The hook
One of the largest and finest Baroque old towns in Northern Europe, with a bohemian breakaway "republic" of artists across the river that has its own tongue-in-cheek constitution.
01Why it's worth it
Vilnius is less known than the other Baltic capitals and quietly rewarding, a sprawling old town of Baroque churches, hidden courtyards, and cobbled lanes that survived the 20th century better than most of the region. Its history is layered and often painful: it was a great centre of Jewish life, the "Jerusalem of the North," almost entirely destroyed in the Holocaust, and later a Soviet city whose KGB headquarters is now a sobering museum. Against that, the mood today is relaxed and creative, epitomised by Užupis, a scruffy riverside quarter that jokingly declared itself an independent republic, with an artists' constitution bolted to a wall in dozens of languages, granting rights like everyone's right to be happy and to be unhappy. It is cheap, walkable, and unpretentious.
02How to experience it
Wander the old town's courtyards and churches, and cross the little bridge into Užupis to read its constitution and drink with the artists. Engage the harder history at the Jewish heritage sites and the former KGB prison. Climb Gediminas tower for the rooftop view.