Riga! The Europe’s Wifi capital! But of course there is plenty more to see: amazing historic facades, cobblestone roads, a river half a kilometer in width with astonishing views. Fish. Anything to please a traveller, and we haven’t even started on an iconic venue the conference will be in. Do come here. You’ve got plenty of options.
State-owned AirBaltic is your airline of choice: Riga (RIX) is the hub for this relatively low-cost airline. It offers direct flights from most European and Middle-East capitals, including Berlin, London, Brussels, Budapest, Tallinn, and Kyiv. Of course you should consult your flight booking website of choice for a possibility of a cheaper flight!
Others options of getting to Riga include Lux Express buses from nearby countries, driving, or hiring a private yacht. See details on the official tourist website.
If you live nearby, there is a chance somebody from the OSM community will be travelling the same direction, and you could share the costs. Ask around on the forum or on other channels.
It’s The House of Nature — a very curious name which few locals know. In fact, it is a part of the Academic Center of the University of Latvia. It is pretty new, looks excellent both from the inside and the outside, but also quite inconveniently located behind the railway ten minutes by walking from the National Library.
To find it, use an app: here is the building on OpenStreetMap, a Geo URI which should open a mapping app, or an Organic Maps marker. When near, find a Baltic GIT conference banner and approach it, watching for other GIS enthusiasts to follow.
From the city center you could also try using:
For some reason, it is often cheaper to rent an apartment than a hotel room. On the booking.com website, you’ll see plenty of options starting from 30 € a night (though 50-70 is a more common price). The best area to rent is of course in the Old Town, followed by the venue area.
Due to Riga being a popular destination for students and backpackers, there are many cheap hostels, with prices around 20 € a night. Most of these are located in the city centre: the best location criteria for you should be a distance to the nearest tram stop, or to the railway station.
Alas we cannot recommend any specific accomodations, since we haven’t used them much. Please rely on website ratings. If possible, google the name of the chosen hotel or hostel and book directly: that helps them save on huge booking.com fees.
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