The former resort's central park offers melancholy hints of what once was and what might be again. Amidst the manicured lawns are dishevelled features in need of some love, like the once-stunning Love Island Rotunda and the faded wrought-iron bridges with romantic names such as Bridge of Sighs or Bridge of Caprices. Shed a tear for the ruins that were once the Bathing Facility.
Lonely Planet's must-see attractions
23.18 MILES
Like a huge painting that you can spend hours staring at, as your eye detects more and more intriguing details, this must-see Rīga sight is in fact a…
23.14 MILES
Forming the centrepiece of Rīga’s skyline, this Gothic church is thought to be around 800 years old, making it one of the oldest medieval buildings in the…
23.72 MILES
A real-life house of horrors, this imposing fin de siècle building is remembered by generations of Latvians as the local headquarters of the notorious…
22.22 MILES
There is hardly a place in Latvia that can tell such a poignant and optimistic story as this quietly stunning memorial. Žanis Lipke saved over 50 Jews…
Rīga Ghetto & Latvian Holocaust Museum
23.47 MILES
The centrepiece of this arresting and challenging museum is a wooden house with a reconstructed flat, like those that Jews had to move into when the Nazis…
26.99 MILES
Between 1941 and 1944, the Nazis – aided by Latvians – shot more than 35,000 Jews at 55 different sites in this forest. It is one of several killing sites…
Museum of the Barricades of 1991
23.02 MILES
Latvia's independence came after enormous struggles. One of the most remarkable stories involves the barricades built by thousands of citizens around…
21.53 MILES
A lovingly restored courtyard with several vintage wooden buildings is home to creative cafes, shops and restaurants. It's also home to a fantastic…
Nearby Latvia attractions
1. St Peter-Paul Orthodox Church
0.1 MILES
Built in 1893 and now beautifully restored, St Peter-Paul Orthodox Church is the oldest place of worship in Ķemeri and, if you look closely, you’ll notice…
0.17 MILES
You can't miss the Hotel Ķemeri. Known as the ‘White Ship’, it was built during Latvia’s brief period of independence in the 1930s, and has one of the…
0.27 MILES
The area’s spring water is perfectly potable and supposedly quite healthy. Try filling your water bottle at the Lizard, a stone sculpture at the mouth of…
11.41 MILES
Jūrmala's ribbon of white sand stretches for 24km. The sand is hard-packed and ideal for walking – or packing into sand sculptures or castles – and the…
5. Art Rezidence ‘Inner Light’
11.52 MILES
Local Russian artist Vitaliy Yermolayev runs this studio out of his home and dabbles with a secret recipe for glow-in-the-dark paint by creating portraits…
11.62 MILES
This well-funded museum features a cool permanent exhibit detailing Jūrmala’s colourful history as the go-to resort town in the former USSR. One popular…
13.21 MILES
On the main road 5km west of Majori, this gaudy beachfront Soviet-era sanatorium resembles a giant, beached cruise ship that’s been mothballed since the…
16.39 MILES
Before the clothing of choice in Jūrmala was the bikini (with or without a parka), the peninsula was home to fishing people who eked out a living through…