Riga runs on small money: whole museums funded by a donation box, a covered market housed in five 1930s zeppelin hangars, dumplings sold by weight for €4. Three days here cost less than one in Stockholm, and the best viewpoints are free.
The 1863 park on Riga's old defensive moat, with the Freedom Monument at its edge. The honour guard changes on the hour between 09:00 and 18:00 and takes under three minutes. Open day and night, no ticket, no queue.
Latviešu strēlnieku laukums 1, open 11:00–18:00 Tuesday to Sunday. Entry is free with a donation box instead of a till, covering 1940–1991 under Soviet and Nazi rule, including a reconstructed Gulag barracks room.
A windowless black timber box on Mazais Balasta dambis marking the bunker where dock worker Žanis Lipke hid 55 Jews under his woodshed. Open Tuesday to Sunday 12:00–18:00, entry by donation, no group bookings needed.
Nineteen restored red-brick warehouses from the 1860s behind the Central Market, now open courtyards with murals, a riverside boardwalk and free open-air concerts and film screenings on summer evenings.
Five converted zeppelin hangars plus outdoor rows, open 07:00–18:00 daily. Smoked chicken, dark rye, curd snacks and pickled everything; a bag of produce runs €5–8 and hot pīrāgi pastries cost about €0.80 each.
Elizabetes iela 65, the canteen-style Latvian buffet where you pay by plate weight: grey peas with bacon, pork chop, beet salad, cold beetroot soup. Lunch lands at €6–9 with a drink. Open 09:00–22:00, no tipping.
An 1898 brick-and-timber hall across the Daugava, reopened in 2022 after restoration. Kurzeme farmers' produce, bakery counters and hot food stalls at maybe 60% of Old Town prices. Open Tuesday to Sunday 08:00–18:00.
Self-service dumplings in the middle of Old Town, open late every day. Scoop Russian and Latvian pelmeņi from steel trays, add sour cream, vinegar and dill, then pay by weight — a heaped bowl comes to €4–5.
Akadēmijas laukums 1, the 1958 Stalin-era tower Rigans call the Kremlin's birthday cake. The 17th-floor open-air terrace costs €7 and gives a 360° view over Old Town spires, the port and the Moscow District.
A long stone pier on the Daugava's right bank north of Vanšu Bridge, open at all hours with no barrier or fee. Locals fish and grill here, and the whole Old Town skyline lines up across the water in one frame.
Tram 11 from Kronvalda parks runs out to this 1901 garden suburb of wooden villas and pine forest on Ķīšezers lake. The paths, Song Festival grounds and lake beach cost nothing; only the tram ticket is spent.
Riga's river island, ten minutes on foot across Vanšu Bridge, with a sand beach facing the Old Town skyline and a lane of restored 19th-century wooden houses along Balasta dambis. No entry, no closing time.