Kaunas city days, festival / Photo licensed under the Creative Commons, created by Lee Fenner

1. Sea Festival: Klaipėda

The city of Klaipėda is the only city in Lithuania which is right on the ocean. So it comes as no great surprise to find out that an annual sea festival is held here. The Klaipėda sea festival was started in 1934, and it currently attracts over half a million people who participate in three-days of non-stop action.

It’s usually held at the end of July or beginning of August and the streets are filled with markets, street concerts, children’s performances, and even a special carnival where attendees dress as mythological sea creatures. There are also several competitions related to fishing and sport, as well as an international sailing event. The pubs and bars are open much later during this period, and a free fireworks display is given on the last day of the festival.

2. Film Festival: Vilnius “Kino pavasaris” – Cinema Spring

This film festival was started in 2005 and is now an annual event, with attendance growing every year. The point of this festival is to showcase new non-commercial films, from other popular film festivals such as the Berlin, Toronto and Venice, as well as to give new directors from Eastern and Central Europe a chance to debut.

The film festival in 2011 saw over 60,000 attendees, compared to the original 4,000 only 6 years earlier. The event is held annually between March and April. Cinemas around the city of Vilnius showcase a wide variety of films, and the programme line-up includes talks from well-known directors, along with movie-making workshops, short film competitions as well as film debates.

3. Folk Festival: “Mėnuo Juodaragis” – Black Horned Moon

This contemporary Baltic culture festival hosts the largest number of foreign visitors, with over twenty-five countries represented in the last few years. The music played here is incredibly varied and styles include avant-garde, ethno, post-folk, gothic, neo-folk, and ambient, to name but a few. The festival runs for three days, all day and night, and focuses on the Baltic culture and the heritage of pagan traditions.

Music isn’t all that’s on offer, as there are many activities and training seminars on offer, focused on a variety of subject matter including folk dances, sports, arty films, DJ parties, traditional rites and tribal workshops.

4. Music Festival: Tamsa Music

This highly acclaimed music festival was first held in 2009, and has become a much-loved annual event. The festival is held each year on an isle in the Valley of Songs (Dainų slėnis), with the main focus being on live performances and Lithuanian music, although several foreign artists such as Little Dragon from Sweden also perform annually.

If you want to attend, you’d best book your tickets early, as visitor numbers are limited to preserve the natural beauty of Dainų slėnis.

5. Theatre Festival: “Sirenos” – Sirens International Theatre Festival

Held annually in October in the city of Vilnius, the international theatre festival is called “Sirenos” (Sirens) and is a week-and-a-bit long affair, with a different theme every year. Why the mythological name you wonder? Well in Greek mythology, Sirens were half-bird, half women (not mermaids) who sang and tempted sailors into joining them on the rocky coast, which more often than not led to the death of the crew.

The festival is promoted as a temptation, “an invitation, a magical spell impossible to overcome” and for most theatre-goers it delivers on that promise. Contemporary European performances, as well as comedy skits, dramatic and ironic plays, and even some whimsical imaginings are presented to an ever growing audience.

Author Bio: Roseanna McBain is the blogger for the accommodation website, TravelGround.com – which specialises in accommodation in the Drakensberg. In her spare time she enjoys writing poetry, gardening, and visiting local farmers markets.

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Photo licensed under the Creative Commons, created by Chris Yunker

Florence

This medieval Italian city features beautiful flower gardens, ancient buildings constructed with various colors of marble, and many of Michelangelo’s masterpieces. See the Boboli Gardens at the Pitti Palace and the Rose Garden near Michelangelo Square. One of the Renaissance artist’s most recognized pieces includes the Statue of David, which stands 17 feet (5.2 meters) tall and is on display at the Accademia Galleria. Visitors also find the tombs of Michelangelo and famed scientist Galileo in Florence. The amazing artwork throughout city also features works created by medieval artists Ammannati and Cellini.

Rome

This ancient Italian city features a number of iconic landmarks that include the Coliseum, the Forum and the Pantheon. Vatican City also attracts millions of visitors who admire the fountains, statues and dome of St. Peter’s Cathedral. See original masterpieces created by Leonardo da Vinci and Raphael in the Vatican museum. The building is also the site of the famous Sistine Chapel.

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Venice

The dozens of interconnected waterways and romantic gondola rides are but some of the attractions of this popular tourist destination. The city also features Byzantine to Neoclassic architecture, which spans from the 13th to the 18th century. One of the popular buildings that guests visit is the Doge’s Palace. Filled with carvings and amazing wall-sized frescoes, the palace once imprisoned famous con artist Casanova. The Bridge of Sighs is another well-known structure that connects the Doge’s Palace with a more modern prison.

Pisa

This city contains the famous tilting, freestanding bell tower of the Pisa Cathedral. Construction began on the tower in 1173 and sinking initiated only five years later. When construction resumed 100 years later, contractors compensated for the tilt by building floors higher on one side than the other. The tower stands 183 feet (56 meters) tall on the low side and 186 feet (57 meters) tall on the high side. Now stabilized by using lead counterweights and excavated soil displacement, visitors climb the 296 stairs to the top.

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Pompeii

In 79 A.D., Mount Vesuvius violently erupted, covering the nearby ancient Roman city of Pompeii with 13 to 20 feet (4 to 6 meters) of ash. Though all 20,000 residents lost their lives on that fateful day, the ash protected and preserved all of the city’s structures. Since the community’s discovery and excavation in 1749, Pompeii attracts millions of visitors annually. Besides architectural features, buildings display complete mosaic tiles and frescoes depicting mythological figures and legends.

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However the first things you notice on your arrival from the south is the sky full of smoking chimneys and gray massive prison. But, the city centre, consisting of a grid of straight streets, hides some gems that are worth your attention.

The dominant feature of Daugavpils’s city centre is three-aisled St. Boris and Gleb Orthodox Cathedral, built in the neo-Russian style. This great structure with a total of ten towers culminating in a gilded dome, rises on a hill along with two other temples. Towers of these sanctuaries create a unique cityscape.

The most notable monument of Daugavpils is a huge fortification built in 1810 by the Russians during the Napoleonic wars. There is also a war memorial, which recalls that during the World War II, the city was a place of a concentration camp Stalag. The fort is considered the largest of its kind in Europe. Museum of Regional History and Art guarded by stone lions is also worth a visit as well as a large sports complex, which is situated in one of the few really modern buildings in the city. Daugavpils is now slowly changing into a friendly town with lots of green areas and a good range of services and recreational facilities for its residents and visitors.

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