Participants of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly’s Riga Session will be able to become familiar with our country’s history and cultural traditions by taking excursions to famous places in Latvia.

“After intensive work at committee meetings, we will offer our guests excursions to popular tourist sites in Latvia. It will be an opportunity to show our country in one of the most beautiful seasons to top-level politicians from more than 40 countries, as well as to tell them about Latvia’s history and culture. We have arranged opportunities for parliamentarians to purchase souvenirs and various articles made by Latvian artisans and craftsmen so that they can take home with them something that is typically Latvian,” reports Mrs. Vaira Paegle, Head of the Latvian delegation to the NATO PA.

Delegates to the NATO PA Session will be able to choose one of four tours: to visit the Ethnographic Open-Air Museum; to tour Rundāle Palace and Bauska Castle; to see the picturesque sights in Sigulda and Turaida; to hike on nature trails or to visit the underground bunker in Līgatne, which is a relic from the Soviet era.

At the Ethnographic Open-Air Museum, the participants of the Session will have an opportunity to acquaint themselves with the cultural heritage of Latvia’s provinces, as well as traditions of work and daily life in Latvia. They will be able not only to sample traditional Latvian cuisine but also to try their hand at wickerwork and the work of blacksmiths or other craftsmen. They will also be able to buy articles made by Latvian craftsmen.

During the second tour, Latvia’s guests will be able to visit Rundāle Palace, one of the most outstanding architectural monuments in the Baroque style. In Bauska Castle the guests will be able to learn about the life and traditions of nobility at the end of the 16^th century by participating in historical role-play. They will learn about 16^th‑century fashions, dances, games, cuisine and eating traditions.

Participants of the NATO PA Session who choose to go to Sigulda will have a chance to visit Gūtmanis Cave, Turaida, and the Sigulda Castle ruins at whose foot they will be able to buy various articles made by Latvian craftsmen. When visiting Dainu kalns, one of the most well-known symbols of the Turaida Museum Reserve, the participants will learn about the cornerstone of our cultural heritage, namely, the Latvian dainas, or folksongs.

Parliamentarians who wish to experience the atmosphere of the Soviet times can choose the tour to the Līgatne bunker. Located 9 metres underground beneath a spa hotel, it was built in the 1980s to enable the ruling Soviet elite to govern the country in case of a nuclear war. Nature lovers will have an opportunity to walk along Līgatne nature trails and see wild life in conditions which maximally correspond to their natural habitat.

These tours for NATO PA Session’s participants will take place on the afternoon of 31 May. During that time, the premises of the Kipsala International Exhibition Centre will be rearranged for hosting the next day’s plenary meeting, which is the key event of each NATO PA Session.


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