Riga

Latvia's cosmopolitan capital, Riga, once revered across Europe as the 'Paris of the North', is now firmly on the tourist map. Older than both Stockholm and St Petersburg, Riga is the only Baltic capital to have a real big-city buzz.
Any lingering images of Communist deprivations are quickly blasted away by a stroll around Riga, with its gleaming renovated buildings, its fashion conscious mobile-phone carrying youth and the new wave of bars and cafes. The focus is still firmly on Riga's Old Town, which tumbles towards the banks of the Daugava River in a maze of cobbles, voluminous spires and impressive squares.
It is ironic that the city that was once besieged and captured by Germany now has Europe's most impressive array of Germanic art nouveau architecture, a fact recognised by UNESCO on its World Heritage List. Much of the art nouveau lies across Bastekalns Park in the New Town, the commercial and business heart of the city.