Location: Daugavpils
Top Things to do in Daugavpils
Top Restaurants in Daugavpils
The 8 Best Things to do Good for a Rainy Day in Daugavpils, Latgale Region
Daugavpils (Latvian pronunciation: [ˈdaʊɡaʊpils] ( listen); Latgalian: Daugpiļs [ˈdaʊkʲpʲilʲsʲ]; Russian: Даугавпилс [ˈdaʊɡəfpʲɪls]; see other names) is a city in southeastern Latvia, located on the banks of the Daugava River, from which the city gets its name. Daugavpils literally means "Daugava Castle". It is the second largest city in the country after the capital Riga, which is located some 230 kilometres (143 miles) to its north-west. Daugavpils is located relatively close to Belarus and Lithuania (distances of 33 km (21 mi) and 25 km (16 mi) respectively), and some 120 km (75 mi) from the Latvian border with Russia. Daugavpils is a major railway junction and industrial centre and lies approximately midway between Riga and Minsk.
Restaurants in Daugavpils
1. Daugavpils Shot Factory
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 59 reviews
Being in the remote location of Europe, site has preserved unique evidence of living history of industrial era. It is opened to visitors since late 2012. Factory uses technologies invented in 1782 and you'll have a chance to explore them all. Daugavpils Shot Tower Museum gained prestigious 3rd place award in the European Cultural Tourism network (ECTN) contest “Destination of Sustainable Cultural Tourism – 2015″ and is highly favored by its guests.
Reviewed By Isa-Francis - Montreal, Canada
This is a very special place, as there were not so many lead bullet factories in operation in the world... let alone some that are still working the same way as they used to in the 19th century. The place looks great, feeling very industrial and rustic. You get to learn all about the process of lead bullet manufacturing... and the process is definitely not what I expected it to be. The equipment is still working, of course, and you get to see most of the items being turned on and operated for you to better understand it. Our guide (English tour on 2020-08-21) was awesome. He showed a lot of passion and was very good at getting his interest across. He also was very knowledgeable of the fortress and Daugavpils in general. With the visit entrance fee (5.50 EUR) is included one (1) shot of a pneumatic gun with bullets manufactured at the factory. Unfortunately, the person operating the shooting range on the day of our visit was not so kind and friendly. He clearly was not interested in explaining us the shooting process and spent wayyyyyy too much time over the reloading process of the gun. Come on, we are two in your museum and we get one (1) shot included... don't lose us with the details of reloading a gun for 20 minutes. If we are interested in buying more rounds (which is an option for a few EUR extras), then you can spend some time explaining this process to us, with the desired level of detail, as we would have shown interest. Instead, he made us lose ours totally and we shot our shot and left with no intention whatsoever to spend more time with this man. Sadly. For an extra 1.50 EUR, you can climb the 120 steps to get to the top of the tower to see the melting setup and to have nice views of Daugavpils. If you are fit to climb it, it is worth it, no doubt. There is only one (1) English tour offered every day, at 13h00. Reservations required. Photographs allowers. All in all, expect about 2 hours in this place.
2. Daugavpils Tourist Information Centre
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 13 reviews
Tourism information and services in Daugavpils and Daugavpils region. The offer of the Tourist Information Centre (TIC): information about sights and accommodation tourist routes maps, guidebooks, brochures, informative materials about accommodation in Latvian, Russian, English, Polish and Lithuanian information about events in Daugavpils and Daugavpils region free WiFi all actual information on the official website of TIC - www.viistdaugavpils.lv guided tours in Daugavpils Fortress and Daugavpils city city sightseeing tour with tram various individual routes for travelling in Daugavpils, Daugavpils region and Latgale region
3. Svente Manor and the Museum of Military Vehicles
4. Latgale Zoological Garden
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 52 reviews
Reviewed By Uzpelkiene - Visaginas, Lithuania
Very nice cozy little zoo in Daugavpils. It also has terrarium. There are turtles, fishes, rabbits, guinea pigs, hamsters, snakes, iguanas, lizzards, monkeys, bats, meerkats and ants. Very interesting to watch them all. Especially we enjoyed ants carrying leaves into their house over our heads. We brought sliced apple and the supervising boy let us to feed the rabbit. Our little daughter like it very much! The price is not high at all, only 0.60EUR for the adult and 0.30 for childred. But they didn't charge us for our 3 years old girl. Place really worth to visit.
5. Daugavpils Regional and Art Museum
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 19 reviews
Reviewed By bth1991 - Kinver, United Kingdom
A delightful local museum, with plenty to see and do. The focus is on local historym art and nature. The entry price is so cheap as to be negligible.
6. Saints Boris and Gleb Cathedral
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 50 reviews
Reviewed By mitava22 - Toronto, Canada
What a beautiful Orthodox Church. Both outside and inside is very ornate. When visiting be mindful that it's a functioning church with people actually going in to pray. It is customary for women to cover their heads inside, and church is kind enough to provide some scarfs for one use ( right inside by the entrance)
7. Daugavpils Mark Rothko Art Centre
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 146 reviews
Daugavpils Mark Rothko Art Centre - multi-functional contemporary art and culture centre located in the Artillery Arsenal building (1833) of Daugavpils Fortress, where history goes hand in hand with the contemporary and creates a unique and inspiring place for creative expression and experience. Permanent exhibition: „Mark Rothko. Life and Art.” - Hall of Mark Rothko’s original paintings; - Digital exposition about Rothko’s life and art periods; - Rothko Research Hall (temporary exhibition); - Video Hall; - Silence Room; - Library. Temporary exhibitions: In Daugavpils Mark Rothko Art Centre are displayed well-known Latvian and foreign artists’ exhibitions, created in different artistic media - painting, photography, graphic, textile and ceramic art, etc., as well as historical and cultural expositions. Throughout the year, there are 5 major exhibition season openings, showing best regional, Latvian and foreign art projects. We offer: • guided tours in Daugavpils Mark Rothko Art Centre and Daugavpils Fortress; • children and youth educational programs; • workshops and master classes (with and without preliminary knowledge); • Residence Programs for artists; • rooms for conferences, seminars and other events;
Reviewed By katem123456789
This place located in the old fort, I found it very charming. The art gallery was interesting. They had a restaurant in the complex but we didn’t go in.
8. Shmakovka Museum
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 22 reviews
Reviewed By Similtiades - Riga, Latvia
When on our trip to Daugavpils, my girlfriend insisted that the Šmakovka museum was the must-see thing that we had to do in the city. The entrance is around the side of the large multi-purpose building of the main square of the city centre, then down a flight of stairs inside a door. We were greeted by two friendly young Latgalian men on the front desk (no "grumpy old man" that the other reviews mention), who were in the middle of showing another group out after their tour before turning attention to us. Ticket prices were a little high for Latvia, and for museums in ex-Soviet countries in general, especially outside of major cities, even with a student discount. Still, it was about on par with what one would expect to pay for a small-to-medium sized museum in Central or Western Europe. We opted to go for the English audioguide so that we would both receive the same information. The translation was done really well in the guide, especially considering that the first language of the museum was not even Latvian or Russian, but Latgalian. The museum is split into two large rooms detailing, essentially, a history of the last couple hundred years of Latgale through the eyes of Šmakovka makers. It goes into a great amount of detail on what separates the Latgale region from the rest of Latvia, before turning its attention to Latgale in the Soviet times with an interesting depiction of the local spirit becoming a symbol of resistance against authoritarianism. Of course, this exhibition drops off a little bit before modern day Latgale and the amount of anti-Latvian, pro-Russian sympathy currently found in the region. Finally, after the main part of the museum is over, we were led back through the main entrance hall to the third room, where the guide took us through a tour of the actual distilling process of the drink, and you are able to go up close see every detail of the equipment used as you wish. When the tour is done, you are allowed a complementary shot of a Šmakovka of your choice from what they have available (the inclusion of this is probably why the ticket price was more expensive than expected). In all, it was one of the highlights of our trip. A really interesting and informative museum, that any visitor to Daugavpils should visit. However, I wouldn't go again unless showing around new visitors who had never been before; certainly most Latvians that have visited their second city have been to the museum, so there isn't really much need for repeat visits unless showing around foreign guests. It isn't big enough for that, but definitely is a must-visit on your first trip to Daugavpils.
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