City Information
Boka
hyrbilar hela världen online flygresa - Queensway
Travel
Airport
Vilnius Airport is 5 km south of the city at Rodunes Kelias 2.
Facilities include: 24-hr currency exchange, duty free shopping,
left and lost luggage (0600-2100), shopping centre, pubs and cafs.
Airport to City Centre
A taxi into the Old Town costs around 20 litas, although be sure to
agree a price before getting in. Prices are listed on a sign near
the taxi rank. There’s a bus connection to the city every 10-15
mins. Bus No 1 goes to the railway station, 500 yards from Old Town
and Gates of Dawn, Bus No 2 via Lukiskiu Sq to the main street
Gedimino, passing various hotels along the way. Tickets costing 1
lit are purchased from the driver, but if bought in kiosks are 80
centas. There are three car rental kiosks, and the nearest petrol
station is 1 km from the airport. Minibus 15 also runs to the
railway station and with a more frequent service. The cost is 1 lit,
payable to the driver.
Orientation
Lågprisflyg - Weedend resa - Queensway
Travel
Vilnius is built around the banks of Vilnia and Neris rivers. The
largely baroque Old Town is one of Europe’s largest ancient
quarters, with an abundance of religious buildings. The main artery,
Pilies (Castle) Street, begins at the south-east corner of Cathedral
Square, continues into Didzioli Street, past Rotuoes Square and on
to Ausros Vartai (the Gates of Dawn).
Getting Around
It’s best to walk the cobblestone streets in the city centre and
Old Town, and even pause for a robust local beer at one of the many
patios, but in 2003, walking makes even more sense, as Gedimino
Avenue will be largely closed to traffic whilst it is being
completely rebuilt. Therefore a walk of a few hundred yards could
become a drive of several miles. Buses and minibuses serve the
streets adjoining the Old Town but only taxis can reach the many
smaller streets. It is always cheaper to phone for a taxi than to
hail one in the street. Reckon on paying about 1 lit per kilometre
for an ordered taxi and 2 litas per kilometre for one picked up on
the street or at a rank.
What to see
Cathedral: Built by Mindaugas, the first Christian Lithuanian
king, this cathedral has been transformed from its beginnings as a
site where pagan rituals were performed to the present neo-classical
structure which was a centre of atheism as well as a Soviet art
gallery reconsecrated in the late 1980s. Within the church is the
baroque Chapel of St Casimir, a patron saint of Lithuania, plus
famous images of the Holy Virgin Mary and St Casimir, as well as
priceless 16c art. The three statues above the front are
restorations. Vilnius’s two main streets, Pilies (Castle) Street
and Gedimino Avenue, radiate out from here.
Gates of Dawn (Ausros Vartai): Several storeys high, these
gates are part of the original city wall and hold the Chapel of
Ausra, a pilgrimage site built in 1671 by the Carmelites which
houses the statue of Madonna of Mercy, noted for its miracle-working
powers.
KGB Museum: Former Soviet headquarters of the KGB, where
Lithuanians were interrogated before being deported to Siberia. Left
largely intact, this building was where people considered a threat
to the communists, real or imagined, were tortured and packed into
cells in appalling conditions.
Where to walk
Start by walking up Gediminas Hill, taking a look at the rooftops
from Gediminas Castle, before checking out the museum containing
fine examples of 14-18c arms and armour, as well as models of the
castle and its environs in the 14c. Stroll across Cathedral Square
and follow the road close to the banks of the Vilnia River, past the
Hill of Three Crosses erected to honour religious martyrs, the
gothic beauty of St Anne’s Church and the Monastery of the
Bernardines. At Bernardinu Street turn right and walk back up to the
Cathedral where workmen found treasure worth $10m in the walls.
City Map
