Lithuania Travel Guide: Self-Guided City Walks

Lithuania is a Baltic country with a long history, a sandy shoreline, medieval cities and a culture shaped by language, song and faith. From Vilnius, the capital and largest city, to the Curonian sand peninsula and historic towns inland, there are plenty of things to do in Lithuania for travellers interested in heritage, nature and local culture. Neywo has free audio guides for 11 cities in Lithuania, covering 432 narrated places in total, with narration available in 11 languages.

What to see and do in Lithuania

Explore Vilnius, Lithuania’s capital

Vilnius is Lithuania’s capital and largest city, and a natural starting point for a Lithuania travel guide. Its history reflects the country’s changing fortunes: the medieval Lithuanian state grew into the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, later joined the Kingdom of Poland in a personal union, and formed the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth.

The city’s most important landmarks include Gediminas’ Tower, Vilnius Cathedral, the Church of St. Anne, Vilnius, and the Presidential Palace of Lithuania. With 197 narrated places on Neywo, Vilnius offers the largest collection of stories in the country’s audio guide.

Visit Trakai Island Castle

Trakai is one of the best cities to visit in Lithuania for a view of the country’s medieval heritage. Its main landmark is Trakai Island Castle, one of the places that recalls the power of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania.

The city also has the Church of the Visitation, Trakai, Trakai Peninsula Castle, and Trakai Kenesa. Together, these places show different aspects of Trakai’s religious and historical character. The Trakai guide includes 10 narrated places.

Discover Kaunas and its historic landmarks

Kaunas is one of Lithuania’s major cities and has 113 narrated places on Neywo. Its landmarks include Pažaislis Monastery, Kaunas Cathedral Basilica, the Kauno Švč. M. Marijos Apsilankymo pas Elzbietą bažnyčia, and Eighth Fort.

These places connect religious architecture with the country’s more recent military history. Kaunas is in Kaunas County, a useful base for exploring more of central Lithuania.

See Birštonas and the Nemunas landscape

Birštonas combines historic and natural places. The town’s highlights include Birštono apžvalgos bokštas, Birštonas hillfort, Škėvonių Outcrop, and the Church of St. Anthony of Padua, Birštonas.

Its narrated guide includes four places. Birštonas is also one of the destinations to explore in Kaunas County, alongside Kaunas and Kėdainiai.

Walk through Kėdainiai

Kėdainiai offers a different view of Lithuania’s past, with religious buildings and a distinctive landmark in the town centre. The Kėdainiai minaret stands alongside the Church of St. George, Kėdainiai, the Church of St. Joseph, Kėdainiai, and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Kėdainiai.

The city has 10 narrated places on Neywo. Its varied landmarks reflect the cultural and religious layers found in Lithuania’s historic towns.

Visit Anykščiai

Anykščiai is a destination for exploring local history through its railway and archaeological heritage. Important places include the Siauruko muziejus Anykščių geležinkelio stotyje, Šeimyniškėliai hillfort, and the Orthodox church in Anykščiai.

The Šeimyniškėliai hillfort appears among the city’s narrated places, while the railway museum introduces another part of the town’s story. Anykščiai has five narrated places in total.

Head to the Baltic coast and Klaipėda

Lithuania lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea. Its coast is sandy, and much of it is sheltered by the Curonian sand peninsula. At the narrow mouth of the Curonian Lagoon, Klaipėda serves as a warm-water port.

The city’s attractions include The Blacksmith Museum, The Clock and Watch Museum (Klaipėda), LKL Sūduvis, and the Lithuanian Sea Museum. With 45 narrated places, Klaipėda is the main coastal city on Neywo. It is part of Klaipėda County, which also includes destinations on and near the Curonian sand peninsula.

Explore Nida and Juodkrantė

Nida and Juodkrantė are linked to the Curonian landscape and Lithuania’s Baltic coast. In Nida, the Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Help of Christians, Nida, the Amber Gallery-Museum, Nida, and the Nida Fisherman’s Ethnographic Homestead offer different ways to discover local history and culture. The Mizgirių Gintaro Muziejus also appears among the city’s highlights.

Juodkrantė has 23 narrated places, including the Mizgirių Gintaro Muziejus, the Thomas Mann Memorial Museum, Nida, and the Amber Gallery-Museum, Nida. Nida itself has nine narrated places. Both destinations belong to the coastal area covered by Klaipėda County.

Spend time in Palanga

Palanga is another coastal destination with a strong cultural focus. Its highlights include the Palanga Amber Museum, Žemaičių Alkas, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Būtingė, and the Church of the Assumption, Palanga.

The city has 13 narrated places on Neywo. Its landmarks provide an introduction to Lithuania’s coastal heritage, including the importance of amber in the region.

Stop in Plateliai

Plateliai has three narrated places: Raganos uosis, the Church of St. Peter and St. Paul, Plateliai, and Platelių dvaro griuvėsiai. The combination of a notable tree, a church and estate ruins offers a compact look at the town’s natural and historical character.

Lithuania’s history, culture and landscape

Lithuania’s story reaches back to Baltic tribes who lived along the southeastern Baltic shores for millennia. Mindaugas united Lithuanian lands in the 13th century and was crowned King of Lithuania. The state then expanded into the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, which became the largest country in Europe.

After the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth was dismantled by neighbouring powers, the Russian Empire annexed most of Lithuania’s territory. Modern Lithuania later declared independence, but Soviet and Nazi German occupations interrupted its path. Following Soviet reoccupation, armed resistance continued into the early 1950s. Lithuania eventually proclaimed the restoration of its independence and became the first Soviet republic to break away.

Language and song remain central to Lithuanian culture. Lithuanian is one of the official languages of the European Union, and choral traditions are prominent. Catholicism has been the main religion since the country’s official Christianisation in 1387. Lithuanian cuisine reflects the country’s cool, moist northern setting, with ingredients such as barley, potatoes, rye, beets, greens and berries.

Today, Lithuania has 2.9 million people. It is part of the European Union, the Eurozone, the Schengen Agreement and NATO, among other international organisations. Its open, mixed and high-income economy combines established agricultural traditions with services, lasers, biotechnology and advanced digital infrastructure.

Download Neywo and explore Lithuania at your own pace

Neywo offers free audio guides for 11 cities in Lithuania, with 18 walking tours and 432 narrated places in total. Narration is available in 11 languages.

Choose a city, start walking and let the app guide you from place to place. Each story plays as you reach the location, at your own pace, with no group and no schedule. It is a simple way to explore Vilnius, Kaunas, Trakai, Klaipėda and Lithuania’s other historic and coastal destinations while learning the story behind what you see.