Latvia (LV)
Latvia is a parliamentary republic and EU member state on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea, bordered by Estonia, Lithuania, Russia, and Belarus.
Country Profile
Everything you need to know before you arrive.
Latvia is a parliamentary republic and EU member state on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea, bordered by Estonia, Lithuania, Russia, and Belarus. Its capital Riga is the largest city in the Baltic states and a UNESCO World Heritage Site, celebrated for its extraordinary Art Nouveau architecture — the largest concentration in the world. Latvia is known for its pristine forests (covering over half the country), amber coastline, lively song and dance culture (the Latvian Song and Dance Festival is one of UNESCO's Intangible Cultural Heritage events), and a rapidly modernising economy anchored by fintech, IT services, and logistics.
Climate
March–May: 2–14°C. Variable — March and April can still bring snow and frost. May is the most pleasant, with longer daylight and blooming forests. Spring is short and transition rapid.
June–August: 18–24°C. The warmest and most pleasant season. Long daylight hours (up to 18+ hours in June around midsummer/Jāņi). Occasional heat waves up to 30°C. Relatively dry in Riga. The most popular time for outdoor activities and festivals.
September–November: 6–12°C. Beautiful amber and golden foliage in Latvia's forests. September is still pleasant. October brings rain and grey skies. November is cold, damp, and short on daylight — prepare for the psychological transition to winter.
December–February: -5 to +2°C. Cold, grey, and snowy. Snow cover is common and ice on roads is a serious hazard. Daylight as short as 7 hours in December. The cold can feel severe when combined with Baltic wind chill. Ice and black ice on roads make winter driving extremely dangerous.
Demographics
Religion
Social Culture & Etiquette
A firm handshake for formal introductions. Among friends, hugging is common. Latvians are generally reserved with strangers but warm once acquainted. Direct eye contact is important — avoiding it signals dishonesty. Greeting people you know on the street is expected. First names are used after an initial introduction in most professional and social contexts, though more formal settings may use full name and title.
Punctuality is valued for business meetings and formal occasions. For social events, arriving 10–15 minutes late is acceptable. Arriving more than 30 minutes late without notice is considered rude. For dinner invitations, arriving within 15 minutes of the stated time is standard.
Smart-casual is standard for most professional settings. Latvians tend to dress relatively formally for city life compared to some Western European norms. For concerts, theatres, and cultural events, smart dress is expected. Traditional Latvian folk costumes (tautastērps) are worn with great pride at the Song and Dance Festival and national holidays.
- ✕ Do not give an even number of flowers — even numbers are for funerals. Always give an odd number of flowers as a gift.
- ✕ Do not sit at the corner of a table if you are single — Latvian superstition says you will not marry.
- ✕ Do not whistle indoors — considered bad luck and socially inappropriate.
- ✕ Avoid direct political discussions about Russia/Soviet history with people you do not know well — opinions are deeply personal and the topic is sensitive.
- ✕ Do not place an empty bottle on the table — always put finished bottles under the table (a Soviet-era tradition still followed by many).
- ✓ The summer solstice festival Jāņi (Midsummer Night, 23–24 June) is the most important annual celebration — Latvians leave the city, light bonfires, sing folk songs, gather herbs, make wreaths of oak leaves and flowers, drink beer, and stay up all night. Participation is highly recommended.
- ✓ Foraging is a national pastime — mushroom picking (sēņošana) and berry picking (ogošana) are deeply embedded in Latvian culture. Families visit forests regularly in autumn.
- ✓ Name days (vārda dienas) are celebrated as seriously as birthdays — every Latvian name has a designated day in the calendar. Colleagues will bring cake; friends visit.
- ✓ Latvians are proud of their natural environment — forests, clean air, and the Baltic coast are central to national identity.
- ✓ The concept of "talkā" (volunteer collective work) — coming together to clean up a neighbourhood, plant trees, or build something communally — is an embedded cultural value.
🍽️ Traditional Food & Drink
Dark sourdough rye bread — the cornerstone of Latvian food culture. Dense, slightly sweet, and packed with flavour. Eaten at almost every meal, often with butter or cottage cheese. UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage. Latvians abroad miss it deeply.
Sorrel soup — a classic Latvian spring soup made from fresh sorrel leaves with hard-boiled eggs and sour cream. A rite of spring and one of the most beloved traditional dishes.
Grey peas with smoked bacon — the unofficial national dish of Latvia. Grey peas are a unique Latvian variety of dried peas cooked with fried smoked pork belly, traditionally eaten at Christmas and Lāčplēsis Day. Deeply symbolic of Latvian rural heritage.
Latvian-style minced meat patties (similar to Scandinavian meatballs), typically made from pork and beef, seasoned with onion and served with boiled potatoes and cucumber salad. A staple of the Latvian home kitchen.
A Latvian-style pretzel-shaped sweet yeast bread flavoured with saffron, almonds, and raisins. Traditionally baked for celebrations, name days, and as a gift. An iconic Latvian celebratory baked good.
Sour barley porridge — one of Latvia's oldest traditional foods, made from fermented barley grains. An acquired taste that represents Latvia's ancient peasant food culture. Served with butter or sour cream.
Cold pressed meat terrine — pork or mixed meat cooked and pressed in aspic. Sliced cold as an appetiser or main course, traditionally served at family celebrations with pickles and rye bread.
Latvian potato salad with pickles, carrots, peas, meat, and mayonnaise — a festive staple at every party, New Year, and celebration. Similar to Russian olivier salad but with its own character.
A traditional Latvian pastry with a rye crust filled with spiced mashed carrots and potatoes. A UNESCO-protected traditional dish from Kurzeme region. Nutmeg-scented and unique.
Herring in a fur coat — a layered salad of pickled herring topped with layers of boiled beetroot, potato, carrot, and mayonnaise. Inherited from Soviet cuisine but now claimed as a Baltic tradition.
Fermented malt beverage made from rye bread — dark, slightly sour, with minimal alcohol. The classic Latvian summer drink, sold from barrel dispensers on Riga streets. Refreshing and deeply traditional.
Latvia's most famous export — a dark, herbal, bitter spirit made from 24 plants and herbs, created in 1752. 45% ABV. Drunk neat, mixed into coffee (kafija ar balzamu), or added to cocktails. Every visitor to Riga must try it.
Beer is an integral part of Latvian culture. Major brands include Aldaris, Cēsu Alus, Bauskas Alus, and Užavas. The craft beer movement has grown significantly. Beer is the staple at celebrations, parks, and barbecues.
Kefir (fermented milk drink) — a legacy of Soviet food culture still widely consumed in Latvia. Drunk as a refreshing drink or used in cooking. Available in every Latvian supermarket.
Fresh birch sap collected in early spring — a uniquely Baltic tradition. Slightly sweet and mineral. Collected from tapped birch trees and drunk fresh or fermented. A spring ritual in Latvian families with forest land.
Herbal teas made from locally foraged plants — chamomile, linden blossom, mint, rose hips, and St John's wort — are deeply traditional in Latvia. Latvians are avid foragers and many families make their own blends.
📍 Tourist Highlights
A UNESCO World Heritage Site — a beautifully preserved medieval city centre with cobblestone streets, the Cathedral of Riga (Doma baznīca), Gothic churches, and the famous Blackheads' House (Melngalvju nams). The heart of Latvian cultural life.
Riga contains over 800 Art Nouveau (Jugendstil) buildings — the largest concentration in the world. The Alberta iela street is the most spectacular, with dramatic facades featuring masks, mythological figures, and ornate decorations. The Art Nouveau Museum is essential.
Latvia's premier resort town — 33 km of white sand beach and dunes along the Gulf of Riga, just 25 minutes from Riga by train. The wooden Art Nouveau summer villas are a distinctive architectural treasure.
Latvia's largest national park in the ancient Gauja River valley. Medieval castles (Turaida, Sigulda, Cēsis), forests, sandstone cliffs, caves, bobsled track, and outdoor activities. The most visited natural destination in Latvia.
Latvia's most magnificent Baroque palace, designed by Bartolomeo Rastrelli (architect of St Petersburg's Winter Palace). Breathtaking rococo interiors and restored formal gardens. Often called the "Versailles of the Baltic".
One of the largest open-air museums in Europe — over 100 traditional Latvian farmsteads, windmills, churches, and fishermen's villages moved from all regions. Essential for understanding Latvian rural heritage.
The mystical cape where the Gulf of Riga meets the Baltic Sea — a wild, wind-swept point with colliding currents, ancient forests, and the eerie ghost village of Kolka. The most remote and atmospheric corner of Latvia.
One of the best-preserved medieval castle complexes in the Baltic states, dating to the 13th century Livonian Order. Excellent museum with guided tours by lantern light.
Riga's iconic monument to Latvian independence, erected in 1935. The central symbol of Latvian national identity, featuring the figure of "Milda" holding three stars representing Latvia's three historical regions.
A UNESCO-listed mass choral and folk dance festival held every five years, with over 40,000 performers and 30,000+ audience members. One of the world's largest amateur music events — deeply moving and quintessentially Latvian.
📖 Brief History
Latvia has a complex and turbulent history spanning over 800 years of foreign rule. Germanic crusaders (the Livonian Order) conquered the region in the 13th century, followed by Polish-Lithuanian, Swedish, and then Russian (Tsarist) control. Latvia declared independence in November 1918 following the collapse of the Russian Empire, and the inter-war period (1918–1940) is remembered as a golden age of Latvian culture, language, and statehood. The Soviet Union forcibly occupied Latvia in 1940, followed by Nazi Germany in 1941–1944, and then the USSR again until 1991. Soviet occupation brought mass deportations — particularly the brutal deportation of June 1941 when tens of thousands of Latvians were sent to Siberia — and significant demographic change, as large numbers of Russians and other Soviet nationals settled in Latvia. Latvia restored independence on 21 August 1991 during the dissolution of the Soviet Union, rapidly transitioned to a market economy, joined NATO and the EU in 2004, and adopted the Euro in 2014. The legacy of Soviet occupation — including questions of minority rights, language policy, and historical memory — continues to shape Latvian politics and society.