Best places to visit in Lithuania: top cities, regions and sights

Lithuania is in the Schengen area and uses the euro. Most visitors from the US, UK, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Ireland can enter visa-free for short stays; confirm your own passport rules before booking. The table below ranks the places for a first trip and shows when each one works.

Start in Vilnius. The Old Town is compact and walkable: Gates of Dawn, Cathedral Square and Gediminas Tower, Užupis across the river, the university courtyards, St Anne's Church, and the Museum of Occupations and Freedom Fights. Climb Gediminas hill at sunset. Three nights covers the centre plus one heavier history site such as Paneriai.

Take a day trip to Trakai, about 30 minutes from Vilnius, for the island castle and the Karaim village. No overnight needed.

Move to Kaunas for 1–2 nights by train. See the interwar modernist buildings (UNESCO), the Ninth Fort, Sugihara House and the street art. Kaunas is also the better base if you are heading north afterwards.

In summer, continue to Klaipėda for one night, then cross by ferry to the Curonian Spit and stay 2–3 nights in Nida. Cycle the spit, walk the Parnidis Dune, and stop at the Hill of Witches in Juodkrantė. Palanga, north of Klaipėda, is the busiest beach resort and has the amber museum.

Add the Hill of Crosses near Šiauliai on the way north; it works all year and needs no overnight, though a car makes it easier. For lakes and canoeing, Aukštaitija suits 1–2 nights in June–August. Druskininkai and Birštonas are spa towns that work outside summer.

The coast is a summer product. Nida and the spit are at their best June–August; outside that window, plan the Vilnius–Kaunas axis and the spa towns instead. December works for Vilnius if you want the Christmas market rather than beaches.

The Vilnius–Kaunas–Klaipėda line is easy by train, and buses cover the rest. A car helps for the Hill of Crosses and for Aukštaitija, where buses are slower. Book summer accommodation on the spit early; it is a small place with a short season.

Vilnius, Kaunas and Klaipėda are the three cities most first-timers use. If you have more time, the smaller towns — Kėdainiai, Telšiai, Kretinga, Marijampolė, Panevėžys, Utena — reward a slower trip but are not first-trip priorities.