Riga Castle (Rigas Pils) Tours and Tickets

There are plenty of ways to experience Riga Castle (Rigas Pils). Looking at ratings and reviews previously given by customers, these are the best tours available right now:

• Private Boat Tour experience in Riga (City Canal and Daugava)

• Boat tour City Canal and Daugava River with audioguide

• Private grand Riga city tour

• Riga Scavenger Hunt and Highlights Self-Guided Tour

• Riga Package: Canal Boat Tour + Drink & Old Town Audio Guide

You can visit Riga Castle on prearranged free tours, which must be booked via an application form on the official website of the President of Latvia. You can also visit the Latvian National Museum of History, which is housed within the castle—check its website for upcoming opening times, as it’s not always open to the public. The cost to visit the museum varies.

No, for most of the year, it is not possible to visit Riga Castle as it is currently the Presidential residence. However, the one time of year when the public can go inside the castle is on the Night of the Museums, an annual event in May where several rooms of the palace are freely open to the public.

Since visitors are not allowed inside Riga Castle, a typical visit to Riga Castle is usually brief. Of the walking tours of Riga that visit the castle, most only spend 5–10 minutes outside to explain the castle’s history and its modern function as the official residence of the President of Latvia.

Riga Castle has been a central part of Latvia’s history for over 700 years. It was the seat of the Master of the Livonian Order, who controlled most of modern Latvia and Estonia, from its founding in 1330 until the order’s collapse in 1562. It first became the residence of the Latvian President in 1922, following Latvian independence.

It depends. Visiting Riga Castle is worthwhile if you’re interested in history and wish to see this building, which has long been an integral part of the city’s story. It can also be worth visiting if you’re keen to see its neoclassical architecture. Otherwise, there’s not much reason to go, as you typically can’t go inside Riga Castle.