All Inclusive Honest History Tour - Āraiši, Cēsis, Līgatne, Sigulda
All Inclusive Honest History Tour - Āraiši, Cēsis, Līgatne, Sigulda
A private historical tour including a visit to the Soviet Bunker. On this tour you'll learn everything about history of Latvians and their ancestors. We'll do this in chronological order: first Āraiši Lake Castle - an authentic reconstruction of a prehistoric fortified settlement.
Then we move on to Cēsis Castle (1214), main base of Teutonic Knights in this region. Next is Līgatne, where you'll learn about industrial revolution in Russian Empire. After that - to Secret Soviet Bunker for a private visit - only your party and the guide, so you can ask all the questions you might have.
Book This ExperienceA glimpse of the journey
Your Itinerary
A curated journey through the experience
Araisi Lake Dwelling Site
Besides the Lake Castle, there's more to Āraiši Archaeological Park - there's a reconstruction of some Stone and Bronze Age dwellings, as well as ruins of medieval castle of Livonian Order. So a quick glance on those two, and then we can move on to Cēsis.
1 hourCesis Medieval Castle
The castle suffered greatly in 1577, when, during the siege set by the army of Russian Tsar Ivan the Terrible, 300 people sought refuge in the castle and eventually committed suicide by blowing themselves up with gunpowder. With the rapid development of military equipment, the ancient fortress lost its military importance, but it was still inhabited until the end of the 17th century. And that's around the time when the first researchers started to look into it's history.
1 hourCesis
We'll stroll through the streets of the Old Town, which has had - and still does - the same street network for hundreds of years, we'll see some parks and monuments, and have a little coffee and snack break before moving on to Līgatne.
1 hourLigatne Paper Mill
Līgatne Paper Mill started producing in 1815 and very quickly became not only the biggest paper factory in Latvian territory, but also the whole Russian Empire. Besides regular writing paper, it produced paper for military maps, watermarked paper, etc. During the interwar period, Līgatne Paper Mill was exporting it's produce to all 5 continents. Unfortunately after almost 200 years of operation, it was closed in 2014, but we can still visit the "Historical center of Ligatne Paper Mill village" and see how the people used to live there. During a picturesque walk through the village and a little trail, we'll see not only the remains of factory buildings, but also "the barracks" - still populated living quarters of former employees - and maybe get a chance to look inside in one of the apartments.
1 hourLigatne
Līgatne is were we'll have lunch - Latvian traditional meal in a restaurant right on the riverbank.
1 hourThe Secret Soviet Bunker
The secrecy of the bunker was removed comparatively recently (2003) and all the authentic underground furnishings have been retained.
1 hour 30 minutesSigulda
Sigulda is considered the most scenic town of Latvia, but it's also a center of winter sports and great history. On this tour we'll focus on the nature, stop at a few viewpoints, cross the bridge over river Gauja, maybe stop for a cave, have a little hike if you're willing and so on.
30 minutesIncluded
- All Tickets and Entrance Fees
- Lunch
- Private transportation
- Entry/Admission - The Secret Soviet Bunker
- Entry/Admission - Cesis Medieval Castle
- Entry/Admission - Ligatne Paper Mill
- Entry/Admission - Araisi Lake Dwelling Site
Not Included
- Coffee and/or Tea
Good to Know
- Infant seats available
- Service animals allowed
- Near public transportation
- Stroller accessible
- Not wheelchair accessible
- Most travelers can participate
- Hand sanitizer available to travelers and staff
- Transportation vehicles regularly sanitized
- Guides required to regularly wash hands
- All staff members are either vaccinated or will be vaccinated as soon as it is permitted after recovering from covid19. Face mask use indoors enforced depending on the authority issued rules at the time of experience (masks provided if needed).
- This is a private tour/activity. Only your group will participate
- Confirmation will be received at time of booking
Tickets & Cancellation
You can present either a paper or an electronic voucher for this activity.
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours in advance of the start time of the experience.