Creative neighborhoods of Riga

Kalnciema kvartāls

/ Market with local Latvian producers, coffee shop, bar, concerts and other art and culture events /

We recommend visiting this quarter on Saturdays from 10:00 to 16:00, as this is the time when the famous Kalnciema Market is open. Here you can buy original farm products and handicrafts from all over Latvia. For example, the famous ice cream from Skrīveri and numerous farm fruit wines are offered here.

A kind of business card of the market is a children’s carousel with horses and a big plush dachshund! In order to climb on it, you will have to be patient, standing in a long line. When starting the carousel, a specially trained person shouts loudly: “Igo-go-go!” The neighborhood also hosts exhibitions, concerts and other art events.

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Tallinas kvartāls

/ Bars, cuisines from around the world, concerts, exhibitions, graffiti /

Address: Tallinas street 10-3

Since 2018, Tallinas street has been home to a space for creativity and entertainment, which was initiated by enthusiasts from Free Riga—a community of people who turn abandoned buildings and street spaces into experimental places for culture and social innovation.

Here you can try cuisines from all over the world (the Georgian restaurant G-space is popular), attend a concert or just look at the expressive wall graffiti—there are many of them in the inner courtyard of the quarter.
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Sporta 2 kvartāls

/ Restaurants, cafes, graffiti, music scene /

Address: Sporta street 2

The informal atmosphere of the industrial zone is preserved here, where street artists run the place. It used to be the site of a confectionery factory, but now new restaurants, bars and cafes are popping up.

Try the pizza at Zefirs, said to be one of the tastiest in the city. Fashion store Beaa sells handmade clothes from Latvia. The Oratorio music stage hosts concerts and theater performances. It’s also worth coming here to check out the interesting graffiti—both inside and outside the neighborhood.

Briāna kvartāls

/ Expressive architectural details, craft Latvian beer, fish restaurant, concerts, exhibitions /

Address: Aristida Briāna street 9a

This place is notable for its richly decorated eclectic gates, somewhat shabby, but that makes it even more expressive. There is a good fish restaurant Desiņas un mīdijas with a cozy veranda and the famous Labietis brewery bar with many varieties of Latvian kraft. The Skapis bar has a good selection of cocktails, you can dance to electronic music, and the staff is friendly towards LGBTQ+ people. The street stage often hosts concerts, and there are exhibitions in the neighboring buildings.

Kaņepes Cultural Centre

/ Cozy terrace, film screenings, music, exhibitions and other cultural events, bar, coffee /

Address: Skolas street 15

This is one of the most famous informal cultural centers in Riga. It is easy to spot by its cozy courtyard with many decorations and a giant sculpture of a multicolored lion. It is an absolutely pet-friendly place.

You can drink cocktails, limodads, beer and other drinks here. There are light appetizers and desserts. There are regular movie screenings, concerts and lectures. There are many events related to Ukrainian culture and support of Ukrainians fleeing the war. For several years now, the building belonging to the cultural center has been under restoration, but the material resources are not enough, due to which the number of events has decreased.

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Viskaļi

/ Artists’ workshops, art, design, music, theater, cinema /

Address: Viskaļu street 36a

A place with a completely unique creative atmosphere. In a building on the outskirts of the city, where the faculty of Riga Technical University used to be located, artists have taken up residence since 2019.

There are dozens of workshops here and, if you make an appointment with the residents, you can watch them create their work. Concerts and theater shows are sometimes held in the large hall. With the current program of events can be found at the link. And also on the territory of this quarter there is an exit to the cozy beach of Ķīšezers lake.

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Lastādija

/ Creativity, raves or DJ sets of electronic music, workshops and excursions for children /

Address: Vilhelma Purvīša street 15

Lastādija is the historical name of Riga’s neighborhood, which is adjacent to the Vecrīga and just upstream of the Daugava river. From ancient times, warehouses and commercial premises were located here. Artists started to actively inhabit the neighborhood along Vilhelma Purvīša street in the mid-2010s.

This is another project of the Free Riga association, an organization that revives abandoned houses, adapts them for residential and public use, and donates them to cultural and artistic projects. The cultural space was created as a neighborhood for initiatives. For example, if you are an artist and you want to create a project, you are welcome here. Even if you’ve never been here, you’ve probably seen photos of a huge sculpture of a silver fox crawling along the wall of one of the buildings.

Master classes for children, exhibitions and other entertaining and useful events are held here. We told about this neighborhood in detail in one of our materials.

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VEF kvartāls

/ Fascinating look of industrial architecture, many restaurants, cafes, cultural events /

Address: Brīvības street 214

A huge creative quarter on the former territory of the famous Latvian electrotechnical manufacturer VEF. It used to produce Minox miniature cameras and Spīdola portable radios, but now it’s home to nightclubs, street food trucks, art exhibitions, concerts, cafes, offices… You can’t name it all.

The red-brick factory architecture of the century-old neighborhood is particularly interesting to explore. It is advisable to allocate at least two hours for a walk—so many interesting places to visit here.

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Andrejostas kvartāls

/ Daugava and Vecrīga panoramas, coastline, restaurants, cafes /

Address: Andrejostas street 5k-14

Against the background of other creative quarters of Riga, this place stands out for its special atmosphere of the old port and proximity to the water—it offers excellent views of the center of Riga and huge liners standing at the central passenger pier.

You can enjoy the city panoramas in comfort from the veranda of Naples restaurant, or sitting in any other café on the territory of the former wharf and port warehouses. It’s a great place for romantic walks and sunset dinners.

H2O kvartāls

/ Festivals, lectures, trainings /

Address: Durbes street 4

H2O Quarter is a favorite place for various city festivals. You can rent premises for your events: lectures, trainings, presentations and other events. But so far the quarter is rather poorly furnished and on days when nothing is going on, there is nothing much to do here. The architectural and media center RISEBA is permanently located on the territory of the quarter. The area of the quarter is pleasant to walk around: Ķīpsala island with low-rise wooden buildings and the cozy streets of Āgenskalns are nearby.

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Provodņiks kvartāls

/ photo shoots, rental of premises for art and theater workshops, music studios /

Address: Aptiekas street 19

Nowadays, the territory of the former rubber and electric machine factory houses several creative groups and artists’ studios. The place is located in an industrial area of the city with a colorful atmosphere of the past centuries.

Here you will not drink coffee and buy a fashionable thing, but you can arrange a photo session surrounded by industrial interiors of the late XIX—early XX century and rent a room for an art workshop or, for example, a theater studio.

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LMS Radošais kvartāls Kombināts Māksla

/ Artists’ workshops, open-air sculpture /

Address: Gaujas street 5

The creative quarter belongs to the Latvian Union of Artists (LMS). On the area of more than 7000 m2 there are bronze foundries, metalworking, jewelry, sculpture and leather workshops. This place has been associated with art and creativity for over 100 years.

Dozens of artists’ works stand in the open air and anyone can look at them. You can also observe the process of creating sculptures. There is both classic art, contemporary art, and works that may seem a little strange to some.

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NOASS

/ Art festivals, exhibitions, concerts, sculpture, street art /

Address: AB dambis 2

The Art Center is located in an unusual place—in the premises of a floating landing stage on the shore of the Āgenskalna bay. Creative events are constantly taking place here: an international video art festival, music evenings, performances and exhibitions. Sculptures, graffiti and other street art can be seen next to the barge. On the days of major events, a café is open next to the landing stage. The staff and volunteers of the art center are collecting an archive of Latvian video art.

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