Hotels near Riga Central Market

Riga Central Market (Rigas Centraltirgus) is the largest market in Europe by covered area (72,300 square metres) and one of the more unusual pieces of adaptive reuse in the region. Five vast pavilions were converted between 1924 and 1930 from surplus German Zeppelin airship hangars originally built at Vainode airbase in Kurzeme. The vaulted metal-and-glass halls are 20 metres high and each pavilion specialises: meat, dairy, fish, vegetables and gastronomy. The market forms part of the UNESCO World Heritage listing alongside Vecriga.

The market is a working food market first, tourist stop second - roughly 80,000 to 100,000 shoppers pass through daily. Best stops: smoked Baltic sprat and eel in the fish hall, Latvian rye bread and Jani cheese in the dairy pavilion, and the outdoor stalls along the Daugava for seasonal berries (June cranberries, July blueberries, September plums). The gastronomy pavilion added in 2018 holds around 20 small kitchens where you can eat cheaply from 4 EUR. Open daily 07:00 to 18:00; some pavilions close at 17:00 Sunday.

Pro Tip: Visit before 10:00 for the freshest fish counter and shortest lines. The best cured salmon in Riga is at the second counter inside the fish hall; ask for it sliced paper-thin (planae skeles).