Kuldiga Old Town

Kuldiga is a rare survival: a small Kurzeme town where whole streets of low wooden houses still line the river beside the wide Venta falls. Its intact timber townscape and the long brick bridge over the river earned it a place on the UNESCO World Heritage list.

What to look for

• The wooden streets - blocks of 17th to 19th century timber houses, some brightly painted.
• The brick bridge - one of the longest brick road bridges in Europe, over the Venta.
• Ventas Rumba - the widest waterfall in Europe, right at the town's edge.
• The old town squares - small cobbled spaces and the town's brick and timber churches.

When to go

Summer for warm days and swimming below the falls; late spring for the leaping fish. The town is quiet and photogenic on weekday mornings.

Practical notes

It is small and gentle - a place to wander for a few hours rather than a day of sights. Being far out in Kurzeme, it takes real driving to reach and works best combined with the coast. Some of the wooden houses are lived-in and modest rather than polished.

Nearby

The Riezupe sand caves are a short drive; the Kurzeme coast at Ventspils and Cape Kolka is further north.

Key facts