Latvia
Riga
Away-day guide
unverified draftRiga is the biggest city in the Baltics and the easiest of the three for a cheap weekend — a compact old town, an airport ten minutes from the centre, and beer at four euros. Three Riga clubs are in Europe this season, so there is a decent chance of a fixture whichever week you come.
🚺 To Skonto Stadium
The ground is in the Skanste district north of the centre, roughly a 25-minute walk from the Freedom Monument up Krišjāņa Valdemāra iela. Trolleybuses and buses along Valdemāra cut the walk to ten minutes, and a Bolt from the old town is €4–5.
- Lines
- Trolleybuses and buses along Krišjāņa Valdemāra iela and Hanzas iela
- Walk from centre
- 25 min
- Parking
- Street parking in the surrounding blocks is paid on weekdays but rarely full for football.
🚺 To LNK Sporta Parks
A small, modern ground away from the centre with no direct tram or trolleybus link worth planning around — take a Bolt, which is €5–8 and about 15 minutes from the old town, and book the return before the final whistle.
- Parking
- Parking on site and on the surrounding streets is free and rarely a problem at qualifier crowds.
Public transport
There is no metro; Rīgas satiksme runs trams, trolleybuses and buses, and between them they cover everything. A single is €1.50 from a Narvesen kiosk or a ticket machine and €2 if you buy it from the driver, so buy before you board; contactless bank cards work on the newer validators. Honestly, though, the old town and the centre are a 20-minute walk apart and most visitors barely use public transport. Bolt is everywhere and cheap — €4–6 across the city — and is the sensible way home at night.
Typical prices
- Beer (0.5L)
- EUR 4.5
- Coffee
- EUR 3
- Meal, mid-range
- EUR 22
- Taxi from airport
- EUR 15
- Single transit ticket
- EUR 1.5
✈ Airports & cheaper alternatives
- Riga International Airport RIX primary 10 km Bus 22 runs from outside arrivals to the centre in about 30 minutes for the standard €1.50 fare (buy at the kiosk in the terminal). A Bolt is €12–18 and takes 15 minutes. airBaltic's hub, with Ryanair and Wizz alongside them — one of the cheapest and closest airport transfers of any capital in Europe.
🍺 Supporters' pubs
Riga FC
Home fans: Latvian club crowds are small and there is no pub tradition around them — supporters drink in the centre and head out to the ground shortly before kick-off.
Away fans: The old town and Miera iela are both neutral and easy; Ala Pagrabs is the natural meeting point for a visiting group.
One of two Riga clubs at the Skonto Stadium this season, along with Auda. Expect a modest crowd and a relaxed night.
FK Rīgas Futbola skola
Home fans: RFS have a young, small support with no established pub scene; the bars around the centre serve as the meeting point before games.
Away fans: Anywhere central — the old town, Tallinas kvartāls or Miera iela — then a Bolt out to LNK Sporta Parks.
Usually written and sung as RFS, the club has become Latvia's strongest European side in recent years and plays home ties at LNK Sporta Parks rather than the Skonto Stadium.
FK Auda
Home fans: A small club from Ķekava, just outside Riga, with a following to match — no supporters' pub as such.
Away fans: Drink in central Riga; their European home ties are staged in the city, at the Skonto Stadium.
Auda are based in Ķekava south of the capital but play European ties at the Skonto Stadium, so treat this as a Riga away trip.
Sourced from supporters' forums — always follow your club's and police advice for the fixture.
Nightlife
Riga's old town is where the stag parties go, and it deserves its reputation both ways: genuinely good bars sit next to places that exist to fleece groups of foreign men. Folkklubs Ala Pagrabs is the one to aim for — a cellar full of Latvian beers, folk bands and cheap food. Away from the tourist streets it gets much better: Miera iela, the 'street of hipsters', and the Tallinas kvartāls courtyard, where the Labietis brewery taproom sits, are where locals drink. Kaļķu iela and Kalnciema kvartāls cover the rest. Clubs run late and the door policies are relaxed.
Food & drink
Latvian food is grey peas with bacon, smoked fish, potato pancakes, black rye bread and — everywhere — dill. Lido is the local canteen chain and an institution: pile a tray, pay by weight, and eat for under €10; the big log-built Lido on Krasta iela is a destination in itself. The Central Market, in five old zeppelin hangars behind the station, is the best hour you will spend in the city and the cheapest lunch. Drink Latvian craft beer (Labietis, Valmiermuiža) and try Riga Black Balsam, a 45% herbal liquor that most people prefer mixed with blackcurrant.
Cheap eats & beer
Lido and the market hangars will feed you well for €6–10. Bakeries sell pīrāgi (bacon rolls) for under a euro, and the lunch deals (pusdienas) in the centre run €7–9 on weekdays. A half-litre in a normal bar is €3.50–5; in the old town's tourist bars it can be double, so check the board before you sit down. Shop beer is around €1.50, and Latvia sells alcohol in supermarkets until 22:00. Ala Pagrabs and Labietis are the two places worth paying a little more for.
Staying safe
The main risk in Riga is your wallet, not your safety. The old town has a long-standing problem with scam bars and hostess clubs: if someone approaches you in the street offering a bar or a club, walk on, and never follow a stranger to a 'better place'. Check prices before ordering, and check the bill. Taxis at the rank by the old town are the other classic overcharge — order a Bolt instead. Otherwise Riga is a safe, quiet city; keep the noise down late at night in the old town, where police take a dim view of drunken groups, and be aware that Latvia has strict public-drinking rules.
On matchday
Which ground you need depends on the tie: Riga FC and Auda are listed at the Skonto Stadium, the compact ground north of the centre, while RFS play at LNK Sporta Parks, a small venue away from the middle of town — a Bolt is the sensible way there. Crowds for qualifiers are small, a few thousand at most, and tickets are cheap and available on the day. Segregation is minimal and the atmosphere is friendly; colours are fine anywhere in the city. Neither ground is big, so the away allocation can be tight — sort tickets through your club rather than turning up hopeful.
This city guide is still being fact-checked — some details may be inaccurate.