More features:

• Record Rothko sale

  In May 2012 artist Mark Rothko’s painting Orange, Red, Yellow sold for a whopping US$86.9 million at Christie’s in New York....

• Here be monsters

  
  Although Latvian-born physicians and engineers have invented everything from viral therapies for cancer to the famous Minox spy camera, a recent study carried out by the SKDS research centre suggests that Latvians aren’t the sharpest tools in the shed when it comes to science....

• What to buy in Latvia

  
  Whether it’s potent alcohol and sweet chocolate that you’re after or perhaps an antique map or a trinket from Latvia’s Soviet past, the list we’ve compiled for you should help you find the perfect souvenir....

• Latvian saunas

  
  People have been using some form of a sauna since ancient times. Steam baths were the cornerstone of Greco-Roman civilisation and for centuries the Native Americans purged their bodies of sickness in sweathouses across North America....

• Midsummer's Eve

  
  What began as an important religious fertility festival has slowly evolved into a secular beer bash. To ancient Latvians Midsummer’s Eve, or Līgo & Jāņi, marked the longest day of the year when light both symbolic and literal was at its most potent....

• Taxis

  
  Unless you’re a cash-strapped backpacker or an incredibly frugal traveller, chances are that you’ll use a taxi at least once while visiting Riga....

• Say nē to drugs

  Despite what you may have heard, drugs, without exception, are illegal in Latvia. If someone offers you any type of drug, whether it’s weed, ecstasy or coke, you aren’t allowed to buy it and you’re definitely not permitted to carry it, even in small amounts for personal use....

• The Left Bank (Pārdaugava)

  
  Riga’s visitors are happy to stroll through its medieval old town and admire its stunning art nouveau city centre, but seldom do they cross over to the River Daugava’s left bank, unless of course they’re on their way to the airport....

• Food & Curio bazaar

  
  Buy anything from fresh seasonal produce and antiques to vintage clothing and Soviet memorabilia at the Berga Bazārs open market twice every month....

• Latvian cooking

  
  If you’re looking for something light and healthy to eat, then you’ve come to the wrong place....

• Art Nouveau in Riga

  
  Art nouveau architecture is one of Riga’s claims to fame, and rightly so. Not to be confused, as ...

• Ayurdeva invasion!

  
  Only time will tell if it’s a fad or a genuine movement, but for now we’ll call it an Ayurveda invasion! Find out why so many Latvians are attempting to open their chakras with exercise, study and spicy food....

• Moscow District

  
  Riga is divided into four sections or suburbs, each named after the traditional region of Latvia it is closest to – Vidzeme, Kurzeme, Zemgale or Latgale....