• Private Tour
• Instantly Confirmed
• Carbon Neutral

Welcome to Riga! Want to know the best places to eat? Cool events in town? Which places to go to and which to avoid? Or simply get some help to navigate the city? Book this private tour with a local and get the perfect introduction to Riga to start your city trip on the right foot.

Destination

Riga, Latvia

Category

City Highlight Tours

Duration

2 hours

Transport mode

Walking tour

Available languages

English, Latviešu, Français, Русский

Included

• Private Guide
• Local Tips & Tricks
• City Orientation
• All Withlocals tours are carbon neutral

Excluded

• Entrance to attractions

What you can expect

Choose your local

Get to know these 4 passionate locals, each bringing unique perspectives and talents. Choose your favorite, check their availability, and book to create an unforgettable adventure tailored to you.

This is the plan

Check out the plan below to see what you'll get up to with your local host. Feel free to personalize this offer with the host of your choice.

1. Meeting point

   Meet at Our Lady of Sorrows Church, in front of the main entrance - Riga to start your journey

   View on Maps

2. Itinerary

   This is what our experience could look like, but it’s not set in stone! Once you book, you can chat directly with your host to make small tweaks to suit your preferences.

3. City Highlights

   See Riga Castle, Freedom Monument, and more landmarks and must-sees of the city. Your local host will take you to the main spots of the city so you can get the perfect introduction to what makes Riga so special

4. Local Hot Spots

   Along the way, your host will point out hangout spots and hidden gems that only the locals know about and will help you get acquainted with the city in the most local way possible

5. Food Recommendations

   Receive tailored recommendations according to your taste and where to go and what to eat while visiting Riga. Avoid tourist traps thanks to your local host!

6. City Orientation

   Learn how to navigate the city, and get the answers to your Riga questions that will help you in the following days making your time in the city much easier

7. Make it yours

   Want to tweak the itinerary? Book directly & chat afterwards with your host to adjust highlights, skip stops, or make small changes to fit your preferences.

   Book risk-free: Cancel within 24 hours for a full refund.

   Need something special? Personalize your experience for more time, alternative locations or a completely tailored plan.

Flexible cancellation policy

• Feel confident booking

  Cancel within 24 hours for a full refund. Even up to 7 days before your experience, you’ll receive a refund, minus the service fee.

• Change of plans?

  Reschedule your experience to a date and time that works best for you.

• Loved by travelers worldwide

  Simple and flexible – your plans, your way.

Reviews from guests

Andrew

(About local Ieva)

15 February 2025

Leva was such a great guide in our two hour introductory walking tour to Riga. We covered a lot of the sold Town and were given a clear insight to Riga past & present. She was not only personable but you felt that the tour was tailored to us. Really appreciated the honest recommendations, perfect.The best introduction to Riga

Kathryn

(About local Janis)

7 January 2025

What a fantastic introduction to Riga! Janis was knowledgable and friendly- an all-around great guide. The walk around Riga Old Town was the perfect way to learn about the history of the city while admiring the beautiful architecture. I recommend booking a tour with Janis on your next visit to Riga.Highly recommended!

Del

(About local Margita)

7 January 2025

Margita was very personable - we enjoyed our time together. The information she shared with us gave us a great overview for our short stay in Riga. We loved the wide boulevards and the Christmas Market still in operation during our stay. We were able to wander around looking at some of the museums she suggested. The art nouveau recommendation was perfect. A great "taste" of Riga

Thijs

(About local Margita)

29 October 2024

Dr. Karl Walter🇩🇪 Germany

(About local Janis)

29 September 2024

Janis was knowledgeable, funny, even witty and over two hours informed us about historic facts, the electoral system, current affairs, but he also mentioned details a normal tourist would not discover and even gave personal advice concerning nice bars and good restaurants. Most intersting and also entertaining.

Ylva🇸🇪 Sweden

(About local Janis)

26 September 2024

Fantastic and very interesting to see another part of Riga. Very nice tour!

Monica🇺🇸 United States

(About local Janis)

22 September 2024

We enjoyed our tour of Riga with Janis. He was very knowledgable of the history and buildings of Riga. He was a joy to be with and gave us many recommendations for restaurants and other things to see. We would definitely do another tour with him when we go back, and we plan to go back to that beautiful city!very knowledgable and friendly

Erica🇺🇸 United States

(About local Margita)

11 July 2024

Margīta was amazing. By sharing some of her experiences, it allowed us to feel not only her connection to Riga but to her country as well. It allowed us to feel a sense of shared experience. She was very nice and very insightful it was truly a lovely tour. Highly recommend Margīta

David🇬🇧 United Kingdom

(About local Margita)

2 July 2024

Margita took us on a varied tour around Riga. We started at the Freedom Monument and weaved our way around the hidden streets of old town before moving in to the new town. The highlights for us were the Art Nouveau area. Riga is a fascinating city and a personal tour, for us , allows us to really understand it's history, culture and people. Margita was a great guide and is clearly passionate about her city and county. Private tour of Riga

Sabrina🇦🇹 Austria

(About local Margita)

10 June 2024

Margita is a great guide and highly experienced. We had a two hour tour and I wished we had booked more time with her. She is not only a wonderful guide, she is also a proud citizien of Riga and a great artist. She gave us many details, answered all of our questions and had very good advice for further things to do and see. I would recommend her as a MUST HAVE if you want to get to know Riga and the life of the Latvian people off the beaten tourist track.Very special experience, wonderful time

Heather

(About local Janis)

22 April 2024

Janis was a great guide - it was a cold and windy evening for our tour, but he made the weather bearable and we thoroughly enjoyed the tour! We did this on our first day in Riga (just two hours after we arrived) and it was a great choice - it made the rest of our experience that much more meaningful having had a fun and interesting 'kick start' tour. I would recommend Withlocals and Janis to anyone!Great way to introduce yourself to Riga!

Lucas🇳🇱 Netherlands

(About local Janis)

8 April 2024

Janis is a very friendly and fun tourguide. He speaks good english and has many stories to tell. A great way to to get a quick understanding of the city, culture and history of Riga. Absolutely worth it.Very nice

Eva🇩🇪 Germany

(About local Janis)

3 February 2024

Janis doesn’t only know about all the historical background facts you need to know when looking at the great old buildings of the old part of town, but he also showed us cute places like hidden cafés and restaurants which we would never have found. He also recommended current events that are worth to be visited. very nice and competent guide

ingrida🇱🇹 Lithuania

(About local Margita)

3 November 2023

Together with the friend from US we were keen to explore Riga's old town with the help of a local. Margita was our best experience ever. She was very knowledgable , very passionate and we fell in love with Riga because of her. We highly and absolutely recommend her. A beautiful woman and a professional tour guide. Ingrid and BjarkiComplete satisfaction

Hans Ulrich🇩🇪 Germany

(About local Margita)

18 August 2023

Enjoyed our 2 hours with Margita. Very informative and entertaining. thanks Perf.ect guide

Alexis🇨🇭 Switzerland

(About local Janis)

23 May 2023

gb5vbtkdjx

(About local Margita)

8 March 2025

Jamie

(About local Margita)

21 February 2025

We had a lovely time walking to the market and devouring some unique Latvian food. A great addition to the tour was stopping at the National Library too. A great time. Great food tour and history

Alice

(About local Kristine)

17 February 2025

We had a fantastic tour with Kristine. It was our first day in Riga and it gave us a great overview of the city. Really interesting facts and insights about the city. Great introduction to Riga

Carolyn🇸🇪 Sweden

(About local Margita)

19 January 2025

We had an amazing afternoon with Margita! The food she selected was varied and delicious. On top of learning about the food culture of Riga and Latvia she gave us many insights into the history, architecture and culture of the country. She also gave us many recommendations of restaurants to try and places to visit which made our trip so much more special!An amazing afternoon

louise🇬🇧 United Kingdom

(About local Margita)

27 December 2024

We had a lovely time walking with Margita. It was cold but Margita kept us moving and we enjoyed all the facts about Riga she gave us.Great Tour

Claudia🇦🇺 Australia

(About local Janis)

19 December 2024

Janis was really friendly, very knowledgeable about the history of Riga. He made us feel very welcome, almost as if we were friends walking around the city, rather than a guided tour.

Ingibjörg🇮🇸 Iceland

(About local Margita)

10 December 2024

We spent 3 hours with Margita, tasting various foods and hearing about history of Riga and Latvia. It was a lovely time and always gives you a different insight into the place you are visiting.Very knowledgeable and lovely

Gabriele

(About local Margita)

7 December 2024

Margita is an excellent guide with a great knowledge of her home city Riga, historically as well as contemporary. She has a good feeling of which areas, buildings, shops, spotlights are of interest for her guests. We achieved a very good impression of a wonderful city in a 3 hour walk. Thank you, Margita for this exceptional experience!Best of Riga

Henrik🇩🇰 Denmark

(About local Janis)

1 December 2024

We had a great trip round the city. Janis is a very good and storytelling guide. Thanks for all the fun fact as well.Great experience

Corinne🇨🇭 Switzerland

(About local Margita)

27 November 2024

Margita is such a good guide. She really loves Riga and is eager to show the hidden gems of this beautiful city. It was the second time I booked her and it felt like coming back to a friend.What a wonderful tour in the rain

Diane🇨🇦 Canada

(About local Margita)

25 November 2024

We did two tours with Margita in Riga—The 10 Tastings of Riga and Highlights & Hidden Gems of Riga—on consecutive days, and both were excellent! Margita has incredible knowledge of Riga, showing us all the highlights of Old Town and the Art Nouveau neighborhoods while sharing fascinating insights. Her English is excellent, and her passion for her city really shines through. The tasting tour was a highlight—stopping at spots like Lido in Old Town and exploring the market, where Margita picked out local foods to create a delightful picnic for us. It was a fun and unique way to experience Riga’s food culture. Margita has lived in Riga her entire life, and her deep connection to the city makes her tours truly special. I highly recommend booking with her for an engaging and memorable experience!Fantastic Tours with Margita

Benedicte

(About local Janis)

20 November 2024

We had a great time with Janis! Bikes were steady and he showed us all the sites to see. Janis is proud of his city and has a lot of knowledge, a good ambassador for Riga. Would absolutely recommend this form of sightseeing where you get a good experience, lots of fresh air and exercise all in one.Lovely experience

Tinna🇮🇸 Iceland

(About local Janis)

17 November 2024

We had an absolutely outstanding experience with Janis during our recent trip to Riga. He guided us through two exceptional tours: Hidden Gems of Riga and 10 Tastings of Riga, and I cannot recommend him highly enough. From the very beginning, Janis went above and beyond to accommodate our family’s needs, even providing a wheelchair for a family member, which made the entire experience stress-free and enjoyable. His flexibility and genuine care for our comfort stood out, but what truly set him apart was his incredible knowledge of Riga’s history, architecture, and culture. On the Hidden Gems of Riga tour, Janis introduced us to parts of the city we would never have discovered on our own. His passion for Riga shone through in every story and detail he shared, making the city’s past and present come alive for us. The 10 Tastings of Riga tour was equally unforgettable. Janis curated a perfect mix of traditional and modern flavors, and each tasting came with fascinating insights about Riga’s culinary traditions and the local food scene. Janis's warm and friendly personality made both tours feel like we were exploring the city with an old friend. He struck the perfect balance between being professional and personable, and his enthusiasm was contagious. If you’re planning a trip to Riga, do yourself a favor and book a tour with Janis. He’ll make your visit unforgettable, just like he did for our family.A family trip to Riga

Aykut🇹🇷 Turkey

(About local Janis)

29 October 2024

We were a group of friends and spent really high quality 3 hours with Janis. He has a lot of nice and detailed information about the city that impressed all of us. It is obvious that he likes what he is doing. Moreover, he attracted all of our attention during the tour with cool and funny stories about the city. A real professional

Claudia🇩🇪 Germany

(About local Janis)

26 October 2024

We decided to do this tour right at the beginning of our trip. It was perfect. Janis told us a lot about the history and answered all of our questions. We tried traditional foods and drinks. He showed us bars where locals go, some old fashioned and even modern food spots. I highly recommend the tour with Janis.Perfect start to Riga

Ella

(About local Janis)

23 October 2024

Janis met us on time with snacks and a smile. He knew so much, we constantly asked questions and learnt so much. We had small kids and so he changed the route to end up at our hotel. He was funny too. He really brought Riga and Latvia to life, we appreciate the city and it's history so much more. He also gave us great tips on how to entertain the kids in the city. An EXCELLENT guide. Thank you/Paldies.Informative, funny and patient guide.

Cilian 🇮🇪 Ireland

(About local Janis)

13 October 2024

Janis was an excellent guide and gave us a great overview of the city, all 10 of us thoroughly enjoyed. Highly recommendExcellent walking tour!

Richard🇬🇧 United Kingdom

(About local Janis)

8 October 2024

We were taken on a tour of the city with stops to either buy or taste food, including a trip to the Central Market. Janis was brilliantVery knowledgeable and pleasant guy

Christiane🇩🇰 Denmark

(About local Janis)

5 October 2024

Wir hatten drei sehr interessante Stunden mit Janis. Er hat uns viel gezeigt, Hintergründe erklärt und uns viele Tipps für den weiteren Aufenthalt gegeben. Wir haben etliche von seinen Restaurantempfehlungen ausprobiert und waren nicht enttäuscht. Abwechslungsreiche drei Stunden

Andrew🇺🇸 United States

(About local Margita)

8 September 2024

We had a pleasant time with our guide in the market and seeing the sights of Riga. She was pleasant, seemed knowledgeable and experienced, and proud of her city. However, we felt that the value of the food purchased at the market was not worth the price paid for the tour (bread, cheese, berries, pastry, smoked meat, and one small beer).Pleasant but pricey

Susie🇬🇧 United Kingdom

(About local Margita)

5 September 2024

We enjoyed our food tour of the market and got to try lots of local specialities. Margot’s also gave us some great eating and shopping tips. Fun tasting tour around Riga

Rachel🇺🇸 United States

(About local Janis)

26 August 2024

We had a wonderful food tour with Janis! He did a great job of talking about the foods as well as explaining the history of Latvia and more so Riga. He was easy to communicate with prior to the tour and was able to work around our allergen needs (gluten free). We highly recommend scheduling a food tour with Janis!Great Food Tour!

Andrew🇺🇸 United States

(About local Margita)

24 August 2024

This tour with Margita was one of the highlights of our stay in Riga. She brought real depth and history to it so the places we went were special, and not the same places that "everybody else" goes. Well done Margita you one of the best tour guides we have been with.Highly recommmended food tour by a local

Lorraine 🇺🇸 United States

(About local Janis)

24 August 2024

We enjoyed our time with Janis- he was easy going, knowledgeable and friendly. He customized our tour and helped us to get into a sold out museum. I’ve would recommend him!An Interesting Tour of a Beautiful City-

Felix 🇦🇹 Austria

(About local Janis)

18 August 2024

Janis is a very nice guy and passionate about his hometown! Unfortunately we had hoped for a tour of several restaurants to get to know different hot and cold Latvian dishes, but instead we went to a shopping center and ate pizza. It was explained that this is the modern way of food in Latvia. Afterwards, we went to an unspectacular bakery where everyone got 3 small traditional baked goods. We also had a drink and a shot Riga Black Balsam, the tour guide ordered something for himself and ate it too, at our expense. In the end, we were neither full nor did we have the impression that we knew what traditional Latvian cuisine was, at a cost of 70€ pP way too much. The tour guide at least gave us an informative tour of the old town, which worked really well and he really has a lot of knowledge!Tourguide great, food tour bad.

Verle🇺🇸 United States

(About local Janis)

17 August 2024

Janis was waiting for us at the agreed upon meeting spot. He immediately told us what he had planned for our tour and asked if it was alright. Openly answered all of our questions about Latvia and their relationship with Russia today. Would recommend him to other Riga visitors. Janis Delivers!!

Laura🇺🇸 United States

(About local Margita)

8 August 2024

We loved our tour with Margita! Her knowledge, enthusiasm and charm brought Latvian life and history into focus for us. She showed us and told us about so many special things in Riga. I would absolutely do it again. Excellent Tour!

Tracey🇬🇧 United Kingdom

(About local Margita)

7 August 2024

We spent a fascinating 3 hours with Margita learning about the architecture and history of Riga. She tailored our experience to our interests and was happy to answer any questions we had for her. We also received some great recommendations for the rest of our stay. She clearly loves Riga. Thank you, Margita! Passionate and knowledgeable

Karen🇩🇪 Germany

(About local Janis)

2 August 2024

Nice stroll through the capital with interesting conversations about Latvian life and historical experiences. Visit to the market where we could enjoy traditional Latvian food Got to know a lot about Latvian life

Steffen🇩🇪 Germany

(About local Janis)

20 July 2024

Janis is a very knowledgeable guide who adjusts the tour per individual preferences and requirements. We did the 3h tour and learned about Riga.Great experience

laub630🇺🇸 United States

(About local Margita)

9 July 2024

Margita gave us a wonderful tour. She is knowledgeable, communicative, and very passionate about her country of Latvia. We very much enjoyed our tour. She gave us insightful, local perspective that elevated our experience. I would highly recommend booking her for a tour of Riga. Excellent Guide

Morten🇳🇴 Norway

(About local Margita)

7 July 2024

Margita is enthusiastic and knowledgeable. We really enjoyed her expert guiding through the art nouvou (jugendstil) buildings and museum. Kick off Riga visit with a guided tour

Ingrid

(About local Janis)

5 July 2024

Great Tour with the experienced guide Jannis. We would recommend it to anybody to get a good impression of the city.Worth Booking

Monika

(About local Janis)

25 June 2024

We had a great walk - Janis was knowledgeable and also understood our interest and needs. We see Riga very different now! Hopefully we will be back and take another walk with Janis.Great time with Janis