Riga Art Nouveau Private Walking Tour

With over 800 Art Nouveau buildings, Riga has the greatest collection of this style in the world. Art Nouveau emerged at the dawn of the 20th century, bring a joyous revolution to architecture, design and everyday life. On my tour, we'll see Riga's rich Art Nouveau heritage, from fantastically decorated creations by Mikhail Eisenstein on famous Alberta Street, to beautiful Latvian versions by brilliant local architects Konstantīns Pēkšēns and Eižēns Laube. I'll also tell you about life in the age of Art Nouveau - the music, art, food, fashions and dramatic political struggles of this fascinating period.

Our tour will begin in Esplanāde Park, an attractive garden which symbolizes the changes that swept Riga in the age of Art Nouveau, where I'll also tell you about the magnificent National Art Museum. We then stroll to elegant Elzabetes iela to see Riga's most-photographed sight - an Art Nouveau gem by Mikhail Eisenstein. We then wander along Riga's magnificent boulevards, meeting fascinating characters who have lived there including saints, painters, revolutionaries and Latvian architect Konstantīns Pēkšēns, creator of some 400 beautiful buildings in the city. We conclude the tour with an excursion inside Riga's Art Nouveau Museum, housed in another magnificent example of the style.