Visiting Vilnius with kids.
Vilnius is the capital of Lithuania. The second most populous city of the Baltic states. The city is a UNESCO heritage site.
Vilnius in Lithuania, is likely not a city that would be top of most peoples lists to take a toddler to…. but it was a really good city to explore, withnloads of open spaces and hilly viewpoints.
We stayed at the Hilton Garden Center Vilnius. This was a lovely, modern hotel in a fantastic location in the heart of the Old Town. https://booking.tp.st/Qg2lPTTT have a look here to see the range of hotels available in Vilnius for your stay. There is a beautiful terrace over looking many of the cities main sights.
Travelling from the airport on the local bus is very straightforward, there are 4 that take you from the airport to the city center, so you are never waiting for long. Maximum wait is 20-30 mins roughly between buses. Taxis are also available if that is your preferred option.
For an area to stretch your little one’s legs, visit Vingis Park. At 400 acres it is the largest park in Vilnius, and is an excellent park to let off some steam. There is so much open space, an amphitheater where we caught a local game of cricket, with songs being played between innings over the impressive PA system. Many musical superstars have played here including Elton John and Lady Gaga.
You can sit here and chill out, bike hire is available for the more active children and other sports hire equipment. We spent a good few hours in this park and it was definitely the highlight of our trip being with a toddler. There are also amazing views of the Vilnius TV tower. You can go up to the viewing platform, which we decided Teddy probably wasn’t old enough to enjoy, especially considering there are other amazing viewing platforms that don’t require paying to experience.
Exploring the main square is where you will find the enormous Cathedral square. The focal point is Vilnius Cathedral, an impressive white cathedral located right on the corner of the square. It is also overlooked by one of the top sights in Vilnius which is Gedimas tower.
The tower is situated on a hill and has spectacular views of pretty much all of Vilnius, including Cathedral square and the Hill of three Crosses. There is a funicular available and I would recommend taking the lift if travelling with a pram or younger children. They will probably love the ride up and down. This is a really impressing and cool building and the views were amazing so we spent an hour up here taking in the scenery and letting Teddy have a play at the top.
Another great site to visit is Kalnu park, where the hill of the three crosses is located. We didn’t make it up the top as it wasn’t particularly pram friendly, but it was an interesting walk through the park and provided cool views of the Gedimas Tower. It also features an open area concert venue which was kind of a bit eerie but very interesting.
Heading back to the old town and Cathedral Square, which is spectacular at night with the buildings all light up and with a really nice water feature with brilliant lighting from the floor. Walking around Vilnius and the old town was really interesting as it featured lots of cafes/shops but also some quite large and spacious roads throughout, which I haven’t really found in other Baltic old towns. We really enjoyed spending the evening exploring the centre.
Vilnius is a really cool city to visit and I really picked it as it was the only Baltic country I hadn’t visited and I absolute loved the others and I’m glad we took Teddy, we couldn’t indulge in as much day drinking as we would have done when we were child free but we had a great time exploring the open spaces with him.
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