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Lithuania
City Guide
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Lithuania Travel Guide
PRACTICAL INFORMATION
- Official name: Republic of Lithuania
- Language: Lithuanian
- Religion: Above 79% Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodoxy (mainly among the Russian minority) about 4.9%, Protestant community (1.9% of the total population),
- Currency : Lithuanian litas (Lt). Currently the litas is pegged to the euro at the rate of 3.45 to 1. It is expected that the litas will be replaced by the euro on January 1, 2008 at the earliest.
Lithuania Sights and Museums
WHAT TO SEE - National Parks. Trakai National Park, 25 kilometers outside Vilnius is full of lakes, forests, and as it covers over eight thousand kilometers in all, there are even some villages in the park also. The most visited attraction in the whole park is the Ancient Castle on the island of Lake Galve. Lurdas National Park, where a statue of the Virgin Mary stands and the Kersiu Nerija National Park which was appointed a national park in 1992 to preserve the natural scenic beauty around Kersiu Nerija, a narrow peninsula separating the Kursiu Marios Lagoon from the Baltic Sea.
- Old Castles in Kaunas (Lithuania’s second largest city) and Klaipeda, the third largest city built on the mouth of the Kursiu Lagoon (built in 1252).
- The Open Air Museum of Lithuania in Rumšiškes. The core exhibits of this museum include dwelling houses, farmstead buildings and folk art monuments transferred from all ethnographic regions of Lithuania. The length of review excursions is 6 km.
- Lithuania in the geographical centre of Europe. Scientists applying the scientific method of gravitation centres, appointed that this centre is located in the North from Vilnius (26 km), near
Lithuania Entertainment
EVENTS - Lake Sartai Horse Races in January/February. Horse races are organised every year on the second Saturday in January, when riders qualify for the Sart˜ lentynòs, the Republican races held on the first Saturday in February. The event is held on Lake Sart˜ near Utena if the lake is frozen, otherwise it's held in Duestos city
- "Skamba, skamba kankliai". Last weekend of May, this Annual international folklore festival gathers performers from Lithuania and other countries. Craft and traditional food fair and concerts are held in the streets of the Old Town, Vilnius
- St. John's Day Summer Solstice: bonfires, songs and pagan rituals on the banks of the Neris River the 23 of June in Vilnius.
- Autumn is when most of the Festivals take place. Some of them are the Grok Jurgeli, a Folk music festival in Kaunas; Capital Days, Vilnius' main festival, with three days of carnivals, fairs and concerts; "ArMada" international festival of alternative fashion and art in Vilnius; Festival of Modern Dance or the Vilnius Jazz Festival, a significant jazz festival featuring top European performers.
- Blukas Holiday. The 23 of December, marking the shortest day of the year, old logs, symbolising evil spirits, are dragged down the streets and burnt. Nativity play in Luki›kiø square, Vilnius
Lithuania Transports
TRANSPORTS State-owned buses and trolleybuses are usually driver-only, and tickets can be purchased either from them for 1Lt or at any Lietuvos Spauda kiosk for 0.80Lt. Single tickets are valid for one journey of any distance. Private buses come complete with driver, conductor, and more often than not, disco music. Tickets for these cost 0.70Lt, and can only be bought on board. A fleet of privately owned microbuses cater to the more discerning Vilnius resident, offering quick and comfortable transportation throughout the metropolis. You dont need to be at a bus stop to get one, simply stand on any street corner where theyre known to pass and wave your arm. Likewise, make the appropriate noises in the general direction of the driver when youve had enough and there you go. Tickets cost 2Lt.
The correct procedure for travelling in a state-owned bus or any trolleybus is to punch your ticket in one of the boxes provided on board. Vilnius is heavily policed by ticket inspectors, who work both in and out of uniform, and unless you’ve just arrived from a poorer country than Lithuania, please do everyone a favour and buy (and validate) a ticket. Tickets are valid for one journey. Transport services between 05:00 and 24.00.
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