Riga itself is a small city, easy to navigate around. It has a beautiful Old Town, a busy shopping district and a stunning Art Nouveau feel in other locations.

IH Riga is situated about ten minutes from the Old Town and the same distance from both the train and bus stations, so it is very convenient to get to. Even the airport is only about twenty minutes away on the bus. 

What is the best thing about the school?  You mean apart from the good facilities, the brilliant team and our lovely teachers? We would have to say our students. Some of them come back year after year because they enjoy it so much, and our young learners are such a bright, funny, engaging bunch that the teachers love the classes as much as the students do. 

Riga is a very pleasant city, with lots of cultural activities throughout the year. Riga has a great public transport system, so getting around the city is easy and not expensive.

It is also simple to use the trains to make trips further afield to explore our beautiful country. Within reach of an easy day out are: 

• Jelgava, a pretty town quite close to the sea. 
• Kemeri, a very small town with a long boardwalk over the marshes and reedbeds. A lovely walk and stunning views. 
• Sigulda, two castles and a beautiful forest walk. This is a classic Latvia trip in Autumn to see the leaves in autumn colours but is also amazing in the snow when it is often deserted. And in the summer when the forests are lush and green.  
• Cesis, an ancient castle and the ‘new’ house that replaced it. We liked the real old fashioned lanterns in the castle, and the park with the lake for picnicking.  
• Jurmala, a series of smaller towns along the coast. A place for hanging out on the beach, or in beachside bars and restaurants and cafes.

Talinn and Vilnius, in our neighbouring Baltic countries, are both easy to get to, about four hours on a bus.

Riga is a very accessible city. We are close to the city centre, so parking is metered and awkward but public transport is very good and efficient. There is a tram stop at the top of the road, and buses on the other side of the block.

There is a Rimi supermarket beneath the train station, and three ‘express’ small supermarkets within five minutes’ walk of the school.

Just a block away is the recently restored Berga Bazars, a small complex of restaurants serving a range of local and fusion cuisines, ranging in price from ultra-cheap business lunch deals to more expensive off the menu dishes. 

This is also the home to a branch of ‘Cadets de Gascogne’ a French style café serving coffee, pastries, but if you are really in a hurry head two minutes round the corner to “Caffeine’ our local coffee chain.

Accommodation

You should budget between €300-550 per week for accommopdation, depending on sharing/availability/location.

If you want to find your own accommodation we can advise which areas of the city are good. There are also a limited number of places in our own school flats, which makes the arrangements very straightforward. Ask us about this when you book!