Season guide · Riga · Latvia
Riga in autumn
September–November: weather, crowds, prices and the best things to do this time of year.
Updated By the AMZBooking editorial team
Photo: Diego Delso, CC BY-SA 3.0
Quick answer
Mild September and golden early October, then grey skies, national-holiday candles and the light festival in November. Expect highs up to 17°C (63°F) and lows around 0°C (32°F), with about 32 rainy days across September–November. September is among the best months of the year to visit.
Key facts
- Months
- September–November
- Temperatures
- 0°C (32°F) to 17°C (63°F)
- Rainy days in the season
- About 32
- Sea
- 7°C (45°F) to 15°C (59°F)
- Crowds
- Quiet
- Hotel prices
- Low
Weather in autumn
| Month | High | Low | Rainy days | Daylight | Crowds |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| September | 17°C (63°F) | 8°C (46°F) | 10 | 12.7 h | 3/5 |
| October | 10°C (50°F) | 4°C (39°F) | 11 | 10.2 h | 2/5 |
| November | 4°C (39°F) | 0°C (32°F) | 11 | 8 h | 2/5 |
Compared with the rest of the year: average highs of 10°C (50°F) against a yearly 11°C (52°F), and 32 of the year's roughly 111 rainy days fall in these 3 months. Crowds rate 2/5 and hotel prices 2/5 on average.
What's on in autumn
Recurring events; dates move from year to year, so confirm with the organiser.
- November: Lāčplēsis Day — candles along the Riga Castle wall by the river (11 November)
- November: Staro Rīga light festival (usually mid-November)
- November: Proclamation Day — fireworks over the Daugava (18 November)
Good choices for autumn
Gallery · Old Riga
Art Museum Riga Bourse
The richly decorated 1850s stock exchange building on Doma laukums now displays foreign art, from Dutch and Flemish painting to Asian and Egyptian collections, in gilded halls.
- Time needed
- 1–1.5 hours
- Cost
- Mid-priced
- Art
- Rainy day
- Architecture
- Off the beaten path
Museum · Jugla
Latvian Ethnographic Open-Air Museum
Go on the first weekend of June for the crafts fair, or around Midsummer for traditional celebrations.
- Time needed
- 3 hours
- Cost
- Low cost
- History
- Kids
- Outdoors
- Architecture
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Museum · Mežciems
Riga Motor Museum
Reopened in 2016 in a modern building in the eastern suburbs, the museum displays cars and motorbikes from the early 1900s onwards, including vehicles used by Soviet leaders, among them a Rolls-Royce crashed by Leonid Brezhnev.
- Time needed
- 1.5–2 hours
- Cost
- Mid-priced
- Kids
- Rainy day
- History
Religious site · Old Riga
Riga Cathedral
Time your visit for an organ concert; the instrument is the reason to go inside.
- Time needed
- 45 minutes, longer with a concert
- Cost
- Low cost
- History
- Architecture
- Rainy day
- Iconic
Market · Moscow Suburb
Riga Central Market
Opened in 1930, Riga's Central Market occupies five enormous pavilions built from German zeppelin hangars of the First World War, each devoted to meat, fish, dairy, vegetables or gastronomy, with outdoor stalls of flowers, berries and mushrooms around them.
- Time needed
- 1–1.5 hours
- Cost
- Free
- Iconic
- Food
- Free
- History
- Rainy day
Day trips in autumn
- Rundāle Palace (About 1 hour 15 minutes by car) — Bartolomeo Rastrelli, architect of St Petersburg's Winter Palace, designed this baroque and rococo palace for the Duke of Courland in the 1730s.
- Cēsis (About 1 hour 45 minutes by train) — One of Latvia's oldest towns, with the ruins of a 13th-century Livonian Order castle whose dark towers visitors explore by candle lantern, a cobbled old town and access to the sandstone cliffs of Gauja National Park.
What to pack
- Layers, a warm sweater and a jacket for cool evenings
- Shoes with good grip for icy pavements
- A packable rain jacket for showers
- Comfortable walking shoes
Other times of year
Questions travellers ask
+Is autumn a good time to visit Riga?
Yes: September is among the best months. Mild September and golden early October, then grey skies, national-holiday candles and the light festival in November.
+What is the weather like in Riga in autumn?
Highs of up to 17°C (63°F) and lows around 0°C (32°F), with about 32 rainy days over the season.