Proof that you don’t need a converted power station or banks of computer screens to make a great museum, Šiauliai’s exemplary Bicycle Museum offers three floors of over 250 bicycles and other bicycle-related paraphernalia. The top floor is given over to early models, including old wooden machines and a charming German tricycle complete with a velvet seat and believed to be around 100 years old. Downstairs is a collection of Lithuanian bicycles made in the city’s still active bicycle factory (see Industrial tourism) as well as highlighting some extraordinary bicycle-related stories including that of 73-year-old Liudas Aleksa who between April and October 1960 cycled 11,800km from Klaipėda to Vladivostok before promptly falling down dead three days after his arrival. Downstairs is a veritable menagerie of experimental and battery-powered machines. There really are too many good things to mention here, including the 1974 Lithuanian copy of the classic Chopper bike that never went into production, some truly awe-inspiring pictures of bicycles that never made it beyond the drawing board including an entire bicycle system along the lines of cable cars and a firemen’s bicycle made for three fire-fighters. Unfortunately, English explanations are thin on the ground, and as with so many of the city’s museums, having a native speaker show you around is paramount if you want to get the full experience.

Admission 6/3Lt.