In the summer of 2005, my father-in-law looked around the neighborhoods of his youth with a renewed sense of civic pride. It had been a long time in coming.
His previous return to Riga, Latvia was shortly after the end of nearly five decades of Soviet occupation. Riga was not exactly a visitor's paradise in 1992. Buildings showed years of neglect. Hotel and restaurant selections were very limited and somewhat drab.
But in the 13 years since that first trip back, international investors had poured money into the Baltic states of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia, just as they have in Poland, Ukraine and Romania.
Riga's beautiful Old Town is nicely restored, giving the Latvian capital one of the world's largest collections of Art Nouveau buildings. Shopping and nightlife again approach (or perhaps exceed) what can be found to the west.
My trip was a family adventure. My father-in-law showed us the statue in Old Town Riga that inspired his parents to choose his name. He took us to a pristene forest where foxholes from World War I were still in place; he identified the spot where he first heard the sound of distant but swift Soviet tanks rolling into his homeland.
But your initial reaction is probably this: Why would anyone without family or business ties ever set foot in Latvia?
Let's look at who is visiting Riga these days: Veteran travelers in search of a new European adventure; young people who find the road less-traveled a refreshing break from legions of backpackers; people of all ages who want to stretch their travel budgets and still experience one of Europe's most established and classic cities.
Riga is not the only place to experience the less-touristed, less-expensive Europe. But it's a great place to start.
Click "next" to learn more about what such a destination offers its guests.
