Museums · Riga · Latvia
4 best museums in Riga
The collections worth your time, how long each takes and how to fit them together.
Updated By the AMZBooking editorial team
Quick answer
Start with Latvian National Museum of Art, Art Museum Riga Bourse and Latvian Ethnographic Open-Air Museum. Together the 4 picks below take roughly 8–9 hours across 4 areas; all charge for entry.
Key facts
- Places in this guide
- 4
- Free entry
- 0
- Time to see them all
- 8–9 hours
- Areas
- City Centre, Old Riga and Jugla
Museums in Riga
Gallery · City Centre
1.Latvian National Museum of Art
The 1905 museum building on the Esplanāde reopened in 2016 after a renovation that added underground galleries and a glass rooftop terrace.
- Time needed
- 2 hours
- Cost
- Mid-priced
- Art
- Rainy day
- Architecture
Gallery · Old Riga
2.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
3.Latvian Ethnographic Open-Air Museum
Founded in 1924 on the wooded shore of Lake Jugla, this is one of Europe's oldest open-air museums, with farmsteads, windmills, fishermen's houses and wooden churches moved from every region of Latvia.
- Time needed
- 3 hours
- Cost
- Low cost
- History
- Kids
- Outdoors
- Architecture
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Museum · Mežciems
4.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
Grouped by area
| Area | Places | Time needed |
|---|---|---|
| City Centre | Latvian National Museum of Art | 2 hours |
| Old Riga | Art Museum Riga Bourse | 1–1.5 hours |
| Jugla | Latvian Ethnographic Open-Air Museum | 3 hours |
| Mežciems | Riga Motor Museum | 1.5–2 hours |
Booking and timing
Of these 4, 1 low cost, 3 mid-priced. None needs booking far in advance. The longest visit is Latvian Ethnographic Open-Air Museum; group the rest by area to save travel time.
How to fit them into 3 half-days
Grouped by area and kept to about four hours each, so you walk more than you ride.
- Half-day 1 (City Centre and Old Riga): Latvian National Museum of Art → Art Museum Riga Bourse, at least 3 hours.
- Half-day 2 (Jugla): Latvian Ethnographic Open-Air Museum, at least 3 hours.
- Half-day 3 (Mežciems): Riga Motor Museum, at least 2 hours.
The quietest months for queues
- February: highs of 0°C (32°F), about 8 rainy days, very quiet crowds. Usually the coldest, quietest month; frozen river edges and crisp, bright days between grey spells.
- April: highs of 11°C (52°F), about 7 rainy days, quiet crowds. Cool spring days and the first café terraces; parks turn green late in the month.
- March: highs of 4°C (39°F), about 8 rainy days, quiet crowds. Thaw begins and days lengthen, but it still feels wintry and slushy.
The neighbourhoods they are in
- Old Riga — Medieval lanes, church spires and guild houses on the right bank of the Daugava
- Quiet Centre (Klusais centrs) — Embassy district of Art Nouveau apartment blocks around Alberta iela
- City Centre — Boulevards, parks and shopping streets between the Freedom Monument and Vērmanes Garden
More of Riga
Questions travellers ask
+Where should I start in Riga?
Latvian National Museum of Art. The 1905 museum building on the Esplanāde reopened in 2016 after a renovation that added underground galleries and a glass rooftop terrace.