Vilnius Itinerary: 3 Days in the Lithuanian Capital

Vilnius is one of Europe’s most underrated cities, and it has quickly become one of my favorite places to visit in the Baltic region and Northern Europe. The capital of Lithuania has an infectious sense of optimism when you wander its beautiful streets, and it’s one of the most welcoming places I’ve visited. 

While not a big city, there’s lots of stuff to see and do in Vilnius. As a result, planning a trip can get overwhelming. Fear not, though, because I have visited the Lithuanian capital multiple times and have put together an easy-to-follow itinerary for you. 

Today, you’ll discover how I recommend spending three days in Vilnius. You can use this itinerary if you’re visiting for a weekend or as part of a broader trip through the Baltic region (if the latter applies to you, be sure to check out my other Baltic travel guides, too). 

Without further ado, let’s get started.

Day 1

After arriving in Vilnius, I suggest spending most of your first day in and around the city center. Based on my various trips to the city, below is a solid schedule you can follow year-round. 

Morning

Start your day by visiting the Three Crosses Monument. Kalnai Park, which is where you’ll find the monument, is close to Vilnius Cathedral Square. While you’re here, I recommend also wandering through the park; it feels miles away from the city, despite being right on the Old Town’s doorstep. 

Once at the top of the hill, take some time to see both the monument and admire Vilnius from above. Even when it’s cold and the wind is howling, this is one of the most beautiful spots in the city. If you’re into photography, you can easily spend 20-30 minutes here. 

After walking back down to ground level, you’ll undoubtedly be hungry. Beigelistai (Google Maps location here) is around a 20-minute walk from the Three Crosses Monument and is the perfect place to get some food and coffee before continuing your trip.

Afternoon

After getting some food, spend your afternoon walking around the Old Town. Besides admiring the architecture, you should stop inside some of the many cool shops you’ll find here. 

Vilnius’s Old Town is beautiful, regardless of where you are, so I don’t recommend having any set plans in this respect. Instead, go wherever your curiosity takes you. You may also find museums that you find interesting when you’re here; don’t be afraid of taking a detour if so. 

When you’re feeling hungry again, go for lunch at Etno Dvaras. There are a few locations throughout the city, but we went to this one. Since the portions here are pretty big, I suggest working up an appetite before you do so. 

Evening

Later in the day, I suggest exploring Vilnius’s beer scene. Go for craft beers at Alaus Biblioteka; consider bringing your own book to read here, too. You can spend as long as you want here—there are enough beers to try, anyway. 

When you’re feeling hungry, go for food at Sakai Ramen. After that, you can head back to your accommodation and prepare for day two in Vilnius. 

Day 2

Since you’ll be having quite a big lunch, I didn’t add a place to go for breakfast on your second day. If you want to fuel up before starting your day, either your hotel breakfast or a café in the city will be more than good enough. 

Morning

Visiting Gedminas’ Hill (Google Maps location here) will be the highlight of your morning. The walk up is steep but straightforward, and you’ll be greeted with great views of Vilnius once you’re at the top. I suggest getting here early in the morning; we arrived around 10:00, and it started to get busy soon after. 

You can easily walk to Gediminas’ Hill from the city center, so don’t worry about waiting for the bus or whatnot. Besides walking, you can get a funicular for a fee. It’s also possible to visit the inside of the castle if you buy tickets, but the viewpoint outside is free. 

Afternoon

You’ll probably be hungry after visiting Gediminas’ Hill, especially if you didn’t have anything for breakfast. For lunch (or I guess brunch, depending on whether you’ve eaten yet), we’re heading to Baleboste—the best restaurant in Vilnius. Here, you’ll enjoy large portions and fresh food inspired by Lithuania’s Jewish community.

After having some food, visit The Museum of Culture and Identity of Lithuanian Jews (Google Maps location here). Spend some time here before then exploring the Užupis neighborhood and the Glass Quarter.

Evening

If you’re visiting Vilnius in the summer, I recommend going for a hot air balloon tour on your second evening in the city. Regardless of whether you fly over Trakai Castle, Vilnius, or the Lithuanian countryside, you’ll enjoy a memorable experience; it’ll probably be the highlight of your trip. We took one with Smile Balloons, which was excellent.

After the hot air balloon ride, you can find somewhere to eat in the Old Town. We basically went into the first place that was open and looked good; I recommend doing the same. 

If you’re visiting outside the summer months, it will get dark quite early. You can see the Christmas Markets if you’re in the lead-up to Christmas; otherwise, make yourself comfortable in one of the city’s many bars. 

Alternative: Take a Day Trip Outside Vilnius

Regardless of when you’re in Vilnius, you could also use your second day in the city to take a day trip somewhere else. We spent a few hours in Kaunas before flying back to Copenhagen; while we didn’t get to see much of the city, it was nice—and I would like to return. Kaunas is just over an hour from Vilnius by train. 

Alternatively, you could visit Trakai Castle or the Hill of Crosses. Further afield, Riga is a possible day trip. However, it’s four hours away—so it would be a very long day trip. If you want to visit, be sure to check out my guide on the best things to do in Riga.

Day 3

I suggest taking it easy on your third day in Vilnius; how much you do will largely depend on the time of your flight home. If possible, I’d suggest booking an evening flight; that way, you can enjoy a bit more of the city.

Start your day with brunch at mon.; this trendy bakery and café is the perfect place for brunch and to people-watch. The coffee is great, too. 

If you took a day trip on your second day in Vilnius, go to Gediminas’ Hill and explore more of the Old Town and Užupis. You should also allocate some time to the Museum of Culture and Identity of Lithuanian Jews, along with lunch at Baleboste.

Did you spend your second day in Vilnius instead? No worries; there’s still plenty of fun things to do before your flight. Consider seeing some of the city’s other museums and attractions, such as the Palace of the Grand Dukes of Lithuania.

You can also spend some more time learning about Vilnius’s history and seeing more unique parts of the city, if you have some extra time. For example, you can go and see some of the filming spots from the HBO series Chernobyl. I stayed in one of the apartments here on my first trip to Vilnius, which was a unique experience (though admittedly, I would not stay that far out again). 

Alternatively, you can learn more about Vilnius’s Soviet history. Consider joining a Soviet Vilnius walking tour, for example, or visiting the Museum of Occupations and Freedom Fights.

Essential Things to Know Before You Visit Vilnius

To help you fully prepare for your trip, I’ve also included some helpful practical information below. 

Getting to Vilnius

Vilnius is well-connected to Europe by air and the Baltic region by road and rail. You can fly from Riga and Tallinn to Vilnius, but I recommend rail or road instead.

Air

Vilnius Airport (VNO) is the main airport serving the city, and you can fly here from several European destinations. Direct flights operate from London, Dublin, Paris, Brussels, Lisbon, Helsinki, and many other cities. 

From London, it takes around 2 hours and 40 minutes to fly to Vilnius. If you’re visiting from North America, get a connecting flight somewhere else in Europe; there are no direct flights from Lithuania to the US or Canada. You can browse flights to Vilnius below.

Vilnius Airport is simple and efficient. From here, you can take the bus, train, or a taxi into Vilnius. 

A train ticket from VNO Airport to the city center costs €0.80, and to be honest, I think this is by far the easiest way to get into Vilnius. You can buy tickets at the station or on the LTG Link website. The journey takes just eight minutes; note that there’s around one departure per hour.

If you buy tickets on the bus, it’s cash-only; a 30-minute ticket costs €1. It takes around 15 minutes to get into Vilnius by bus. 

Trains from the airport to the city stop running quite early, so you can always use Bolt if you’d prefer to take a taxi.

Bus

Buses to and from Vilnius are very affordable. This was how I got around the Baltics on my first trip, and it was fine. FlixBus and LuxPlus are the two main operators in the region. 

You can get buses from both Tallinn and Riga. 

Rail

As mentioned earlier, you can take the train from Riga to Vilnius in around four hours. If you’re doing a bigger trip through the Baltic region, and you’re happy to spend a bit more money, this is how I’d recommend getting to Vilnius. 

You can also take the train from Warsaw to Vilnius; the journey takes just over eight hours. You’ll change trains in Lithuania’s Mockava station, and when departing, you’ll need to take the train on the next platform. 

When’s the Best Time to Visit Vilnius?

This will come as a surprise to anyone who reads my articles regularly, but… I’m actually going to recommend visiting somewhere in the summer 😲. 

Vilnius feels like a different city during the warmer months, when the days are long and everyone’s outside. Plus, you can take hot air balloon rides over the city in the evening. While it’s more expensive to visit at this time, we still got good hotel rates. 

At the same time, Vilnius is worth visiting year-round. The city has enough things to do even outside the peak season, and winter has its charms—such as a snow-covered city, pretty lighting for photos, and a potentially frozen river. 

One thing worth noting in the summer is that it can get unbearably humid in Vilnius. When I was there in 2025, it was 30ºC (86ºF) each day but felt much hotter. On the flip side, winters can get very cold; I remember one day in November when it felt like -13ºC (8.6ºF) with wind chill. So, if you visit in the colder months, I suggest packing in layers. 

Getting Around Vilnius

You can easily walk everywhere in Vilnius’s city center. On my second visit, I did not use public transport at all; we were picked up by car for our hot air balloon ride and took the train to Kaunas afterward, but we walked everywhere in Vilnius. 

If you’re staying outside the city center, Vilnius has a comprehensive bus network. Tickets are cheap, and the services usually run on time, so they’re a viable option if needed. 

Here’s Where I Recommend Staying in Vilnius

I’ve written a full guide on where to stay in Vilnius here if you want to do extra research, but on my second trip to Vilnius, I stayed at the St. Palace Hotel. The hotel is right in the Old Town, but it still felt very quiet. The rooms were incredibly spacious, too, which was a nice surprise. 

The hotel staff were quick to help with any requests we had, and getting everywhere in Vilnius was very straightforward. Within a short walk, we had various cafés, restaurants, and shops around us. 

We paid just over €370 for three nights, which—for a four-star hotel in the middle of summer—is pretty decent, I think. It’s one of the more expensive hotels in Vilnius, but I felt like it was good value for money. 

• Book a Stay at St. Palace Hotel: Booking.com / Hotels.com / Expedia / Agoda

By and large, you can pay by card in Vilnius. We didn’t have any issues doing so in most places, but at the same time, many of those places also accepted cash. 

Having some cash in hand is wise for smaller establishments, and also if you take the bus from Vilnius Airport to the city center. €30-40 on hand will be fine in most instances. 

I personally prefer to use card payments because it’s easier than carrying cash, and also because I don’t live in a Eurozone country. Plus, most places you pay at will accept them.

Good to Know: If you want to waive foreign exchange fees, I recommend opening a free account with Wise. You can pay via an EUR bank account and get a free digital card; if you want a physical card, you can order one for a small fee. 

Wi-Fi and Mobile Data

Lithuania is in the EU, and if you’re based in another EU country, it’ll be included in your data roaming. This is often the case if you live in the UK, too; double-check with your provider, though, to see if you have data plan limitations. 

Depending on where you’re based, your mobile provider may have Lithuania included in your data roaming. However, this will not always be the case. 

If you need an affordable eSIM, you can get a Saily data plan. As for Wi-Fi, most hotels in Vilnius offer free wireless internet. You can also access Wi-Fi in libraries and cafés, along with other public spaces. 

Time Zone

Vilnius is in the EET Time Zone. It’s two hours ahead of London, seven hours ahead of New York City, and 10 hours ahead of Los Angeles. 

Language

The official language in Vilnius is Lithuanian, but English is widely spoken. I’ve had zero issues getting around Vilnius on either of my trips with just English, and you’ll definitely be understood in the city center. If you’re on the outskirts, people may not be as fluent—but most people have at least basic proficiency.

Final Thoughts

Three days in Vilnius is a good amount of time to see many of the city’s main sights and enjoy some of its numerous bars and restaurants. Depending on your interests, you can also take a day trip elsewhere in Lithuania and see more of this wonderful country. 

Regardless of your interests, Vilnius has something for everyone. It’s a great place to visit as a solo traveler, with your friends or partner, or as a family. Having read this guide, you should now have a better understanding of how to structure your trip when you visit. 

Keep this itinerary handy so you can refer to it whenever you need to. And if you have any questions that may have arisen when writing this, feel free to leave a comment or reach out to me. 😁

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