Liepāja

Latvia's "City of Wind" and music capital, where the old Karosta naval port, its naval prison and fort ruins in the surf tell of the tsarist and Soviet past, with Blue Flag white-sand beaches right at the edge of town.

Liepāja is Latvia's third-largest city, on the Baltic coast in southwestern Kurzeme. Squeezed between the sea and Lake Liepāja, it is buffeted by sea winds all year and is known as the "City of Wind". It is also Latvia's "capital of music", home to many rock bands and musicians. The city falls into three parts. The old town in the south has the Holy Trinity Cathedral, St Anne's Church, Pēter's Market (Pētertirgus) and Rose Square, as well as the amber-coloured Great Amber concert hall. To the west are the broad Blue Flag white-sand beach and Seaside Park. In the north, Karosta was once a closed naval port in tsarist and Soviet times; its most distinctive sights are the St Nicholas Naval Cathedral, Karosta Prison, where you can experience life as an inmate, the ruins of the Northern Forts in the surf, and sunsets from the breakwater. South of the city, Bernāti coast and Pape Nature Park make good half-day trips by bike or car. The best season is Jun–Aug, when the beaches are open and the music festivals take place; winters are cold and windy, and some sights have shorter opening hours. From Riga it's about 3–3.5 hours by long-distance bus, and there are also trains in summer; Liepāja Airport has a few flights. The city has trams and buses and is very easy to get around by bike. Allow 2 days: one for the old town and beach, one for Karosta. The World Heritage old town of Kuldīga, about 60 km northeast, is listed separately as its own destination.

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