Riga Art Nouveau Walking Tour

We wanted to take this tour, but some our hotel neighbours told us about their experience and suggested to come to Opera hose at 2pm and to take free walking art nouveau tour provided by free Riga tours by locals. We agreed because day before we had an old Riga tour with their guide and were right. The tour provided by Tomas was amazing. A lot of information in very easy and memorable way with funny stories.

This was an incredibly disappointing customer service experience. I booked this tour the day of, and it showed confirmed on the app. I received the Viator countdown notifications til my tour. But when I showed up at the meeting spot, there was no one there. I tried reaching out to the tour company, but could not and live chatted with Viator. They advised that the tour company had canceled my booking because there were not enough people booked and that they’d reached out via email. I don’t typically check my email when on vacation and instead was relying on checking the app verifying that the booking was confirmed. This tour company didn’t cancel my reservation with Viator, which is why Viator still showed the tour confirmed. I lost a precious vacation afternoon and an opportunity to book another tour because they left the tour as confirmed rather than initiating the cancellation with Viator. The lost time and experience is something that can’t be gotten back.

We signed up for a private tour, but they had planned to add another couple and did not inform us until day before. They did ask our permission and dropped the €70 fuel fee. We agreed because we were helping out another couple. When they admitted this was know for a while I feel taken advantage of. If I had know it would not be private I would not have agreed to a charge of over €300.

We feel let down by Riga Trips as the guide did not show up on the date booked. We did not receive a cancellation email either, Spam folder also checked. The company's management shot themselves in a foot by claiming the tour has been rearranged in two days, on Sunday, when we called following the no show-up. The other people also waiting for the tour were told the IT systems failed them, the tour was closed for booking. This is inconsistent with the initial explanation that the cancellation emails were sent to 8 clients, why would you send an email if IT system does not allow to book it and where would you get an email from. The communication following the review was terrible and made things even worse for them. This is not a customer oriented company you can count on.

Guide never showed up. Very disappointing. No communication either. Don’t waste your time. We did a self guided free tour instead.

Diana did a very fine job of introducing us to the excellent art nouveau architecture of old town Riga. She was articulate and engaging, covering a lot of ground, literally and figuratively in a short amount of time. We had a sudden brief downpour and she promptly adjusted her talk to accommodate our 'downtime' under a portico while we waited for it to stop - the sign of an experienced guide. I would highly recommend the tour to other visitors.

This tour was even more comprehensive than I expected. We started in the old city and ended up on 'art nouveau row'. We learned about the architects and the history of Riga as well as the types of art nouveau. There are so many buildings here that it is hard to decide which style you like the best.

A really fascinating and in-depth tour across Riga's amazing art nouveau architecture and building facades. Our guide was really charming and extremely knowledgeable. It's quite long, but it's definitely worth it!

Of the three Baltic states, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, we found the capital of Latvia, Riga, the most interesting. I'd definitely recommend a visit - there's lots to see, as it's a bustling city with Bolt taxis to get you around to see the place.

Our guide was friendly and unhurried. She shared the knowledge in a fun way. She knew a lot about the general history of Latvia, but especially about the architecture of Riga. In particular, about Art Nouveau. After all, that was what we booked the tour for!

We had a great tour with Gunta. She not only showed us the Art Niveau Highlights of Riga, but also what led to it.

Guta was a fantastic guide! She was very knowledgeable and passionate about the Art Nouveau architecture in Riga. She even offered to take us through the Riga Central Market afterwards because the tour we had arranged canceled at the last minute.

An excellent tour by Guna of the best art nouveau examples in Riga, particularly along Alberta Street. Guna was very knowledgeable on all aspects, she also told us about the life of a Latvian and how things had changed over the years. I would highly recommend.

Rita was very professional and knowledgable. She explained the 3 different types of Art Nouveau buildings in Riga. Good value!

A pleasant walking tour through the Art Nouveau section of Riga. The buildings speak for themselves, so the guide makes the difference. Our guide, Rita, was outstanding. Extremely knowledgeable and nice - definitely a five-star guide! The only downside to our experience was a slight error by the tour operator that led to the tour starting 45 minutes late.

It was definitely one of the highlights of the trip: the richness of the Art Nouveau the city offers, combined with the impeccable professionality and knowledge of Guna definitely make this a must.

We've been to Riga before and were enchanted by its Art Nouveau architecture, so this time around, we decided to take a tour and learn a little more about it. By great good fortune, we were the only two people booked for that afternoon (perhaps because everyone else was gearing up for the Rammstein gig later that evening), so we had the wonderful Guna all to ourselves. So not only did we have the opportunity to benefit from her encyclopaedic knowledge about her adopted city, but also had the chance to ask her more general questions about Latvian history and life in Riga (which is often one of the highlights of these walking tours). Guna is delightfully engaging and speaks fluent English. She is a gifted guide and is enthusiastic to share her passion for, and knowledge of Riga and its architecture. She strikes a good balance, providing good historical context and technical detail where required but not making the tour too academic for the interested layman. She also did a good job of highlighting how Art Nouveau draws heavily on local influences, and thus varies significantly from city to city, which I hadn't realised before. It's clear that she harbours a particular fondness for the National Romantic style, and she has certainly claimed us as converts. One particularly interesting aspect of the tour is along Alberta iela (the best known of Riga's Art Nouveau streets), where you are able to see a house from the back courtyard and note the dramatic contrast between the stark brick of the back and the outlandishly over-the-top Egyptian-themed confection of the building's street facade. At the end, you are also able to enter the foyer of the Riga Art Nouveau Centre to view the stunning entrance hall and stairwell (although if you wish to remain to look around the museum, you have to pay an additional entrance fee). The tour departs from the Laima clock just by the Freedom Monument. The tour takes about two hours, and comprises easy walking on flat surfaces, so should be manageable for anyone with reasonable mobility. The buildings you'll see are astoundingly ornate, so it's worth bringing a camera/phone that will let you capture the amazing detail. Although the subject matter is pitched at an adult audience, Art Nouveau is so flamboyant that it would appeal to children, whom you could easily keep occupied spotting lions, dragons and other beasts in the decoration. If Art Nouveau's not your thing, it's wprth noting that Guna also does walking tours of the Old Town and a Latvian food tasting tour, which we'd be keen to do on subsequent visits. Highly recommended!

Wonderful free tour at Riga. Guide is a professional about Art Nouveau,he explained the details and back ground of Art Nouveau not only Riga about every Europe. Highly recommend this great tour. 素晴らしいツアーです。アールヌーボーに興味のある方もない方も、２時間費やす価値は、十分あります。５月から初めてまだ３ヶ月との事。応援したいツアーです。

I used this walking tour to introduce my foreign business partners with the most beautiful part of our city. I wanted to make lasting impression on them and show that there's so much art nouveau to see in Riga! My guests were impressed from the walking tour and they enjoyed a lot the interesting stories from history our guide Guna shared with us. This tour is a perfect way to get known the city of Riga!

Our guide was wonderful and very knowledgeable. For almost two hours we got lots of information, stories and fun facts not only about the art nouveau-district, but also about the history of Riga, monuments and different traditions in Latvia. The Art Nouveau-district is a must-see when visiting Riga and I can highly recommend this walking-tour.

We were traveling with Svetlana, an old, very well-read lady who knew a lot of interesting and varied things to report. In terms of Art Nouveau, she had focused on two important roads: the Elizabetes iela and the Alberta iela. Certainly you can already get a good impression of Art Nouveau buildings there. However, we had subsequently visited the Brivibas iela, the Terbatas iela, the Caka iela and the connecting cross streets on our own and thus got an even more comprehensive picture of Art Nouveau buildings (and also of traditional wooden houses) in Riga.

We took a guided tour of the Liberty district, where about 800 Art Nouveau buildings have been restored. Worth visiting, we then visited a small museum where an apartment describes the art and the interior with stucco and furniture of the time.

Riga is a city with its own flavor blending its Germanic and Hanseatic roots with impregnations of its Russian neighbors.

The tour didn't take place at all, but the very short notice cancellation didn't reach us, so we waited at the meeting point for nothing. Very poor communication

Anna introduced us to the history and architecture of Riga city center with great enthusiasm and precision. We felt her passion and she captivated our attention throughout the visit. Many thanks for this extraordinary visit.

A guide that places art nouveau in Riga in its historical context. Great knowledge of art and history... and French! She takes the time to answer all the questions and it was exciting!