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Klaipeda, Lithuania © Mantas Volungevicius/Flickr/CC BY 2.0
Klaipeda, Lithuania © Tomas Laurinavicius/Flickr/CC BY 2.0Klaipeda, Lithuania
Klaipeda is Lithuania's third largest city, located in the north-western corner of the country. It is the gateway to theCuronian Spit
, a stretch of sand dunes 99 km in length from 400 meters to 4 km, in breadth that arcs down to the Kaliningrad region of Russia.
Originally founded by Baltic tribes, the city andcastle
was built by the Teutonic Order in 1252 and named Memel in honor of the river of the same name some 40 km to the south. For most of its history, Memel was part of Prussia and large battles with Lithuanian lords took place here. Invasions came from Sweden and Russia and the city was part of the Prussian Kingdom and became a prosperous... Read more
Destination:Klaipeda, LithuaniaKlaipeda is Lithuania's third largest city, located in the north-western corner of the country. It is the gateway to theCuronian Spit
, a stretch of sand dunes 99 km in length from 400 meters to 4 km, in breadth that arcs down to the Kaliningrad region of Russia.
Originally founded by Baltic tribes, the city andcastle
was built by the Teutonic Order in 1252 and named Memel in honor of the river of the same name some 40 km to the south. For most of its history, Memel was part of Prussia and large battles with Lithuanian lords took place here. Invasions came from Sweden and Russia and the city was part of the Prussian Kingdom and became a prosperous harbor town. It represented the northernmost city in Germany and Prussia until 1918. After Germany lost the First World War, Memelland was first given free city status and then subsequently annexed to the newly established Republic of Lithuania. It was briefly reabsorbed by Nazi Germany before WWII and then reverted to Lithuania (the Soviet Union) in 1945. Since Lithuanian independence in 1990, Klaipeda has become one of Lithuania's most buoyant cities with a steadily growing tourist trade.Climate
Klaipėda's climate is humid continental (Köppen Dfb) but quite close to being oceanic (Köppen Cfb). In July and August, the warmest season, high temperatures average 20 °C (68 °F), and low temperatures average 14 °C (57 °F). The highest official temperature ever recorded was 36.6 °C (97.9 °F) in August 2014. In January and February, the coldest season, high temperatures average 0 °C (32 °F) with low temperatures averaging −5 °C (23 °F). The coldest temperature ever recorded in Klaipėda is −33.4 °C (−28.1 °F) in February 1956. The wettest month is November with a mean total precipitation 90 mm (3.5 inches). August through November is the wettest season because of the warmth of the Baltic sea in relation to the continent and the westerly winds. The driest month is February averaging 31 mm (1.2 in) of total precipitation. Spring is not particularly wet.
Klaipėda is a windy city with many stormy days per year. In autumn and winter, gales are not unusual. Sea breezes are common from April to September. Snow can fall from October to April, and a phenomenon resembling lake-effect snow is frequent. Severe snowstorms can paralyze the city in winter.
Klaipėda has unsettled weather all year round. One winter can be cold and snowy, similar to that in Moscow, while another one can be mild, windy, and rainy, similar to the weather in Scotland. August 2005 was very rainy, while August 2002 barely had any precipitation at all.
Source:https://en.wikivoyage.org/wiki/Klaipėda
Text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0Klaipeda, Lithuania: Port Information
Cruise terminal has a café, store, and other facilities. You can get a map of the city right on the pier.
The city of Klaipeda provides shuttle service (free).
It takes just 10 minutes to get to the city center on foot.Get around Klaipeda, Lithuania
Klaipėda's public transport is city buses, shuttle taxi (minibuses) and taxi.
An online list of bus routes and their schedules may help to plan your exploration of the city.
Shuttle taxi mostly serve the routes from the city center to the outskirts and suburbs.
Old Town district is small and can be easily explored by foot. To get to the beaches or some suburbs, a bicycle may be a reasonable option, as it allows to explore both city and its surroundings in more detail and without losing a significant amount of time.What to see in Klaipeda, Lithuania
Klaipėda is known for its main icons: sculpture Annchen von Tarau, located in theater square, old sailing ship Meridianas (there was a restaurant inside). There are also lots of small sculptures (sculpture of mouse, dog, dragon, chimney sweep, post pigeons and others) hiding in the old town. There are several museums. The most popular include the History Museum of Lithuania Minor, the Klaipeda Picture Gallery, the Marine museum and the Clock Museum. Klaipeda's old town is small but interesting. Anika Square has a balcony where Adolf Hitler addressed a crowd. Legend has it that Hitler was annoyed because the statue depicting "Anikė" of the Lithuanian folk tale was not facing him, so he had the statue removed. A replica is now in its place.- Lithuanian Sea Museum and Delphinium, Smiltynės st. 3.
- The Castle Museum, Pilies st. 4.
- The Blacksmith's Museum, Šaltkalvių st. 2.
- The History Museum of Lithuania Minor, Didžioji Vandens st. 6.
- Clock Museum, Liepų st. 12.
- P. Domšaitis' Gallery, Liepų st. 33.
What to do in Klaipeda, Lithuania
If you like nature, visit theCuronian Spit
, which is a 10-minute boat ride from the Old ferry terminal (New ferry terminal for vehicles). In the summer ferries run every 30 minutes, from 6:00 till midnight. In other side (Smiltynė) you can visit the sea museum, ethnographic fisherman farmstead, take a walk on the pier, see the white sand beaches or just take a bus to Juodkrante or Nida towns (they are located 18 and 50 km from Smiltyne to south). Renting a bicycle and cycling to Juodkrante is a nice day trip. The forest is magnificent.Beaches
There is a big and wide sand beach at Smiltynė, full of locals and tourists in the summer. Giruliai and Melnragė beaches are at Northern Klaipėda, a big and popular place to visit. The water is clean and warm in summer.
Also, try Palanga further north.What to eat and drink in Klaipeda, Lithuania
Eat
If you are looking for non-expensive lunch you can go to any restaurant/bar and get the day lunch, from the day lunch menu. The time when you can eat day lunch is between 11:30 to 14:00. It consists of a soup "day soup" and 2 to 4 main dishes.
There is a decent selection of Lithuanian and Western restaurants, most of which are located around the city's main thoroughfare, Herkaus Manto street, and its continuation into the Old Town, Tiltu street.Snack
If you are looking for snacks, you will find small bakeries in the city center and the Old town.
There are also few popular bistros: "Friedricho bistro" at Herkaus Manto street, and not far from it there is Mažvydo alley "Alėja."
Klaipėda city is famous for its mysterious cheese fingers - you can't leave the city without trying this. These you can get in the bar "Senamiestis," located in Bažnyčių street 4. Many bars tried to copy famous cheese fingers but did not succeed.
In Klaipėda city center and old town is not so easy to get fast food. Here most common fast food is "Kebab", but still in the city center, it isn't easy to find where you can get one. Klaipėda has only one McDonald's restaurant (located next to the "Akropolis" mall, about 3 km from center).Drink
The local brewery is Švyturys (Lighthouse). The "Š" is actually a "sch" - sound and the "y" is pronounced as a long "i." Klaipėda is known not only for its beer, locals are very into wineries. Almost on every corner, you can find a small and cozy winery with a huge variety of wines.- Balta Varna, Sukilėlių g. 18 (near Teatro square). A great down-to-earth but arty bar with cool music/decor/staff.
As well you can find plenty of small and cozy pubs in the Old town "Herkus Kantas," "Leika," "Senamiestis."
Clubs
Most of the pubs are located in the city center and also in the southern part of the city. In the city centre, there is old warehouse Memelis (now it is renovated and working as bar/club), there is a brewery inside and you can taste beer that's produced in the same building.
Popular clubs include:- El Calor, Kepėjų st. 10. Latino dance music.
- Kurpiai, Kurpių st. 1a. Jazz club.
- Dr. Who, Naujojo Sodo st. 1. Dance, disco, funk music.
- Kiwi, J. Janonio. 27. Club music.
- Martini, Taikos av. 64.
- Relax, Turgaus st. 1.
- Zematia.
- Faksas.
- Beer garden.
- Metro.
- Kisi.
Shopping in Klaipeda, Lithuania
Klaipėda is a unique city - here you will not find shopping street or Old town overcrowded with various stores. Of course you will find some stores in the center but most of them are located in big shopping malls such as: "Akropolis", "BIG", "BIG-2", "Herkaus Galerija", "Mega Plaza", "Studlentas", "Banginis", "Arena", so it is quite simple to go shopping, because, most of the shops are under one roof.
The biggest shopping mall is called Akropolis and it is one of the biggest shopping malls in the Baltics. Akropolis attractions include cinema, skating rink, restaurants, shops, 2 supermarkets, gym, pizzerias and so on.Safety in Klaipeda, Lithuania
Klaipeda is a safe place but like anywhere you have to use common sense. Try to walk with a confident air and not look lost.Language spoken in Klaipeda, Lithuania
Lithuanian is the official language. Russian and Polish are the largest minority languages. English is widely spoken in tourist places.
LOCAL TIME
4:06 pmMay 28, 2022CURRENT WEATHER
11.13 °C / 52.034 °F
light rainMon
10.01 °C/50 °F
moderate rainTue
11.18 °C/52 °F
moderate rainWed
11.14 °C/52 °F
light rainThu
12.48 °C/54 °F
light rainLOCAL CURRENCY
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