Flanked by Lithuania’s two largest rivers, Kaunas is the country’s second-largest city and known for its wide range of cultural offerings and eclectic architecture.
A tour of Kaunas’s architecture will also provide an overview of the city’s captivating history. At the 19th-century Ninth Fort, you’ll find many remnants and reminders of the city’s hardships during the First and Second World Wars. Dating back even further, the 17th-century Pažaislis Monastery is a wonderful example of late baroque architecture. You can learn about the church’s three centuries of history at the on-site Sacral Heritage Museum. If you take a wander through the city’s Old Town, you’ll encounter various examples of striking Gothic, Renaissance and Baroque styles like Kaunas Castle, the Town Hall and the House of Perkūnas mansion.
There are around 40 different museums dotted around Kaunas, relating to a wide selection of topics. In the M. K. Čiurlionis National Art Museum, you’ll discover one of the country’s most renowned collections of Lithuanian paintings and sculptures. The open-air Lithuanian Folk Museum introduces the ethnographic regions of Lithuania via interactive exhibitions and hands-on workshops. The Kaunas City Museum also paints a vivid portrait of life in the olden days through a collection of photos and artefacts from local archaeological sites.