Klaipeda City Break

Halfway between Vilnius and Kaliningrad, the small metropolis of Klaipeda lies right on the Curonian Spit. Klaipeda has a long German history and is now a destination for many short-break visitors and lovers of art and culture. The surrounding landscapes also invite visitors to discover Klaipeda on a city break in Lithuania.

A city break in Klaipeda can be enjoyed as part of many Baltic cruises, or planned independently with holiday apartments and hotels in the city. Klaipeda offers a wide range of easy travel options. Naturally, you can make the journey to Klaipeda by car, but travelling by ferry is an appealing option. Six times a week, DFDS Lisco ferries depart from Kiel and Mukran, near Sassnitz on the island of Rügen, making it easy to start your Klaipeda city break. As soon as you arrive at the port, it becomes clear why the city is often called the “Gateway to the World.” The port is impressive and unquestionably an important economic asset for both the city and Lithuania.

The city is, and always will be, a lively port and university town, with a wide range of hotels and holiday apartments inviting visitors to stay. Today, Klaipeda is young, dynamic and very cosmopolitan. On a city break in Klaipeda, visitors embark on a journey of discovery among amber, ancient history—some of it German—and seafaring romance. With an average age that is low among its roughly 200,000 residents, the city promises an exciting nightlife. Its many cellar bars and jazz clubs, along with the outstanding party scene in Palanga, deliver on that promise. By day, city-break visitors have plenty of time to shop and stroll between the Old Town, the port and the New Town, while tracing the city’s German and Prussian past. The many half-timbered houses in the Old Town are already enough to lift the spirits, and the “Green Pharmacy,” with its historic pharmacy fittings, is one of the city’s oldest buildings. The highlight of a Klaipeda city break, however, is a guided tour of the casemates of Memel Castle, which served in the Middle Ages as a stronghold of a German order.

Klaipeda’s tourist information office also recommends a tour of the city’s oldest brewery, while families will appreciate the Sea Museum and its dolphinarium. The Clock Museum with its carillon, as well as the three-masted “Meridianes,” are also among Klaipeda’s attractions. And, of course, don’t forget amber. It can be found on the beach after storms, bought at the amber market or admired at the Amber Museum in Palanga.