These are the best places to travel this summer

Lithuania

Lonely Planet's Best in Travel 2025

Shop

Get even more with a Lonely Planet guide.

Shop Book

iStock

LONELY PLANET’S RECOMMENDED eSIM

Stay connected in Lithuania

with

Saily is an affordable eSIM service that helps you stay connected and secure, anywhere in the world.

Get your eSIM

Overview

Blame it on the Baltic sea breeze or the almost-endless midsummer days: Lithuania has an otherworldly quality. In the southernmost of the Baltic states, beaches are spangled with amber and woodlands are alive with demonic statues. Medieval-style mead and traditional wood-carving never went out of style.

Attractions

Must-see attractions

  • Hill of crosses

    Hill of Crosses

    Lithuania

    Lithuania's fabled Hill of Crosses is a symbol of defiance as much as a pilgrimage site. More than 100,000 crosses have been planted on this low hill,…

  • Vilnius Cathedral

    Vilnius Cathedral

    Vilnius

    Stately Vilnius Cathedral, divorced from its freestanding belfry, is a national symbol and the city's most instantly recognisable building. Known in full…

  • 500px Photo ID: 58761488 -

    Palace of the Grand Dukes of Lithuania

    Vilnius

    If you only see one museum in Vilnius, make it this one. On a site that has been settled since the 4th century AD stands the latest in a procession of…

  • Bust of Vladimir Lenin, sculpture park of former Communist-era sculptures, Grutas Park, Grutas, Lithuania

    Grūtas Park

    Lithuania

    With Soviet-era statues of Lenin, Stalin and prominent Lithuanian members of the Communist Party that once dominated Lithuanian towns lining the forest…

  • Vilnius University

    Vilnius University

    Vilnius

    Founded in 1579 during the Catholic Counter Reformation, Vilnius University was run by Jesuits for two centuries. During the 19th century it became one of…

  • Aerial view of the Cold War museum made in Plosktines abandoned missile base near Plateliai lake in Lithuania.

    Cold War Museum

    Lithuania

    This museum on the site of a former Soviet nuclear missile base is situated deep in the heart of the Žemaitija National Park. The highlight is the chance…

  • Lithuania, Vilnius, Names Of Victims On Wall Of Museum Of Genocide Victims, Formerly KGB Headquarters

    Museum of Genocide Victims

    Vilnius

    This former headquarters of the KGB (and before them the Gestapo, Polish occupiers and Tsarist judiciary) houses a museum dedicated to thousands of…

  • Ninth Fort

    Kaunas

    Lithuania's dark 20th-century history is poignantly told here, 7km north of Kaunas. Begin in the sombre, church-like gallery with striking stained glass…

Advertisement

Planning Tools

Expert guidance to help you plan your trip

Best Things to Do

In this Baltic gem, discover glorious dunes, historic castles, Soviet relics, woodland lakes and much more.

Read article

Plan with a local

in partnership with getyourguide

Book popular activities in Lithuania

Advertisement