Why Lithuania
The southernmost and largest of the three Baltic republics. Vilnius has the largest Baroque old town in Eastern Europe, World Heritage listed, and a reputation as a green city — the forests begin at the edge of the centre.
The Curonian Spit, to the west, is a ninety-kilometre ribbon of dunes shared with Russia, also World Heritage listed. The Hill of Crosses, near Šiauliai, carries hundreds of thousands of crosses left there since the nineteenth century.
June to August for mild weather and the dunes. Winter is harsh, snowy and dark.
Entry and stay
An EU and Schengen country. An identity card is enough for nationals of the EU, the European Economic Area and Switzerland.
For other nationalities, the European Entry/Exit System (EES) has been in service since 10 April 2026 and digitally records every crossing of a Schengen external border. ETIAS, at twenty euros, is expected in the final quarter of 2026.
Source: France Diplomatie and the European Commission, checked on 22 September 2026.
Getting around
The coach is the dominant mode and links Vilnius, Kaunas and Klaipėda well, as well as Riga and Warsaw. Trains exist but cover less.
The Curonian Spit is reached by ferry from Klaipėda, a crossing of a few minutes. Traffic there is limited and tolled for cars.
Money
Euro, adopted in 2015. Cards work everywhere in the cities.
Before you go
Kaliningrad, a Russian exclave, borders the country to the south-west: the frontier cannot be crossed without a Russian visa and it is not a feasible day trip.
The Hill of Crosses is a living place of devotion, not a tourist site: you leave a cross there rather than take a photograph, and respect for the place is expected.
Basketball is the national sport and the fervour around it far exceeds what a visitor expects from a country of three million people.