit The New Arsenal of National Museum of Lithuania. Here, you will learn about the history of Vilnius and Lithuania. There are great exhibitions, such as real examples of traditional Lithuanian houses, clothes and a very interesting room dedicated to crosses. Entry costs around €4 for an adult, and €2 for a student.
After you’ve visited the museum, I recommend then going on to visit Gediminas Castle Tower as it is located right next to it. You can walk up the hill to the tower or you can pay €1 for the funicular. I walked because I went in March so it was cold and needed to warm up, and it was steep at certain points, but not too bad. I didn’t go into the Tower, but I believe that it costs €6 for adults and €3 for students and concessions. If you don’t want to go into the tower, then it’s free just for the view – which is what I did.
If you’re up for another walk uphill after the tower, then you should visit the Hill Of The 3 Crosses. There are 2 ways to get to this spectacular monument – one through the back of the park which is less scenic but an easier walk, or over the bridge in Bernadine Garden which is more scenic. I’d recommend visiting the 3 Crosses in the evening when it’s cooler and you can watch the sunset over the city! If you find history interesting, then you can find the old monument of the 3 Crosses, which the soviet authority tore down, near the steps of the new monument.
Day 2:
Okay, so I know this is titled ‘How to Spend 3 Days in Vilnius’ but – you need to visit Trakai when you’re here also! It is a beautiful town with a magical island castle. It costs about €4 for a return ticket and takes around 30 minutes on the train from Vilnius. The train you’ll travel on is awesome too – it’s a double-decker! Once you’re there, it’s a lovely 30-minute walk to the castle through the town or along the lake. I think that you should walk along the lake to the castle, then walk back through the town. When I visited, I didn’t go inside the castle, I just looked at the outside and sat down and read my book (Norweigan Wood if you’re interested) nearby as it was quiet.
After spending most of the day in Trakai, if you’ve still got some energy left in you, then I suggest that you visit the Open Gallery back in Vilnius. The open gallery is located about a 10-minute walk from the train station, is free and is open 24/7. You can view the location here on the map I made for you, as it can be a bit tricky to find. The Open Gallery was kindly recommended to me by a friend I made that lives in Vilnius – and I’m glad that she did because it was so cool! It’s basically an entire area that is filled with graffiti and has information about the artists as well.
Day 3:
On day 3, you shouldn’t miss a visit to the Museum of Occupations and Freedom Fights. The museum is located in a former KGB building, where the crimes of the Soviet regime were planned and executed for fifty years. It is closed Mondays and Tuesdays, and entry costs €6 for adults and €3 for students and concessions. It has really informative exhibitions and there is a former prison still in the basement which is very interesting to learn about.
Afterwards, I then recommend that you visit the MO Museum! There are regularly new exhibitions on show here every few months, so if you look online at the reviews, just be aware that it could’ve changed so check the website instead if you want to know what is on show at the moment and go in with an open mind. Tickets cost € 9 for an adult and € 4.50 for a student. When I visited the exhibitions were ‘BAXT’ and ‘Poetry Without Fragility’ which I really enjoyed as it was mainly about the people in Lithuania.
Finally, I highly suggest that you visit the Užupis district- one of my favourite places in Vilnius! It’s very arty, quirky and different whilst also staying true to the historic buildings. There are lots of independent shops in this district that will most definitely interest you. Just have a stroll around, and see what you can discover!
Tips:
- Definitely download the Trafi app if you are thinking about using public transport – it is amazing for live routes and to have your tickets in one place!
- Wear good walking shoes as sometimes the pavements were a bit uneven and slippery.
- I wouldn’t recommend spending more than 1 week in Vilnius – don’t get me wrong, it’s lovely, just as a solo traveller I was a bit bored sometimes and found that there was not much to do.
Free Map:
For your free map of Vilnius, click here! It includes everything I’ve written in this post!
What would you like to visit most in Vilnius? Have you been before? What did you think of it?
If you liked this post, you might also like ‘Hostel Jamaika Vilnius Review‘ or ‘The Best Tips for Solo Travellers’.
The MO Museum looks fantastic. Sounds like you had a great time! Thanks for sharing your adventures with us 🙂