Jurmala Beach

Jurmala is a long ribbon of white-sand beach and pine forest, lined with the wooden villas of its long career as a seaside spa. The sand is broad and shallow-shelving, the water calm and shallow, and behind it runs a town of timber fretwork and quiet streets.

History

Jūrmala, whose name means seaside, is really a string of small resorts - Ķemeri, Sloka, Dubulti, Majori, Dzintari, Bulduri and others - along the strip between the Gulf of Riga and the Lielupe River. Its name as a place to take the sea air began in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, when wealthy landowners started coming to the shore and Russian army officers rested here after the Napoleonic Wars, later bringing their families. The Riga-Tukums railway, opened in 1877 and still running through the town, brought visitors in far greater numbers, and the sea breeze, pine woods and mineral springs drew sanatoriums; in Soviet times it was one of the most popular holiday places in the whole Union (Wikipedia, Jūrmala).

What you'll find

• The beach - some thirty-three kilometres of fine white sand, widest and busiest at Majori.
• Jomas Street - the pedestrian spine of Majori, lined with cafes and summer crowds.
• Wooden architecture - ornate timber villas and dachas from the resort's golden age.
• Dzintari forest park - a pine park with a wooden lookout tower behind the dunes.

When to go

July and August for warm water and full resort life; late spring and early autumn for empty sand and the architecture. The town is pleasant year-round, quiet and pretty out of season.

Good to know

The Baltic is cold - even in high summer the sea is bracing, and swimming weather is not guaranteed. Majori beach and Jomas Street get genuinely crowded on hot weekends. The charm lies as much in the wooden town as the sand, so walk the side streets.

Nearby

Kemeri National Park and its bog boardwalk are at the western end of the same railway; Riga is thirty minutes east.

Key facts