One day in Vilnius

Day by day

1. Day 1: Old Town walk: Pilies street to the Gate of Dawn and Vilnius Cathedral and Cathedral Square

   Old Town walk: Pilies street to the Gate of Dawn, Vilnius Cathedral and Cathedral Square, Gediminas' Tower and Castle Hill and Gate of Dawn, then Vokiečių street in the evening.

   1. Morning

      Old Town walk: Pilies street to the Gate of Dawn

      Detour into the courtyards behind street arches; many hold cafés and are open to walk through. Allow Half a day.

   2. Late morning

      Vilnius Cathedral and Cathedral Square

      Find the Stebuklas tile between the cathedral and the bell tower, then climb the tower for a view over the square. Allow 1 hour.

   3. Lunch

      Lunch: Potato dumplings

      Traditional Lithuanian restaurants in the Old Town and lunch canteens across the city.

   4. Afternoon

      Gediminas' Tower and Castle Hill

      Go up in the late afternoon for the best light over the Old Town roofs. Allow 1 hour.

   5. Late afternoon

      Gate of Dawn

      Climb the stairs to the chapel quietly, as services are frequent, and look back at the gate from the outside for its Renaissance attic. Allow 20–30 minutes.

   6. Evening

      Vokiečių street

      A broad Old Town street of terraces, wine bars and cocktail bars, busy on summer evenings.

Before you go

If it rains

• Swap in Palace of the Grand Dukes of Lithuania (Old Town): Start with the archaeological route in the basement, which shows the original walls the reconstruction rests on.
• Swap in Vilnius University (Old Town): Start at the Great Courtyard and finish in the Littera bookshop, which is free to enter.
• Swap in MO Museum (Old Town): Combine it with lunch in the Old Town; the museum is a few minutes' walk from Vokiečių street.

Where to stay for this itinerary

Pace and daylight

The sights in this plan add up to roughly 5–7 hours of visiting over one day, before meals and getting between them. Daylight runs from about 7.3 hours in December to 17.3 hours in June, so in winter start early and keep museums for the afternoon.

Getting between stops: Walking. Cathedral Square, the university, the Gate of Dawn and Užupis are all within a 15-minute walk of each other, though streets are cobbled and hilly in places.

More or fewer days

• 2 days in Vilnius
• 3 days in Vilnius

Questions travellers ask