Riga, latvia

摘要

Too often overlooked by American travelers, the Latvian capital is worth a trip for one block alone. Albert Street, in the quiet center, is a cavalcade of architect Mikhail Eisenstein's poshest work-dreamy Art Nouveau apartment houses encrusted with mythological animals, gaping masks, and drizzly details that seem whipped up by mad pastry chefs. Exquisite streetscapes like that make Riga (committed to preservation) the ultimate in eye candy, from redbrick medieval masterpieces to fairy-tale fantasias by National Romantic stylists such as Konstantïns Peksens and Eizens Laube. One of the city's crown jewels is the Latvian National Museum of Art. Architect Wilhelm Neumann's voluptuous 1905 neo-Baroque purpose-built palace reopened last year after being respectfully restored and sensitively expanded by Lithuanian firms Processoffice and Andrius Skiezgelas Architecture. Mod new galleries plunge deep underground, a fantastic origami-like staircase switchbacks amid historic woodwork, and skylights splash cool northern light over eye-opening paintings, sculptures, photography, and drawings by Latvian masters. Also in the works is a new museum of contemporary art by David Adjaye, who notes, "As a city dating back nearly 1,000 years, Riga has such a rich sense of history embedded in its architecture." And prepare to eat well: The staggeringly inventive food scene (don't leave town without tucking in at Vincents, 3 Pavaru, and International SV) ensures that the city is a culinary paradise as well as a visual wonderland.