Riga’s central market is housed in the frameworks of WWI Zeppelin hangars, The place is enormous with thousands of stands selling sweets, meat, fish, fruit, vegetables and clothes. It’s well worth a visit to Europe’s largest market even if you don’t want to buy anything.
All the pictures in this article, plus some video, are in the video below.
The market isn’t far from Riga old town. We were staying at the Hilton Garden Inn and it would have been about a 15-minute walk had we not taken a tram for just a couple of stops – just making the most of our five-day ticket.
The first pavilion we entered was full of clothes shops. Many were closed (it was a Monday).
We walked through a tunnel to the next pavilion which was full of stalls selling sweets, cakes, bakery items and cheese. There were a few stalls selling processed meats – not sure why they weren’t in the ‘meat’ pavilion.
We walked through another tunnel to the next pavilion, passing a small fish restaurant.
The selection of fresh and dried fish in the fish pavilion was amazing.
We realised that we’d missed the meat pavilion – the first pavilion before the clothes. So, we went outside and all the way back to the start.
There were hundreds of smaller stalls outside, many selling fruits and vegetables.
There were some clothes stalls – it looks bleak, but it was a rainy day! In the background you can see the Latvian Academy of Sciences building.
The market descends into a shambles the further you walk away from the pavilions.
But we kept walking as we were heading for the Academy of Sciences building.
I’m not sure how the market-stall holders view tourists, who are more sightseeing than shopping, but everyone seemed friendly enough.
Riga’s Central Market is definitely worth a visit.
Riga Central Market
7, Negu St., Riga, Latvia, LV-1050
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