Belarus
Latvia
Poland
RussiaLithuania first named
The name of Lithuania appears in writing for the first time, as 'Litua', in the Annals of Quedlinburg. The entry tells the story of the missionary Saint Bruno.
Northern Europe
Lithuania
A green, lake-filled land on the Baltic Sea with a baroque capital, island castles, tall sand dunes and one of the oldest-sounding languages in Europe.
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Overview
Lithuania at a glance
Lithuania is one of the three Baltic states, on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea. It is a low country of fields, forests and more than 3,000 lakes, smoothed by the glaciers of the last ice age. Its short coast includes half of the Curonian Spit, a thin strip of sand dunes that runs south towards Kaliningrad.
Baltic tribes lived here for thousands of years. Mindaugas united the Lithuanian lands and was crowned king in 1253, and by the end of the 14th century the Grand Duchy of Lithuania was the largest country in Europe. From 1569 it shared a Commonwealth with Poland, until its neighbours divided that state in 1795 and most of Lithuania passed to the Russian Empire.
Lithuania declared independence in 1918, was occupied by the Soviet Union in 1940 and in 1990 became the first Soviet republic to declare its independence restored. Today it is a republic of about 2.9 million people. It joined NATO and the European Union in 2004 and has used the euro since 1 January 2015.
CapitalVilnius
PopulationAbout 2.9 million
Official languageLithuanian
CurrencyEuro (€), since 1 January 2015
AreaAbout 65,300 km²
GovernmentSemi-presidential republic
Highest pointAukštojas Hill, 293.84 m, about 24 km south-east of Vilnius
Longest riverThe Nemunas, 937 km in total, of which 359 km flow through Lithuania
NeighboursLatvia, Belarus, Poland and Russia's Kaliningrad region by land. Across the Baltic Sea it shares a sea border with Sweden
Drives on theRight
Calling code+370
The story
A short history of Lithuania
Lithuania's story runs from pagan Baltic tribes and a crowned king, through a grand duchy that stretched towards the Black Sea and a long union with Poland, to more than a century under Russian rule, two declarations of independence and a peaceful chain of two million people.
1009 1236 Battle of Saule
On 22 September Samogitian and Semigallian warriors crushed the crusading Livonian Brothers of the Sword in the land of Saule, traditionally placed near today's Šiauliai. The city counts this day as its founding date, and 22 September is now Baltic Unity Day.
1253 Mindaugas crowned king
Mindaugas, who had united most of the Lithuanian lands, was crowned the Catholic King of Lithuania. He is the only king Lithuania ever had, and 6 July, the traditional coronation date, is Statehood Day.
1323 Vilnius named as capital
Grand Duke Gediminas wrote letters from 'our royal city called Vilna', the first written mention of Vilnius. Legend says he founded the city after dreaming of an iron wolf howling on a hill.
1387 Lithuania adopts Christianity
Grand Duke Jogaila, now also King of Poland, began the official conversion of Lithuania to Catholic Christianity. Lithuania is often described as the last pagan country in Europe.
1410 Battle of Grunwald
On 15 July the armies of Poland and Lithuania, led by Jogaila and his cousin Vytautas, decisively defeated the Teutonic Order. Lithuanians call it the Battle of Žalgiris, and it was one of the largest battles of medieval Europe.
1569 Union of Lublin
Poland and Lithuania joined into one Commonwealth with a single elected monarch and a common parliament. It was one of the largest countries in Europe at the time.
1795 Commonwealth partitioned
In the third partition, Russia, Prussia and Austria divided what remained of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. Most of Lithuania became part of the Russian Empire.
1904 Press ban lifted
For about 40 years the Russian Empire had banned Lithuanian books printed in the Latin alphabet. Book smugglers carried them in from abroad, and on 24 April 1904 the ban was finally lifted.
1918 Act of Independence
On 16 February the 20 members of the Council of Lithuania, chaired by Jonas Basanavičius, signed the act that restored an independent, democratic Lithuania with Vilnius as its capital.
1940 Soviet occupation
Lithuania accepted a Soviet ultimatum and was occupied and turned into a Soviet republic. After German occupation from 1941, Soviet rule returned in 1944, with deportations and years of armed resistance.
1989 The Baltic Way
On 23 August about two million people joined hands in a human chain of 675 km through Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia, to demand freedom for the three Baltic states.
1990 Independence restored
On 11 March the Supreme Council declared Lithuania's independence restored. It was the first of the 15 Soviet republics to do so, and it survived a Soviet economic blockade that lasted 74 days.
1991 The January Events
On 13 January Soviet troops attacked the Radio and Television Building and the TV Tower in Vilnius. Fourteen civilians were killed, but crowds kept guarding parliament, and 13 January is now the Day of the Defenders of Freedom.
2004 Lithuania joins NATO and the EU
Lithuania became a member of NATO in March and a full member of the European Union on 1 May 2004. It later joined the Schengen area in 2007 and the eurozone in 2015.
At the table
What to eat in Lithuania
Lithuanian food grew from a cool, damp northern climate: rye, barley, potatoes, beets, mushrooms, berries and plenty of dairy, with sour cream served with almost everything. Dark rye bread is the centre of the table. A festive meal starts with a cold table of smoked meats, herring and salads, then soup, a hot main dish and, after a pause, cake with coffee or tea. Everyday breakfasts are filling and evening meals light.
Main courseRecipe
Cepelinai (potato zeppelins)
cepelinai
All of Lithuania, made bigger in the west than in the east
Large dumplings of grated raw potato, stuffed with minced meat, curd cheese or mushrooms, boiled and served with a sauce of sour cream and fried bacon bits. Often called the national dish.
They were once called didžkukuliai, and were later renamed after Count Zeppelin, because their shape looks like his airships.
See the recipe
Ingredients
- 2 kg floury potatoes, peeled
- 300 g minced pork
- 1 small onion, very finely chopped
- Salt and black pepper
- For the sauce: 150 g smoked bacon, diced, 1 onion, chopped, and 200 g sour cream
Method
- Boil about a quarter of the potatoes until soft and mash them. Finely grate the rest of the potatoes, put them in a clean cloth and squeeze out as much liquid as you can into a bowl.
- Let the potato liquid stand for a few minutes, pour off the water and keep the white starch at the bottom. Mix the grated potato, mashed potato, starch and a good pinch of salt into a firm dough.
- Mix the minced pork with the chopped onion, salt and pepper. Take a handful of potato dough, flatten it in your palm, put a spoonful of meat in the middle and close it into an oval, zeppelin shape.
- Lower the dumplings into a large pot of gently boiling salted water and simmer for about 25 minutes, stirring now and then so they do not stick.
- Meanwhile fry the bacon and onion until golden and stir in the sour cream. Serve the cepelinai hot with the sauce spooned over.
StarterRecipe
Šaltibarščiai (cold pink beet soup)
šaltibarščiai
All of Lithuania, with cousins across the lands of the old Grand Duchy
A cold summer soup of cooked beetroot, cucumber, dill and spring onion in kefir or soured milk, bright pink in the bowl. Hot boiled potatoes are served on the side.
Since 2023 Vilnius has held a yearly festival just for this pink soup.
See the recipe
Ingredients
- 3 medium beetroots, boiled, cooled and peeled (or ready-cooked beetroot)
- 2 fresh cucumbers
- 1 bunch of dill and 1 bunch of spring onions
- 1 litre kefir (or buttermilk)
- 2 hard-boiled eggs
- Salt, and boiled potatoes to serve
Method
- Grate the cooked beetroot or cut it into thin strips. Cut the cucumbers into small cubes and finely chop the dill and spring onions.
- Put the vegetables in a large bowl with a pinch of salt and pour in the cold kefir. Stir until the soup turns pink.
- Chill for at least 30 minutes. If it is too thick, add a little cold water.
- Serve in bowls topped with halved hard-boiled eggs and more dill, with hot boiled potatoes on a separate plate.
Main courseRecipe
Kugelis (potato bake)
kugelis, or bulvių plokštainis
All of Lithuania; called banda in the Dzūkija region
Grated potatoes mixed with eggs, milk, onion and bacon, seasoned with bay leaf or marjoram and baked in a flat dish until golden. It is cut into squares and eaten with sour cream.
See the recipe
Ingredients
- 2 kg floury potatoes, peeled
- 200 g smoked bacon, diced
- 2 onions, chopped
- 3 eggs
- 200 ml hot milk
- 1 teaspoon dried marjoram, salt and black pepper
- Sour cream to serve
Method
- Heat the oven to 180°C and grease a baking dish of about 25 by 35 cm.
- Fry the bacon until it gives up its fat, add the onions and cook until soft and golden.
- Finely grate the potatoes, squeeze out some of the liquid and pour the hot milk over them at once, so they stay pale.
- Stir in the eggs, the bacon and onions with their fat, the marjoram, salt and pepper. Pour into the dish.
- Bake for about 75 minutes, until the top is deep golden and crisp. Let it rest for 10 minutes, cut into squares and serve with sour cream.
SnackRecipe
Kepta duona (fried garlic bread)
kepta duona
All of Lithuania, a favourite in bars
Sticks of dark rye bread fried in oil until crisp and rubbed with garlic. It is the classic snack to share with a glass of beer.
See the recipe
Ingredients
- 8 slices of dark rye bread, cut into fingers
- 4 cloves of garlic, peeled and halved
- Sunflower oil for frying
- Salt
Method
- Heat about 1 cm of oil in a frying pan over a medium heat.
- Fry the bread fingers in batches for 1 to 2 minutes on each side, until crisp but not burnt. Drain on kitchen paper.
- While they are still hot, rub each piece with the cut side of a garlic clove and sprinkle with a little salt.
- Serve warm, on their own or with a garlic and cheese dip.
DessertRecipe
Tinginys (lazy man's cake)
tinginys
All of Lithuania
A no-bake chocolate log of broken biscuits bound with cocoa, butter and sweetened condensed milk, chilled and cut into slices. Its name means 'lazy man', because it is so quick to make.
See the recipe
Ingredients
- 400 g plain biscuits (such as rich tea)
- 150 g butter
- 1 tin (397 g) sweetened condensed milk
- 3 tablespoons cocoa powder
Method
- Break the biscuits into small pieces with your hands, keeping some bigger chunks.
- Melt the butter in a pan over a low heat, stir in the condensed milk and cocoa and warm until smooth. Do not let it boil.
- Pour the chocolate mixture over the biscuits and stir well so that every piece is coated.
- Spoon onto a sheet of cling film or baking paper, shape into a log or square block and wrap it tightly.
- Chill for at least 4 hours, or overnight, then cut into slices to serve.
Snack
Kibinai (Karaite meat pasties)
kibinai
Trakai, from the Karaite community
Pastries filled with mutton and onion. Travel guides compare them to Cornish pasties.
The Karaites came from Crimea, brought to Lithuania by Grand Duke Vytautas the Great to serve as his guards.
Dessert
Šakotis (tree cake)
šakotis
All of Lithuania, especially at weddings
A tall, spiky cake baked on a rotating spit over heat, with batter of butter, eggs, flour, sugar and cream painted on layer by layer. Sliced, it shows rings like a tree trunk.
In 2015 bakers in Druskininkai made a record šakotis 372 cm tall, weighing 85.8 kg.
Starter
Skilandis (smoked sausage)
skilandis, or kindziukas
All of Lithuania, known since at least the 16th century
Minced meat and fat seasoned with salt, pepper and garlic, traditionally pressed into a pig's stomach, then dried and cold-smoked. It is sliced thinly for the cold table.
Lietuviškas skilandis is protected in the EU as a Traditional Speciality Guaranteed.
Main course
Balandėliai (cabbage rolls)
balandėliai
All of Lithuania
Cabbage leaves wrapped around a filling of minced meat and braised until soft. The name means 'little doves'.
Main course
Žemaičių blynai (Samogitian potato pancakes)
žemaičių blynai
Samogitia (Žemaitija), in the west
Pancakes made from boiled potatoes and filled with chopped cooked meat. Like most Lithuanian dishes, they are often eaten with sour cream.
Bread
Kūčiukai (Christmas Eve poppy seed biscuits)
kūčiukai
All of Lithuania, for Christmas Eve
Small, slightly sweet bites of yeast dough with poppy seeds, baked until crunchy. They are eaten on Kūčios, Christmas Eve, often soaked in poppy seed milk.
The Christmas Eve table traditionally has twelve dishes and no meat or dairy, though fish is allowed.
Dessert
Šimtalapis (hundred-sheet pastry)
šimtalapis
Brought by the Tatars, now made across Lithuania
A pastry of thin layers of dough separated by melted butter, like a croissant, often rolled with poppy seed filling. The name means 'one hundred sheets'.
It is said to have arrived with the Tatars whom Vytautas the Great invited to settle in Lithuania.
Snack
Sūrelis (glazed curd snack)
varškės sūrelis
All of Lithuania, and popular across the former Soviet Union
A small bar of sweetened curd cheese, often with a jam or boiled condensed milk filling, coated in chocolate glaze and sold chilled in shops.
Drink
Gira (bread kvass)
gira
All of Lithuania
A lightly sour, almost alcohol-free drink made by fermenting black rye bread or rye malt, sometimes flavoured with caraway, berries or apples. Many restaurants brew their own.
The first written recipes for gira in Lithuania date from the 16th century.
Table manners
- Before a meal people wish each other 'Skanaus!' (enjoy your meal).
- When glasses are raised, the toast is 'Į sveikatą!' (to your health).
- Sour cream is served with almost everything: soups, dumplings, pancakes and even desserts.
- Dark rye bread is on the table at every meal, often eaten as an open sandwich with butter or cheese.
- At a festive dinner, dessert comes some time after the main course, so leave room and do not rush away from the table.
- On Christmas Eve (Kūčios) the family sits at a table with twelve dishes and no meat or dairy.
Cities
10 cities to know
Lithuania's cities are small and easy to explore: baroque Vilnius in the south-east, interwar Kaunas where two rivers meet, the port of Klaipėda and seaside Palanga on the coast, and spa towns and castle towns among the lakes and forests.
Vilnius Capital
Vilnius County
The capital and largest city, with about 620,000 people as of 2026. It lies where the Vilnia river flows into the Neris, and its baroque Old Town is one of the largest in Northern Europe and on the UNESCO list since 1994.
- Gediminas's Tower on Castle Hill
- The Gate of Dawn chapel
- Užupis, the self-declared artists' republic
- Vilnius University, founded in 1579
Kaunas
Kaunas County
The second-largest city, where the Neris meets the Nemunas. Between the two world wars, while Vilnius was held by Poland, Kaunas was the temporary capital, and it filled with modernist buildings that are now on the UNESCO list.
- Interwar modernist architecture
- Žalgiris basketball club
- The Devils' Museum
- Kaunas Castle
Klaipėda
Klaipėda County
The third-largest city and Lithuania's only major seaport, on the narrow mouth of the Curonian Lagoon. For centuries it was the German town of Memel, and it joined Lithuania in 1923.
- Its usually ice-free port
- The Curonian Spit, just across the strait
- Its German past as Memel
Šiauliai
Šiauliai County
The fourth-largest city, in the north. It counts its birthday from the Battle of Saule on 22 September 1236, and it grew into a great leather and shoe-making centre in the 19th century.
- The Hill of Crosses nearby
- Its history of leather making
- A NATO air base
Panevėžys
Panevėžys County
The fifth-largest city, on the Nevėžis river in the north-east. It is an industrial and cultural centre and a gateway to the lakes of the Aukštaitija region.
- The Juozas Miltinis Drama Theatre
- Its gateway to Aukštaitija
Alytus
Alytus County
The main town of Dzūkija, a region of thick pine forests, on the banks of the Nemunas in the south.
- The Nemunas river
- Forests full of mushrooms and berries
Trakai
Vilnius County
A small lake town 28 km west of Vilnius and a medieval capital of Lithuania. It is surrounded by lakes, and for centuries Karaites, Tatars, Lithuanians, Poles, Russians and Jews lived side by side here.
- Trakai Island Castle on Lake Galvė
- Kibinai pastries of the Karaite community
- About 200 lakes in the area
Palanga
Klaipėda County
Lithuania's largest and busiest summer resort, with about 18 km of sandy beach and dunes on the Baltic Sea. Its pier has been a favourite place for a stroll since 1892.
- The Palanga Amber Museum
- Its botanical park
- The long pier
Nida
Klaipėda County
A small resort on the Curonian Spit, between the lagoon and the open sea, and the westernmost point of Lithuania. The writer Thomas Mann spent his summers here from 1930 to 1932.
- The Parnidis Dune and its giant sundial
- Thomas Mann's summer house
- The Nida Jazz Festival, held since 2001
Druskininkai
Alytus County
A spa town on the Nemunas in the far south, close to the borders with Belarus and Poland, known for its mineral waters since the 19th century. The painter and composer Mikalojus Konstantinas Čiurlionis lived and worked here from 1896 to 1910.
- Mineral spas
- The Snow Arena indoor ski slope
- Grūtas Park of Soviet statues nearby
Landmarks
Places everyone should see once
Vilnius
Vilnius Old Town
Gothic, Renaissance, baroque and neoclassical buildings stand side by side in one of the largest old towns of Northern Europe, with about 1,500 buildings on 70 streets and lanes. Above it rises Gediminas's Tower, and in the south stands the Gate of Dawn, a 16th-century city gate with a revered painting of the Virgin Mary.
UNESCO World Heritage
Trakai
Trakai Island Castle
A brick castle on an island in Lake Galvė, begun by Grand Duke Kęstutis in the 14th century and finished around 1409 by his son Vytautas the Great, who died here in 1430. It was rebuilt in the 1950s and 1960s and now holds a history museum.
Nida
The Curonian Spit and the Parnidis Dune
A 98 km curved strip of sand dunes between the Baltic Sea and the Curonian Lagoon, shared by Lithuania and Russia. Just south of Nida the drifting Parnidis Dune rises to 52 metres, with a 13.8 m stone sundial on top.
UNESCO World Heritage
Near Vilnius
Kernavė Archaeological Site
Grassy hillforts above the Neris river mark a medieval capital of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, first mentioned in 1279 when the Teutonic Knights besieged it. It lies about 35 km from Vilnius and is on the UNESCO list since 2004.
UNESCO World Heritage
Kaunas
Modernist Kaunas
About 12,000 buildings went up in Kaunas between the two world wars, when it was the temporary capital. The best of them, such as the Central Post Office and the Church of the Resurrection of Christ, joined the UNESCO list in 2023.
UNESCO World Heritage
Kaunas
Pažaislis Monastery
The largest monastery complex in Lithuania and its finest baroque building, founded in 1664 by the chancellor Krzysztof Zygmunt Pac on a peninsula in the Kaunas Reservoir. Italian architects gave the church a six-sided plan and a curved front, and its interior is rich in marble.
Near Šiauliai
Hill of Crosses
A small hill about 12 km north of Šiauliai covered with crosses, rosaries and statues, about 100,000 of them by 2006. The first crosses were probably placed after the 1831 uprising. Soviet authorities bulldozed the hill three times, but people kept bringing new crosses.
Near Vilnius
Struve Geodetic Arc at Meškonys
One of three Lithuanian survey points of a chain of triangles from Norway to the Black Sea, used between 1816 and 1855 to measure the size and shape of the Earth. The whole chain runs through ten countries and is on the UNESCO list since 2005.
UNESCO World Heritage
Near Vilnius
Europos Parkas
A 50-hectare open-air sculpture park about 17 km from Vilnius, created near the point that French geographers named the centre of Europe in 1989. It shows more than 90 works by artists from 27 countries.
Palanga
Palanga Amber Museum
A museum in the restored 19th-century Tiškevičiai Palace, set in a large botanical park. Its collection holds about 28,000 pieces of amber, about 15,000 of them with insects, spiders or plants trapped inside.
Fun facts
Things you might not know
- 01
Lithuanian is believed to be the most conservative living Indo-European language. It keeps many features of Proto-Indo-European, the ancient ancestor of the whole language family, so it is important for linguists.
- 02
In 1989 a scientist at France's National Geographic Institute calculated that the geographic centre of Europe lies in Lithuania, about 26 km north of Vilnius. Other places in Europe make similar claims.
- 03
Basketball is the national sport. The men's team has won the European championship three times, in 1937, 1939 and 2003, and about 76% of people watched the national team's games in 2014.
- 04
On 23 August 1989 about two million people held hands in the Baltic Way, a human chain 675 km long across Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia.
- 05
On 1 April 1997 the Vilnius district of Užupis declared itself an independent republic. Its tongue-in-cheek constitution, on a wall in many languages, says people have the right to be happy, and also the right to be unhappy.
- 06
Cepelinai, the national potato dumplings, are named after Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin, because they look like his airships.
- 07
The highest point in Lithuania, Aukštojas Hill, is only 293.84 metres high. It was found to be the highest by GPS measurement in 2004, and its name was chosen in a contest.
- 08
For about 40 years, until 1904, printing Lithuanian in the Latin alphabet was banned in the Russian Empire. Book smugglers, called knygnešiai, carried Lithuanian books across the border from East Prussia.
- 09
The national anthem, 'Tautiška giesmė', has both words and music by one man, Vincas Kudirka, who wrote it in 1898.
- 10
The yellow, green and red flag was adopted on 25 April 1918. Under Soviet rule Soviet flags replaced it, and it returned on 18 November 1988, before independence was restored.
- 11
Women in Lithuania gained the vote in the 1918 constitution and first used it in 1919, among the first countries in the world to allow it.
- 12
Lithuanian cross crafting, the carving of tall wooden crosses and shrines, was recognised by UNESCO in 2001 as a Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity.
- 13
At Užgavėnės, the Lithuanian carnival before Lent, an effigy of winter called Morė is burned, and masked revellers dance and eat pancakes.
Lithuanian words
20 words to start with
Pronunciation is written the way it sounds; the capital letters show where the stress goes. Audio is coming soon.
Basics
- labasLAH-bahshi, hello
- ačiūAH-choothank you
- taipTAYPyes
- neNEHno
- prašauprah-SHOWplease, or you're welcome
Food and drink
- duonaDWOH-nahbread
- alusah-LOOSbeer
- vanduovahn-DWOHwater
- sūrisSOO-rischeese
- pienasPYEH-nahsmilk
- sriubasryoo-BAHsoup
- bulvėBOOL-vehpotato
- kavakah-VAHcoffee
Places
- miestasMYEH-stahscity
- ežerasEH-zheh-rahslake
- jūraYOO-rahsea
- pilispih-LIScastle
- turgusTOOR-goosmarket
Nature
- gintarasGIN-tah-rahsamber
- gandrasGAHN-drahsstork
Say it like a local
Useful phrases
Labas
LAH-bahs
Hi
The everyday friendly greeting, at any time of day
Laba diena
LAH-bah dyeh-NAH
Good day, good afternoon
The polite greeting in shops, offices and with strangers
Labas rytas
LAH-bahs REE-tahs
Good morning
Greeting someone in the morning
Labas vakaras
LAH-bahs VAH-kah-rahs
Good evening
Greeting someone in the evening
Labanaktis
LAH-bah-nahk-tees
Good night
Saying goodbye late at night or going to bed
Iki pasimatymo
ih-KIH pah-sih-MAH-tee-moh
Goodbye, see you
Leaving a shop, a restaurant or a friend
Ačiū
AH-choo
Thank you
Whenever someone helps or serves you
Prašau
prah-SHOW
Please, and also you're welcome
Asking for something, or answering a thank you
Atsiprašau
aht-sih-prah-SHOW
Excuse me
Getting someone's attention or squeezing past
Malonu
mah-LAW-noo
Pleased to meet you
Being introduced to someone
Mano vardas yra ...
MAH-noh VAHR-dahs EE-rah
My name is ...
Introducing yourself
Ar kalbate angliškai?
ahr KAHL-bah-teh AHN-glish-kai
Do you speak English?
Before asking for help in English
Nesuprantu
NEH-soo-prahn-too
I don't understand
When someone speaks too fast
Kur yra tualetas?
koor EE-rah twah-LEH-tahs
Where is the toilet?
In a café, museum or station
Kiek kainuoja?
kyehk kai-NWOH-yah
How much does it cost?
At a market stall or ticket office
Skanaus!
skah-NOWS
Enjoy your meal!
Before eating, or to someone who is eating
Į sveikatą!
ee svay-KAH-tah
Cheers! (to your health)
Raising a glass, and also after someone sneezes
Gelbėkite!
GYAHL-beh-kih-teh
Help!
In an emergency
Local tips
Before you go
Euros, and old litas at the bank
Lithuania has used the euro since 1 January 2015. If you find old litas notes at home, the Bank of Lithuania still exchanges them free of charge at a fixed rate of 3.4528 litas to 1 euro. City buses and trolleybuses no longer take cash, so pay with a travel card or by tapping your bank card.
Tipping is small
Tipping is appreciated but not deeply rooted. As of September 2026, about 5% is normal in restaurants, and it may already be on the bill or offered on the card machine.
Book trains early
Trains between Vilnius and Kaunas run about every hour and take 70 to 90 minutes. Other lines have few, short trains that can sell out, so buy tickets from LTG Link in advance. Buses reach almost every town.
Headlights on, always
Lithuanians drive on the right, and headlights must be on at all times, day and night. On smaller roads watch out for wild animals.
Shop hours for alcohol
As of September 2026, shops may sell alcohol only from 10:00 to 20:00, and until 15:00 on Sundays. Bars and restaurants can serve it whenever they are open, but drinking in public places is not allowed.
Emergencies: 112
The emergency number for police, ambulance and fire is 112. For non-urgent medical advice there is 113. Tap water is safe to drink.
Forests: ticks and mosquitoes
Forest walks and mushroom picking are a national pastime, but ticks in the woods can carry Lyme disease and encephalitis. Wear long trousers, use repellent and check yourself afterwards. Mosquitoes are a nuisance in summer, though harmless.
Sources (70)
- Lithuania (Wikipedia)
- Neman, or Nemunas (Wikipedia)
- Aukštojas Hill (Wikipedia)
- Telephone numbers in Lithuania (Wikipedia)
- Lithuania and the euro (Wikipedia)
- Battle of Saule (Wikipedia)
- Mindaugas (Wikipedia)
- Gediminas (Wikipedia)
- Christianization of Lithuania (Wikipedia)
- Union of Krewo (Wikipedia)
- Battle of Grunwald (Wikipedia)
- Union of Lublin (Wikipedia)
- Third Partition of Poland (Wikipedia)
- Lithuanian press ban (Wikipedia)
- Act of Independence of Lithuania (Wikipedia)
- Baltic Way (Wikipedia)
- Act of the Re-Establishment of the State of Lithuania (Wikipedia)
- January Events (Wikipedia)
- Lithuanian cuisine (Wikipedia)
- Cepelinai (Wikipedia)
- Cold beet soup, or šaltibarščiai (Wikipedia)
- Kibinai (Wikipedia)
- Šakotis (Wikipedia)
- Kugelis (Wikipedia)
- Skilandis (Wikipedia)
- Tinginys (Wikipedia)
- Kūčiukai (Wikipedia)
- Curd snack, or sūrelis (Wikipedia)
- Kvass, or gira (Wikipedia)
- skanaus (Wiktionary)
- į sveikatą (Wiktionary)
- Vilnius (Wikipedia)
- Kaunas (Wikipedia)
- Klaipėda (Wikipedia)
- Šiauliai (Wikipedia)
- Panevėžys (Wikipedia)
- Alytus (Wikipedia)
- Dzūkija (Wikipedia)
- Trakai (Wikipedia)
- Palanga (Wikipedia)
- Nida, Lithuania (Wikipedia)
- Druskininkai (Wikipedia)
- Grūtas Park (Wikipedia)
- UNESCO World Heritage Centre: Lithuania
- Vilnius Old Town (Wikipedia)
- Gediminas's Tower (Wikipedia)
- Gate of Dawn (Wikipedia)
- Trakai Island Castle (Wikipedia)
- Curonian Spit (Wikipedia)
- Parnidis Dune (Wikipedia)
- Kernavė (Wikipedia)
- Modern architecture of Kaunas (Wikipedia)
- Pažaislis Monastery (Wikipedia)
- Hill of Crosses (Wikipedia)
- Struve Geodetic Arc (Wikipedia)
- Europos Parkas (Wikipedia)
- Palanga Amber Museum (Wikipedia)
- Užupis (Wikipedia)
- Lithuanian cross crafting (Wikipedia)
- Tautiška giesmė (Wikipedia)
- Flag of Lithuania (Wikipedia)
- Užgavėnės (Wikipedia)
- Lithuanian phrasebook (Wikivoyage)
- labas (Wiktionary)
- gintaras (Wiktionary)
- gandras (Wiktionary)
- duona (Wiktionary)
- laba diena (Wiktionary)
- iki pasimatymo (Wiktionary)
- Lithuania (Wikivoyage)
