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VILNIUS

“In Your Pocket: A cheeky, well-

written series of guidebooks.”

The New York Times

December 2009 - January 2010

Christmas shopping

Bags of ideas for gifts with a

local flavour

Jewish Vilnius

Now bigger than ever

N°97 - 6Lt

www.inyourpocket.com

Contents

E S S E N T I A L C I T Y G U I D E S

Contents

Arriving in Vilnius

What you need to know when you first arrive

Basics

Cash, communism, crime etc.

The Lithuanian word for Christmas is Kalėdos , meaning,

perhaps not surprisingly for a country still deeply rooted in

pagan traditions, solstice. In this part of the world, Christmas

as celebrated by the Catholic community starts on the

evening on December 24 with a traditional meal (see p.30).

Vilnius plays host to a number of outdoor Christmas and New

Year events including the switching on of two large Christmas

trees in the town centre, the transformation of the Television

Tower (see p.44) into allegedly the world’s tallest Christmas

tree and a free concert or two on New Year’s Eve. It’s a fitting

end to what’s been in many ways a disastrous year that

despite running up an enormous telephone bill trying to get

more information about the above events our calls have been

entirely fruitless. As this guide goes to press exactly a month

before Christmas Day, the people responsible for organising

these events are clueless about exact details. We can only

suggest you telephone Vilnius Tourist Information (see p.5)

nearer the time to find out what’s going on.

History

Complicated to say the least

Culture & Events

Just the ticket for winter

Where to stay

A bed for all budgets

Dining & Nightlife

Where to eat

Cepelinai, chopsticks, curry and more

Cafés

Where to find the best espresso

Sightseeing

After dark drinking and dancing

Constantly updated sightseeing highlights

Jewish Vilnius

Contrary to popular opinion, Christmas isn’t just about

getting strangers pregnant in the stationery cupboard at

the office Christmas party. Believe it or not, the festival

that is Christmas comes with many deeper, more poignant

emotions, and so before you rush out and buy something

ghastly and expensive for somebody you don’t even like,

spare a thought for other people less fortunate than

yourself. One such group of people traditionally associated

with Christmas are children, and the main organisation in

Lithuania responsible for addressing the issues of the rights

of the child and actively doing something about their welfare

are Gelbėkit Vaikus (Save The Children Lithuania). Forever in

need of assistance, find out how you can help them online

at www.gelbvaik.lt. Rather than relieving yourself against

the Presidential Palace on the way home from the pub this

Christmas, turn your attention to one of its former residents,

namely Alma Adamkienė, the sprightly, 82-year-old wife of

Lithuania’s recently retired president who runs an education

fund for underprivileged children living in rural areas. Read

more about the fund’s activities and find out how you can help

at www.adamkiene-fondas.lt. Finally, try living life in the spirit

of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol and spare a thought

for those who won’t have enough to eat this Christmas.

Maisto Bankas (Food Bank) is a worthy charity providing food

to people throughout the country year round. Their website

at www.maistobankas.lt is in Lithuanian only, but that’s no

excuse for not donating.

Now a full two pages

Getting around

When legs simply aren’t enough

Mail & Phones

Keeping in touch

Directory

Shopping

Christmas Shopping

Lifestyle

Health

Business

Maps & Index

Country map

Street register

City centre map

City map

Index

vilnius.inyourpocket.com

December 2009 - January 2010

Nightlife

Foreword

The year 2009 has been an interesting year to say the

least in the largest of the three Baltic nations. With two

major events on their hands, namely the thousandth

anniversary of the first use of the word Lithuania in

written sources and Vilnius’ status as one of the two

European Capitals of Culture, the invisible mandarins

pulling the cultural and economic strings of the nation

have managed to alienate almost everyone. If they

could apply the same energy into promoting Lithuania

as they do in trying to destroy it for their own gains, the

country would by now be all the things the optimists

dreamt it would be a decade ago. Thankfully not every

holder of a Lithuanian passport is beyond salvation,

and Vilnius at least is alive with good people doing

good things and helping create a city worth further

investigation. The results of much of their work can

be found in the following 76 pages of this guide, which

as always has been thoroughly updated to reflect the

Lithuanian capital’s ever-changing cultural landscape

and to please all types, from backpackers to business

travellers to residents. Vilnius In Your Pocket welcomes

all comments, suggestions, high praise and death

threats as usual from friends and foes alike. Write to

us at vilnius@inyourpocket.com or leave a comment

on the website at vilnius.inyourpocket.com.

Europe In Your Pocket

It has been another great year for In Your Pocket .

We now publish a record 57 guides and mini-guides

across 22 European countries . We print more than

four million In Your Pockets annually. This year we

launched new guides in Maribor , Bled , Portoroz ,

Sarajevo , Banja Luka , Brasov, Lviv and Odesa.

Next year you can expect to see Venice , Vienna and

Glasgow - amongst others - Pocketed .

We welcome enquiries from anyone who would

like to take part in our Pocket Revolution, starting

up an IYP. Send us an email to publisher@inyour-

pocket.com . We also want to find out how we can

make our guides better, so please take five minutes

to complete our online survey at inyourpocket.

com/survey .

Cover story

The 148-metre Europa Tower

(Europos Bokštas) reflected in the

windows of another building in the

rapidly growing business district

just north of the Neris river along

Konstitucijos, an area seemingly

unaware of the current economic

crisis. Also hereabouts is the

newish National Art Gallery (see

p.46), which is showing the highly

recommended Cold War Modern exhibition (see p.12)

until December 6.

E S S E N T I A L C I T Y G U I D E S

Editorial

Editor Sco

Contributor Alex Webber

Research Saulina Kochanskaitė

Layout & Design Vaida Gudynaitė

Cover Photo Tomas Vyšniauskas

Sales & Circulation

Publisher Vilnius In Your Pocket

General Manager Rūta Klimavičiūtė

Accounting CO Finansai

Sales Manager Rūta Klimavičiūtė

Text and photos copyright UAB VIYP

1992-2010; some photos, LATGA-A;

No part of this publication may be

reproduced in any form, except brief

extracts for the purpose of review,

without written permission from the

publisher and copyright owner. The brand

name In Your Pocket is used under license

from UAB In Your Pocket (Vokiečių 10-15,

Vilnius, Lithuania tel. (+370) 5 212 29 76).

Editor’s note

The editorial content of In Your Pocket

guides is independent from paid-for

advertising. Sponsored listings are

clearly marked as such. We welcome all

readers’ comments and suggestions.

We have made every effort to ensure

the accuracy of the information at the

time of going to press and assume no

responsibility for changes and errors.

Vilnius In Your Pocket

Vokiečių 10-15

Vilnius, Lithuania, LT-01130

tel. (+370) 5 212 29 76

fax (+370) 5 212 29 82

vilnius@inyourpocket.com

www.inyourpocket.com

ISSN 1392-0057

©UAB “VIYP”

Printed by AJS spaustuvė.

Published six times per year.

This guidebook and all of our other Lithuanian

guides are available for sale from bookshops,

kiosks, hotels, tourist information centres,

the Vilnius In Your Pocket office and other

outlets throughout Vilnius and Lithuania as

well as online at www.inyourpocket.com.

Complimentary copies of Vilnius In Your

Pocket are also available in many hotels.

Vilnius In Your Pocket

vilnius.inyourpocket.com

Arriving in vilnius

The three main points of arrival in Vilnius offer very differ-

ent experiences indeed, making your first few minutes in

the city anything from a pleasure to a pain. Improvements

are taking place all the time. Print copies of Vilnius In

Your Pocket can be bought from kiosks inside the airport,

bus and train stations for just 6Lt. Alternatively, buy one

online before you leave at www.inyourpocket.com.

By bus

Vilnius’ rather depressing bus station (Autobusų Stotis)

is located less that 1km south of Old Town in a less than

salubrious, albeit perfectly safe area. Not geared up for for-

eign arrivals in the slightest, facilities are located inside one

large grey building and include kiosks and shops for snacks,

maps, cigarettes and prepaid mobile phone cards, downstairs

toilets (1Lt) and ATMs. For 24-hour currency exchange, use

the Parex bank across the street and just to the right of the

train station.

Getting to town Get to Old Town in a few minutes by turning

left on exiting the station and walking down the hill (Sodų).

Countless buses, minibuses and trolleybuses can be found in

the immediate area, all going off in different directions around

the city and none of them offering a lot of help for people

who don’t speak Lithuanian. Among the useful trolleybuses

going through the city centre are Nº1, 2, 5 and 7. Buy a ticket

from the driver for 2.50Lt. Taxis are parked up in a number of

places. Be sure to negotiate a fare before you leave. Expect

to pay 20Lt or even more for a short trip to Old Town. Calling

a taxi in advance is the best option.

By plane

Vilnius International Airport (Tarptautinis Vilniaus Oro Uostas)

is just 5km south of the city centre. Even if you’re landing

from a non-Schengen country, arrival formalities are quick

and relatively pain free. After collecting your luggage find a

compact arrivals hall complete with a kiosk for snacks, maps,

cigarettes and prepaid mobile phone cards, ATMs and cur-

rency exchange offices. Toilets are to the right, and car rental

companies to the left.

Reval Hotel Lietuva. A timetable is posted at the stop. Buy a

ticket from the driver for 2.50Lt. Alternatively, hop on a train

and in under 10 minutes be at the train station in the centre

of the city. Buy a ticket on board for just 2Lt. The aiport train

station can be found along the road outside the main exit

and on the left. Trains leave every 30 minutes or so from

06:30 until 19:30.

Getting to town A taxi to Old Town using one of the vehicles

parked outside the arrivals terminal will cost about 50Lt.

Calling one in advance will cost considerably less. If you’re

travelling to the centre and don’t mind a bit of walking, save

a fortune and take public transport. The bus stop is to the

left of the taxi stand. Bus Nº1 goes to the train station and

bus Nº2 to Lukiškių Aikštė, and north over the river past the

By train

The train station (Geležinkelio Stotis) is fairly large by local

standards and unfortunately not very well signposted in

English. Find kiosks and shops for snacks, maps, cigarettes

and prepaid mobile phone cards scattered in and around the

building, free toilets downstairs, ATM’s between the local and

international ticket offices and a 24-hour Parex bank outside

to the left for changing money. The train station also has a

small tourist information kiosk, which among other things

features friendly staff who speak English.

Tourist information

Vilnius Tourist Information B-3, Vil-

niaus 22, tel. (+370) 5 262 96 60, fax

(+370) 5 262 81 69, tic@vilnius.lt, www.

vilnius-tourism.lt. Brochures, entertainment

schedules, English-, German-, Polish- and Rus-

sian-speaking staff. Car rental and accommodation also

available. Also several sightseeing tours and excursions

arranged plus rental of audio guides. See their website for

the latest information. Also at Didžioji 31 (Town Hall), tel.

(+370) 5 262 64 70, fax (+370) 5 262 07 62, Open 09:00-

18:00, Sat, Sun 10:00 - 16:00. Geležinkelio 16 (Train

Station), tel./fax (+370) 5 269 20 91, Open 09:00 - 18:00,

Sat, Sun 10:00 - 16:00. Šventaragio 2 (Cathedral Square),

Open 09:00-18:00. Sat, Sun 10:00-16:00. Q Open 09:00

- 18:00, Sat, Sun 10:00 - 16:00. J

Getting to town Get to Old Town in a few minutes by going

straight ahead on exiting the station and walking down the

hill (Sodų). The train station is just across the street from the

bus station. See By bus for more information.

Kur galėčiau rasti pamestą

bagažą?

Where’s the telephone? Kur telefonas?

Where am I? Kur aš?

How did I get here? Kaip aš čia atsiradau?

Where can I find a taxi? Kur rasti taksi?

vilnius.inyourpocket.com

December 2009 - January 2010

Landing lingo

Currency exchange Valiutos keitykla

Left luggage Bagažo saugykla

Where’s my lost

luggage?

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