Taste-test a quick-pickled cucumber, buy vegetables straight from the farm or nursery, treat yourself to a freshly-smoked eel, or just embark on a walking tour of the one and only Riga Central Market.
Riga Central Market is situated in the heart of Riga, a few hundred meters from Old Town on the banks of the River Daugava, next to Riga International Bus Terminal and Central Railway Station. It is not only one of the largest marketplaces in Eastern Europe in area, but also one of the most visited, as 80,000-100,000 people shop there per day on the average.
Architecturally-imposing food pavilions, built in the 1920s, are Riga Central Market’s calling card.
Originally used as military airship hangars, they were later transformed into market venues.
Riga Central Market is unique not only with its pavilions but also with its old warehouses or the so-called spikeri (from German Spéicher), which have now been turned into a hip arts&entertainment quarter.
In 1998, the vast territory of Riga Central Market was added to the UNESCO World Heritage list.
Taste and buy delicious foods
At Riga Central Market, you can buy Latvian-grown and homemade products, exotic fruit and spices, as well as manufactured merchandise. The market includes 5 pavilions each with its own category - vegetables, dairy, meat, fish and gastronomy products, as well as an outdoor area with stalls and stands, the Night Market and ‘Round the Clock Farmers’ Market.
It’s also true, however, that the Market’s distracting hustle and bustle is fertile ground for swindlers and pickpockets, so be careful!
