Vilnius Cathedral

According to the Sunday Times, Vilnius is the new Prague , and a visit to Lithuania offers the combination of baroque architecture, friendly inhabitants and cheap prices that the Czech Republic provided only a few years ago - but without the mass-market tourists who have now discovered Prague.

Lithuania has shaken off the shadows of the Soviet occupation and is turning a welcoming face towards the West. Restaurants are varied, interesting and reasonably priced. People in general welcome the chance of speaking English, and are proud of what their country has to offer. Visitors from Britain are still rare enough to be a novelty for most Lithuanians.

Credit cards are acceptable in most places; cash dispensers are available; international phone and e-mail connections relatively simple and painfree. And Vilnius is only 2 hours 50 minutes' flying time from Heathrow.

Tempted? Try bed-and-breakfast, staying in a modern family flat near the centre of Vilnius, the ancient capital.


kitchen      dining area      main living room      balcony      bedroom     

Click on titles to download photographs of Vilnius flat

The flat is within walking distance of the Cathedral, National Museum, the River Neris, the 14. century Gediminas Tower overlooking the town, the old university quarter, some spectacular baroque churches, numerous galleries and craft studios, and the main shopping streets round Gediminas Prospect.

Accommodation available May-September inclusive.

This comfortable second-floor apartment is located in L. Sapiegos Street, in the hilly and wooded Antakalnis district. It offers one guest bedroom (single bed), a living room with a fold-out double sofa bed and a TV, a study, a bathroom and toilet along the hall as well as a kitchen/dining room with all facilities. There is a long glassed-in balcony, accessed from both the bedroom and the living room, with a fine view of the domes of St. Peter and Paul’s Church. The costs of a short stay (including breakfast, reception and transport from and to the airport in Vilnius ) would be 100 litas - about £17 - for one person and 150 litas - £25.50 - for two persons per night. Reductions available for stays of one week or more.

The language would not be a difficulty; your hostess is a professional translator, responsible for Lithuanian versions of several English classics, and her daughter, a recent graduate in English of Vilnius University, has spent time in England and can act as your advisor about tours of the city, visits to Trakai castle, sights to look out for,places to eat, and modes of transport.

Lithuanian Airlines have daily flights to and from Heathrow.





The fairytale castle of Trakai, on an island only 17 km from the capital.

More details?

In Britain, contact Gordon and Mary Snow (e-mail address: lumi@lumilinna.co.uk); for a direct response from Lithuania: contact Milda Balciunaite (e-mail address: mildbalc@takas.lt)