3.54/5
484 reviews
Photo by Darya Tryfanava via Unsplash

Riga

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town

bit

terms

center

nice

good

prices

beautiful

tourists

Riga makes an interesting destination with its standout Art Nouveau architecture and charming old town, though the latter can feel overcrowded with tourists in peak summer. Outside the historic center, tourist numbers thin out and more authentic experiences can be found, especially for those who enjoy local cuisine—affordable and generally well-reviewed by visitors.

Public transportation is both cheap and reliable, making it easy to navigate the sprawling layout of the city, which feels large in area even if not densely populated. Prices overall are moderate, though recent inflation has pushed some costs to levels similar to those in Western Europe. Winters, however, can be harsh, with prolonged cold and grey skies.

Some visitors have noted a lack of vibrancy outside the tourist zones, with areas feeling quiet or empty, and reports of residents seeming reserved or unfriendly. There are also mentions of visible intoxication in parts of the city. While Riga may appeal to certain travelers, especially architecture and food enthusiasts, it may not suit those looking for a warm atmosphere or consistent liveliness.

AI-generated summary of reviews
1 year ago

The old town is quite pretty, but apart from that it is quite empty.
Lots of people are wasted amd it's a bit sad to see.
People are quite cold
Good point is that it is quite cheap
Will probably not come back

1 year ago

Lived here for 6 months and it's a very big city. Not in terms of people, but in terms of size. Public transport is cheap and reliable. The old center is nice with mostly tourist from Europe but the really good places you will find just outside it. Wintertime can be very cold and with months of cloudy days. Prices are similar to western european cities especially lately with increased high inflation in the Baltic States. Overall a good place to stay with lots of beautiful women.

1 year ago

I stayed in spring, and outside old town I didn't encounter many tourists at all. The city was beautiful. I would recommend it for foodies, most things were very tasty and the prices weren't crazy high. Overall, a nice place to visit.

4 years ago

Visited the small, cute part of RIGA's old town and the ART NOUVEAU architecture that is located a bit outside the center.
Seemed quite juvenile + full of tourists during the summer of JULY 2019. Has a bit of that ex-comunist era inside the city.

6 years ago

✅ Good public transport

✅ Tasty and affordable food

✅ Beautiful architecture

✅ Pretty safe

✅ Fast internet

✅ Good air quality on average

✅ Nomads.com members liked going here a lot

✅ Many Nomads.com members have been

✅ Spacious and not crowded

✅ Very easy to do business

✅ High quality of education

✅ Great hospitals

✅ Roads are very safe

✅ Great freedom of speech

✅ Democratic

✅ People can speak basic English

✅ Very safe for women

✅ Family friendly

✅ LGBTQ+ friendly

✅ Not many people smoke tobacco

❌ Cold winters

❌ Touristy and crowded old town

❌ Locals can feel cold or unfriendly

❌ Parts of the city feel empty or rundown

❌ Very expensive

❌ Not much to do

❌ Cold now

❌ Gets very cold in the winter

❌ Very damp now

❌ Not many Nomads.com members right now

❌ High alcohol consumption

❌ Marijuana is illegal

Jan

Feb

Mar

Apr

May

Jun

Jul

Aug

Sep

Oct

Nov

Dec

Feels (median)

-425°
freezing

-621°
freezing

134°
cold

541°
cold

1254°
cool

2170°
mild

2882°
warm

1966°
mild

1254°
cool

1050°
cold

337°
cold

-523°
freezing

Real (median)

-130°
freezing

-327°
freezing

439°
very cold

744°
cold

1355°
cool

2170°
mild

2678°
warm

1966°
mild

1355°
cool

1253°
cool

642°
very cold

-130°
freezing

Humidity

damp
88%

damp
86%

damp
84%

damp
75%

damp
77%

nice
75%

nice
76%

nice
81%

damp
79%

damp
81%

damp
88%

damp
87%

Most common

☔️ Rain

☀️ Clear

☔️ Rain

☀️ Clear

☔️ Rain

☀️ Clear

☔️ Rain

Rain

rainy
62mm

dry
16mm

dry
49mm

dry
43mm

rainy
59mm

dry
40mm

rainy
82mm

rainy
69mm

rainy
66mm

rainy
69mm

rainy
61mm

Cloud

overcast
90%

cloudy
80%

cloudy
74%

cloudy
68%

cloudy
66%

pockets
44%

pockets
47%

cloudy
70%

cloudy
71%

cloudy
74%

cloudy
86%

cloudy
85%

Air quality

okay
63 US AQI

clean
33 US AQI

okay
63 US AQI

Remote workers

1,750 people

1,477 people

1,938 people

1,860 people

2,529 people

2,933 people

3,713 people

3,505 people

2,775 people

1,588 people

1,275 people

2,123 people

Green is good. Red is bad. Values shown are the medians of all daily highs in a month based on past few years, not necessarily current numbers. Remote worker count is estimated based on the total amount of trips logged by Nomads.com members.

If you'd like to filter destinations based on their climate, try Nomads.com's Climate Finder

Current weather data from MET Norway (CC BY 4.0)

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Help pick the best photos for Riga and improve this page's look by tappingclicking on them and the site saves your feedback Vote photos

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Tartu

Estonia

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Kaunas

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Klaipeda

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✈️19min

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Vilnius

Lithuania

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💵 Cost 🧐 Pricey

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🌥 Feels 10° 50° 11° 51° AQI 19

✈️21min

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Tallinn

Estonia

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💵 Cost 🧐 Pricey

📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast

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🌥 Feels 9° 48° 12° 53° AQI 23

✈️22min

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55 Mbps

Kaliningrad

Russia

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😙 Affordable

📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast

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☀️ Feels 9° 48° 11° 51° AQI 17

✈️27min

$2,434 / mo

10 Mbps

Helsinki

Finland

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 🧐 Very expensive

📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast

👍 Liked good

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🌥 Feels 8° 46° 11° 52° AQI 23

✈️29min

$4,664 / mo

61 Mbps

Espoo

Finland

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 🧐 Very expensive

📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast

👍 Liked very bad

👮 Safety good

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🌥 Feels 9° 48° 11° 52° AQI 20

✈️29min

$4,507 / mo

73 Mbps

Turku

Finland

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 🧐 Very expensive

📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast

👍 Liked very bad

👮 Safety good

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🌥 Feels 8° 46° 11° 52° AQI 13

✈️32min

$4,197 / mo

73 Mbps

Minsk

Belarus

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💵 Cost 😙 Affordable

📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast

👍 Liked very bad

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🌥 Feels 10° 50° 10° 51° AQI 56 😷

✈️32min

$2,418 / mo

18 Mbps

Stockholm

Sweden

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😳 Extremely expensive

📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast

👍 Liked mediocre

👮 Safety good

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🌥 Feels 8° 46° 11° 51° AQI 23

✈️35min

$5,805 / mo

31 Mbps

Gdansk

Poland

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 🧐 Pricey

📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast

👍 Liked mediocre

👮 Safety mediocre

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☀️ Feels 9° 48° 11° 51° AQI 64 😷

✈️36min

$3,817 / mo

86 Mbps

London

United Kingdom

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😳 Extremely expensive

📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast

👍 Liked mediocre

👮 Safety mediocre

Tap to open

🌥 Feels 13° 55° 15° 58° AQI 13

✈️2h

$8,440 / mo

23 Mbps

Bangkok

Thailand

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😙 Affordable

📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast

👍 Liked mediocre

👮 Safety mediocre

Tap to open

☀️ Feels 39° 102° 31° 88° Has AC AQI 71 😷

✈️11h

$1,656 / mo

33 Mbps

Lisbon

Portugal

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 🧐 Very expensive

📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast

👍 Liked bad

👮 Safety mediocre

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🌫 Feels 20° 68° 20° 69° AQI 18

✈️4h

$4,665 / mo

101 Mbps

Tallinn

Estonia

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 🧐 Pricey

📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast

👍 Liked good

👮 Safety good

Tap to open

🌥 Feels 9° 48° 12° 53° AQI 23

✈️22min

$3,584 / mo

55 Mbps

Moscow

Russia

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 🙂 Okay

📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast

👍 Liked good

👮 Safety mediocre

Tap to open

🌥 Feels 6° 43° 8° 46° AQI 47

✈️1h

$2,988 / mo

9 Mbps

Berlin

Germany

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 🧐 Very expensive

📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast

👍 Liked mediocre

👮 Safety good

Tap to open

🌥 Feels 12° 54° 13° 56° AQI 26

✈️1h

$4,938 / mo

32 Mbps

Kuala Lumpur

Malaysia

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😙 Affordable

📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast

👍 Liked good

👮 Safety mediocre

Tap to open

🌥 Feels 34° 93° 28° 82° Has AC AQI 119 😷

✈️12h

$1,966 / mo

53 Mbps

Paris

France

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😳 Extremely expensive

📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast

👍 Liked mediocre

👮 Safety mediocre

Tap to open

🌥 Feels 16° 61° 16° 61° AQI 46

✈️2h

$6,758 / mo

40 Mbps

Kraków

Poland

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😙 Affordable

📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast

👍 Liked good

👮 Safety mediocre

Tap to open

☀️ Feels 8° 46° 9° 48° AQI 85 😷

✈️1h

$2,266 / mo

140 Mbps

Barcelona

Spain

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😳 Extremely expensive

📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast

👍 Liked mediocre

👮 Safety mediocre

Tap to open

🌫 Feels 20° 68° 20° 67° AQI 22

✈️3h

$6,168 / mo

39 Mbps

Warsaw

Poland

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 🧐 Pricey

📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast

👍 Liked good

👮 Safety mediocre

Tap to open

☀️ Feels 10° 50° 10° 50° AQI 76 😷

✈️45min

$3,430 / mo

77 Mbps

Amsterdam

Netherlands

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😳 Extremely expensive

📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast

👍 Liked mediocre

👮 Safety mediocre

Tap to open

🌥 Feels 14° 57° 15° 59° AQI 22

✈️2h

$7,765 / mo

14 Mbps

Vilnius

Lithuania

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 🧐 Pricey

📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast

👍 Liked good

👮 Safety mediocre

Tap to open

🌥 Feels 10° 50° 11° 51° AQI 19

✈️21min

$3,464 / mo

🌇 Also went here245 people

Tallinn

Estonia

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 🧐 Pricey

📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast

👍 Liked good

👮 Safety good

Tap to open

🌥 Feels 9° 48° 12° 53° AQI 23

✈️22min

$3,584 / mo

🌇 Also went here306 people

Helsinki

Finland

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 🧐 Very expensive

📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast

👍 Liked good

👮 Safety good

Tap to open

🌥 Feels 8° 46° 11° 52° AQI 23

✈️29min

$4,664 / mo

🌇 Also went here237 people

Warsaw

Poland

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 🧐 Pricey

📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast

👍 Liked good

👮 Safety mediocre

Tap to open

☀️ Feels 10° 50° 10° 50° AQI 76 😷

✈️45min

$3,430 / mo

🌇 Also went here211 people

Berlin

Germany

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 🧐 Very expensive

📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast

👍 Liked mediocre

👮 Safety good

Tap to open

🌥 Feels 12° 54° 13° 56° AQI 26

✈️1h

$4,938 / mo

🌇 Also went here257 people

Prague

Czechia

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 🧐 Very expensive

📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast

👍 Liked good

👮 Safety mediocre

Tap to open

☀️ Feels 11° 52° 11° 53° AQI 24

✈️1h

$4,559 / mo

🌇 Also went here278 people

Vienna

Austria

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😳 Extremely expensive

📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast

👍 Liked mediocre

👮 Safety good

Tap to open

☀️ Feels 10° 50° 10° 50° AQI 44

✈️1h

$5,372 / mo

🌇 Also went here225 people

Budapest

Hungary

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 🧐 Pricey

📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast

👍 Liked good

👮 Safety mediocre

Tap to open

☀️ Feels 10° 50° 11° 52° AQI 47

✈️1h

$3,953 / mo

🌇 Also went here275 people

Amsterdam

Netherlands

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😳 Extremely expensive

📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast

👍 Liked mediocre

👮 Safety mediocre

Tap to open

🌥 Feels 14° 57° 15° 59° AQI 22

✈️2h

$7,765 / mo

🌇 Also went here249 people

London

United Kingdom

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😳 Extremely expensive

📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast

👍 Liked mediocre

👮 Safety mediocre

Tap to open

🌥 Feels 13° 55° 15° 58° AQI 13

✈️2h

$8,440 / mo

🌇 Also went here262 people

Paris

France

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😳 Extremely expensive

📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast

👍 Liked mediocre

👮 Safety mediocre

Tap to open

🌥 Feels 16° 61° 16° 61° AQI 46

✈️2h

$6,758 / mo

🌇 Also went here266 people

Istanbul

Turkey

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 🧐 Pricey

📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast

👍 Liked mediocre

👮 Safety mediocre

Tap to open

🌧 Feels 14° 57° 15° 59° AQI 77 😷

✈️2h

$3,382 / mo

🌇 Also went here239 people

Barcelona

Spain

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😳 Extremely expensive

📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast

👍 Liked mediocre

👮 Safety mediocre

Tap to open

🌫 Feels 20° 68° 20° 67° AQI 22

✈️3h

$6,168 / mo

🌇 Also went here259 people

Lisbon

Portugal

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 🧐 Very expensive

📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast

👍 Liked bad

👮 Safety mediocre

Tap to open

🌫 Feels 20° 68° 20° 69° AQI 18

✈️4h

$4,665 / mo

🌇 Also went here269 people

Bangkok

Thailand

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😙 Affordable

📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast

👍 Liked mediocre

👮 Safety mediocre

Tap to open

☀️ Feels 39° 102° 31° 88° Has AC AQI 71 😷

✈️11h

$1,656 / mo

🌇 Also went here236 people

1,800 remote workers in Riga now, of which 3+ members checked in (some members are set to private)

Members who will be here soon

Members who have been here

Values shown are estimated visits by traveling remote workers based on the total amount of trips logged by Nomads.com members. Visits to a place are only counted once per year per user, even if they visit more in that year. Visits are also normalized by overall trips added per month on the site, so if site usage goes up or down it does not affect trends. Not all digital nomads are on Nomads.com, and not all Nomads.com members log their trips. So the data is only indicative.

The chart below shows visitors by nationality normalized for population size. This means we take all trips logged on Nomads.com, check which country of origin the user is from, then divide that total visit count by the country of origin's population. If we didn't, it'd just show the big countries like US, Brazil and India always on top. Instead, this shows which nationalities worldwide proportionally visit more or less, which is more useful.

🎒 Nomad Score™	3.54/5 (Rank #164) 484 reviews
❤️ Liked by members	👍9 liked it 👎1 disliked it
👍 Quality of life score	Good
👶 Family score	Good
🎒 Community score	Okay
🤯 Overcrowding score	0% is nomad here
💵 Cost	🧐 Pricey: $3,321 / mo
📡 Internet	😡 Slow: 18 Mbps (avg)
😝 Fun	Okay
⛅️ Temperature (now)	🥶 Too cold: 10°C50°F (feels 8°C46°F)
💦 Humidity (now)	💦 Damp: 90%
❄️ % of buildings with AC	🥵 Very low: 4%
💨 Air quality (now)	🌱 Good: 33 US AQI
💨 Air quality (annual)	🌱 Good: 63 US AQI
👌 Safety	Good
👩 Safe for women	Good
🌈 Safe for LGBTQ+	Okay
🤮 Food safety*	Good
👮‍♀️ Lack of crime*	Good
🎓 Education level*	High
⚡️ Power grid	Great
🌊 Resilience to climate change	Bad
💰 Income level*	Very rich: $2,743 / mo
🙊 English speaking*	Okay
🚶 Walkability	Great
🚦 Traffic safety*	Okay
✈️ Airline scores*	Great
🧳 Lost luggage*	Great
🏥 Hospitals	Good
😄 Happiness*	Good
🍸 Nightlife	Bad
📶 Free WiFi in city	Okay
🖥 Places to work from	Great
❄️ A/C or heating	Bad
😁 Friendly to foreigners	Okay
🗯 Freedom of speech*	Great
🎅 Startup Score	Okay

🌍 Continent	Europe
🚩 Country	Latvia
🗓️ Average trip length	4 days
📡 Internet speed (avg)	18 Mbps
⛅️ Weather (now)	🌥 10°C 50°F + 💦 Damp (90%) = feels 8°C 46°F
💨 Air quality (now)	👍 33 US AQI 🍃 OK
💨 Air quality (annual avg)	👎😷 63 US AQI
🔌 Power	230V 50Hz
🚕 Best taxi app*	Taxify
🚑 Travel medical insurance	Safetywing
🏧 Suggested ATM take out:	EUR 100 = USD 112
💳 Cashless	💳 Yes, cards OK almost everywhere
💻 Best coworking space	StartupLatvia
🚰 Tap water	🚫 No, not drinkable
🦷 Fluoride added	🚫 No fluoride added
♻️ Return rate	👍11% of visitors return
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Population	550,000 people
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 GDP per capita*	$32,915 / year
👫 Gender ratio (population)	👨 39% 👱‍♀️ 61%
👫 Gender ratio (young adults)	👨 53% 👱‍♀️ 47%
👫 Gender ratio (nomads)	👨 86% 👱‍♀️ 14%
🏞 Foreign land ownership allowed	Yes
⛪️ Religious government	Non-religious
✈️ Best short-haul air carrier	Air Baltic
✈️ Best int'l air carrier	Air Baltic

💵 Cost of living for nomad	$3,321 / month
💵 Cost of living for expat	$2,047 / month
💵 Cost of living for family	$3,652 / month
💵 Cost of living for local	$1,043 / month
🏨 Hotel (median price)	$1,702 / month
🏡 Airbnb (median price)	$2,589 / month
🏠 1br studio rent in center	$581 / month
🏠 Median home price	$178,779
🏨 Hotel (median price)	$80 / night
🏠 Airbnb (median price)	$85 / night
🏢 Coworking hot desk	$79 / month
🍛 Dinner	$17
🥤 Coca-Cola (0.3L)	$2
🍺 Beer in cafe (0.5L)	$6
☕️ Coffee in cafe	$4
👩‍🏫 International school	$17,599 / year
🚕 Taxi price (avg trip ~3km/2mi)	$3 / trip

Riga

1,800 remote workers in Riga now, of which 3+ members checked in (some members are set to private)

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