6 best day trips from Vilnius

Day trips compared

The day trips

28 km · About 35–40 minutes by train or bus

1.Trakai

Trakai's red-brick Island Castle, built in the 14th and 15th centuries, stands on Lake Galvė and holds a history museum. The town is home to the Karaim community, whose wooden houses and kibinai pastries are part of the visit, and the lakes are popular for boating and swimming in summer.

Getting there

Train or bus from Vilnius station

Best for

First-timers, Families, Couples

100 km · About 1 hour 15 minutes by train

2.Kaunas

Lithuania's second city and interwar capital has a UNESCO-listed collection of 1920s–30s modernist buildings, a pedestrian boulevard (Laisvės alėja), a medieval castle and old town at the river confluence, and the Ninth Fort memorial. The baroque Pažaislis Monastery is on the outskirts.

Getting there

Train from Vilnius station

Best for

Culture, Solo travellers, Couples

35 km · About 45 minutes by car

3.Kernavė

The UNESCO-listed archaeological site of Kernavė, a medieval capital of Lithuania, has five grassy hill-fort mounds above the Neris valley and a museum of excavated finds. A festival of experimental archaeology is held in summer.

Getting there

Car or local bus

Best for

Culture, Quiet stays, Families

19 km · About 30 minutes by car

4.Europos Parkas

An open-air museum of contemporary sculpture set in forest and meadows north of Vilnius, close to a point identified as the geographical centre of Europe. It holds more than 100 works by Lithuanian and international artists.

Getting there

Car or local bus

Best for

Families, Couples, Culture

210 km · About 2 hours 30 minutes each way

5.Hill of Crosses

A small hill near Šiauliai covered in tens of thousands of crosses, crucifixes and rosaries left by pilgrims, a symbol of Lithuanian faith and resistance that survived repeated Soviet bulldozing. It is a long day from Vilnius, often combined with Šiauliai.

Getting there

Car, or train to Šiauliai and a local bus or taxi

Best for

Culture, Solo travellers

125 km · About 1 hour 30 minutes by car

6.Grūtas Park

A park near the spa town of Druskininkai displaying Soviet-era statues of Lenin, Stalin and Lithuanian communist figures removed from public squares after independence, with exhibitions on the Soviet period.

Getting there

Car or tour

Best for

Culture, Solo travellers

Day-trip tips

• Leave early: most trips are more relaxed with a morning departure and a return before dinner.
• Buy tickets in an official mobile ticket app or load them on a Vilniečio kortelė card before boarding.
• Trains from Vilnius station serve Trakai in about 35 minutes and Kaunas in about 1 hour 15 minutes.
• For trips over about 150 km, an overnight stay or an organised tour saves a lot of travelling.

Questions travellers ask