Riga, Latvia — Population, map and places

About Riga

Riga is a region. Location: Latvia. Population: 605,273.

From Wikipedia

Riga ( REE-gə), officially Riga State City (Latvian: Rīgas valstspilsēta), is the capital, primate, and largest city of Latvia and the second most-populous city in the Baltics. Home to 588,911 inhabitants (as of 2026), the city accounts for a third of Latvia's total population. The population of Riga metropolitan area, which stretches beyond the city limits, is estimated at 847,162 (as of 2025). The city lies on the Gulf of Riga at the mouth of the Daugava river where it meets the Baltic Sea.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

At a glance

Built: 1201
Area: 304 km²
Official website: riga.lv

Source: Wikidata

Photos of Riga

Lucavsala Olgerts V · CC BY-SA 4.0
Hare Island ScAvenger · CC BY-SA 3.0
Ķīpsala Olgerts V · CC BY-SA 4.0
Daugavgrīvas Sala Photographer: Mosbatho · CC BY 4.0
Stint Lake LVidealist · CC BY-SA 3.0

Travel notes for Riga

From Wikivoyage

Riga is the financial, creative, and cultural centre of Latvia. It is the capital and the largest city in Latvia, it is also the second largest city in the Baltic States after the Lithuanian capital Vilnius. The city lies on the Gulf of Riga, at the mouth of Daugava, Riga has a population of approximately 640,000 inhabitants, or 1/3 of the population of Latvia. The city was part of many empires throughout history, each of which has left its mark on the city. It is famous for Art Nouveau and wooden architecture. Riga's historical centre is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site.

Understand+

Riga is famous for its world heritage-listed old town (Vecrīga) and city centre (Centrs), in which over 800 buildings — a third of all buildings — are of the Art Nouveau (aka Jugendstil) style of architecture and thus Riga is one of the best destinations to see this architectural style. Chiefly built in the first years of the 20th century, many of Riga's Art Nouveau buildings were created by ethnic Latvian architects unlike earlier buildings in the city . The Art Nouveau style involves intricate building facades, with carvings of flowers and mythological creatures, and ornate doorways and windows.

A considerable part of the old town was either destroyed by fire or destroyed by the Germans in World War II but many old buildings were also spared. The old town was a draw of the city during the Soviet times and it received protected status in 1967. The damaged parts, most notably the House of the Blackheads, were restored in the late 1990s, mainly to make Riga more attractive as a tourist destination. Another thing that attracts visitors, especially young adults, is the lively nightlife and discount airlines that offer cheap flights to/from much of Europe.

Riga is bisected by the river Daugava. Old (medieval) town is in the centre of the city on the east side of the river. It is surrounded by a ring of 19th– to early 20th-century architecture including the Art Nouveau buildings described above, followed by a mix of private 2-floor house districts (many also pre-World War II) and Soviet-era 5-18 floor apartment districts. Especially near railway lines, they are interspersed with industrial plants from different eras, including some from the Imperial Russian era.

History:

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By plane:

1 Riga International Airport (Starptautiskā Lidosta Rīga RIX IATA) (10 km southwest of Riga). The airport serves approximately 5 million passengers per year.

Many flights to/from Riga are operated by Air Baltic, Ryanair, and Wizz Air.

There are designated areas in the airport where smoking is allowed.

Getting there and away:

Bus route 22 runs between the airport and the old town, with a stop near the central bus and railway stations as well as old town. These buses operate as any other public transport in Riga; see Riga#Get_around for more information on riding the buses. The journey to the old town takes 30-40 minutes. The buses operate whole day, after midnight it goes by number N22 until 4:45am. The bus stop at the airport is easy to reach - it is located at the arrivals hall entrance. There is a ticket machine in the arrivals hall; tickets can also be bought in ticket machines, at the Narvesen shops on the departure and arrivals levels in the airport or in the mobile applications, such as an official applicationor Mobilly. Price of a single ticket is €1.50 and it comes with free transfers within Riga public transport system for 1.5 hours since first activation. You also can pay €1.81 onboard using Visa or Mastercard. Bus will get crowded if there are many incoming flights.

The ride to the centre by taxi takes 15 minutes. Official vouchers are available for purchase, but for a very high price (€33). Some taxis will illegally try to charge even more.

The best way to hire a taxi is to use the Bolt Taxi mobile app, which allows you to see the rates being charged, time to pickup, enter the destination, and pay with the credit card that is linked to your account.

Baltic Taxi runs taxi service from the airport to the centre for a fixed price of €15 if booked online or via metered rates if paid to the driver. Service to the old town takes 15 minutes.

Source: Wikivoyage · CC BY-SA 4.0 · abridged

Places bordering Riga

Jūrmala
Olaine
Ķekava
Salaspils Municipality
Mārupe

Twin towns and sister cities of Riga

Vilnius· Lithuania
Tbilisi· Georgia

Source: Wikidata. Only places with a page on this site are shown.

Population of Riga over time

Population of Riga over time
2014		701,977
2016		698,529
2017		641,423
2018		637,971
2019		632,614
2020		627,487
2021		614,618
2022		605,802
2023		610,322
2024		601,882
2025		595,053
2026		588,911

Censuses and official estimates; source: Wikidata.

Climate of Riga

Best months for sightseeing

Best months for sightseeing: June–August.

This month · November

A cold month

Day 4° · Night 0° · Rain 58 mm

Hottest month: July (day 22°)
Coldest month: February (night -7°)
Wettest month: July (80 mm)
Driest month: February (29 mm)

-1° -6°

-1° -7°

3° -3°

10° 2°

17° 7°

20° 11°

22° 13°

21° 12°

16° 8°

10° 4°

4° 0°

0° -4°

Jan

37

Feb

29

Mar

33

Apr

41

May

47

Jun

61

Jul

80

Aug

77

Sep

75

Oct

66

Nov

58

Dec

48

Bars: average monthly low and high temperature. Below: precipitation. Monthly averages for 1970–2000 at about 18 km resolution, adjusted for elevation. Highlighted months are mild and relatively dry. Source: WorldClim 2.1 (CC BY 4.0).

Show values as a table

Climate of Riga
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Average high (°C)	-1°	-1°	3°	10°	17°	20°	22°	21°	16°	10°	4°	0°
Average low (°C)	-6°	-7°	-3°	2°	7°	11°	13°	12°	8°	4°	0°	-4°
Precipitation (mm)	37	29	33	41	47	61	80	77	75	66	58	48