Overview

Klaipeda is youthful in soul, style and drive, dynamic and beautiful and presents unforgettable impressions and hospitality. It is the oldest city in Lithuania and is home to 200,000 people, and is said to be the fastest growing urban centre in the country and the proud recipient of the highest European honours for international co-operation.

City Living and Outdoor Activities

Klaipeda is surrounded by some of the country’s best resort areas with Blue Flag beaches and beautiful pine forests. It is an adventurous tourist destination, rich in entertainment and culture. Visitors can experience a tour at the oldest Lithuanian brewery and also sail with the historic vessel Kurenas, as well as visiting the Clock Museum and Picture Gallery. Take a visit to the National Maritime Museum and enjoy the shows put on by the trained dolphins and Californian sea lions.
Folk artists, craftsmen and musicians invite you to “yomarkas”, a fair where you can see people in national costumes, enjoy live music and taste midus, genuine mead made with natural honey.
Held every year on the last weekend of July, the Sea Festival is the largest and most colourful festival in Klaipeda. This four-day festival features over 100 events and performances for every taste, and the Old Town is imaginatively decorated in maritime style. Visit Klaipeda Castle on the first weekend of June, where the Jazz Festival will put a swing in your step.

Great Shopping and Fine Food

Begin your shopping adventure on the quaint streets of Old Town, centred just a few steps from the cruise terminal, on Drama Theatre Square. Here you can purchase marvelous traditional Lithuanian souvenirs such as amber, wood, metal, leather and linen. The Blacksmith’s Shops Museum and Central Marketplace can be located nearby, and you can fins fresh fruit and vegetables, fish and cooked meats, flower and other Lithuanian specialties here.
The biggest mall, hosting over 200 shops is the Akropolis shopping and entertainment centre, where you can enjoy the cinema and an ice-skating rink, as well as a variety of restaurants. If visiting Palanga, a year-round health resort and vibrant seaside town in summer, take a walk along J. Basanavichius, a pedestrianised walkway located in the heart of this beautiful town.
Lithuania is amber country, and a piece of this warm, sunny fossil makes a great ‘must have’ souvenir. Visit the Museum of Amber in the Botanical Park in Palanga, or K. Mizgiris’ small Amber Museum and shop in Nida, which sells quality jewellery and natural pieces of amber.

Ancient and Modern

Klaipeda’s colourful and turbulent history dates back to the 13th century, when the Livonian Order built Memelburg Castle. The city grew where the waters of the Curonian Lagoon flow into the Baltic Sea. Today you can learn about the history of Klaipeda in the museum in the remains of the castle, and you can stroll through the narrow streets of Old Town and delight at the Fachwerk-style buildings. You can take a short ferry ride across the lagoon where you will see the famous Curonian Spit, and where a 19th century Prussian fort houses the National Maritime Museum.
The Curonian Spit is one of the most stunning natural environments in Lithuania and listed by UNESCO as a World Heritage site and an area of outstanding natural beauty. Home to the highest sand dunes in Europe, it has fascinating fauna and flora and picturesque modern villages. What is now the Nagliai Reserve was once four villages that were buried by sand drifts between 1675 and 1864. You should visit the settlements the inhabitants later built after their homes were buried.
The 19th century Palanga Botanical Park surrounds a 100-year-old neo-Renaissance palace, which today houses the famous Museum of Amber. Learn the secrets of amber formation, its curative powers, and visit ancient and modern amber processing shops. The bustling pedestrian promenade is a contrast to the peaceful atmosphere of the park, and you can take a stroll up the pier from the promenade and walk up to 450 metres into the sea!

Top 10 attractions
Klaipeda Top 10 – don’t miss

• Theatre Square
• Curonian Spit – UNESCO heritage site – The Curonian Spit can boast of having probably the best beaches in the Baltic region.
• Maritime Museum – The aquarium has been built right into one of the old forts.
• Palanga Museum of Amber
• Pedestrian alley and pier in Palanga
• Castle Museum
• Thomas Mann Museum in Nida
• Akropolis mall and entertainment center
• Clock Museum – Klaipeda Clock Museum presents the development of the construction of time measuring devices from older times until today.
• Neo-Gothic Post Office - In Klaipeda city, you will find fine examples of Neo Gothic architecture.