Kaunas

Laisves Aleja, Kaunas

Top attractions in Kaunas

Laisves Aleja (Liberty Avenue)

A 1.6 km pedestrian boulevard lined with chestnut trees, cafes, boutiques and street musicians. The main artery of Kaunas life, it runs from the old town to the New Town and is the place where the city shows itself at its most relaxed and social.

Top sight

Kaunas Old Town

Compact and walkable, Kaunas Old Town is centred on Town Hall Square (Rotuses aikste). The white Town Hall, known locally as the White Swan, is its centrepiece. Kaunas Castle nearby dates to the 14th century. The whole area is enjoyable on foot.

Historic

Interwar Modernist Architecture

When Vilnius was under Polish control, Kaunas was Lithuania's temporary capital from 1919 to 1940. The state poured ambition into building a modern European city, resulting in one of the finest collections of 1920s-1930s architecture anywhere. The trail covers around 80 buildings across the city.

UNESCO

Ninth Fort

One of the most sobering sites in Lithuania. Originally a 19th-century fortification on the outskirts of Kaunas, it became a site of mass killings during the Nazi occupation. Around 50,000 people, mostly Jews, were murdered here. The memorial and museum are moving and important.

Memorial

Zalgiris Arena

Even if you are not a basketball fan, the 15,000-seat Zalgiris Arena is worth seeing. If you happen to be in Kaunas during a EuroLeague game, getting a ticket and experiencing the atmosphere is one of the most memorable things you can do in Lithuania.

Sport

Food and drink in Kaunas

Kaunas has its own food personality, different from Vilnius. The city is known for its traditional pastries and bread. Look for garsioji Kauno mielinė (Kaunas yeast cake), a sweet braided bread that has been made in the city for generations. The Old Town has several excellent traditional Lithuanian restaurants. The coffee scene around Laisves Aleja is thriving, with several specialty cafes that rival anything in Vilnius. For a local experience, join the Kaunasians at their favourite spots on the avenue on a warm evening.

Lithuania's most underrated city

Ask most people planning a trip to Lithuania and they will tell you they are going to Vilnius. Kaunas rarely makes the top of the list. This is a mistake. Kaunas has its own character, its own pride, and its own story, and it tells that story more quietly than the capital but no less compellingly.

The city served as Lithuania's temporary capital between 1919 and 1940, when Vilnius was under Polish administration. Into that two-decade window the state poured enormous ambition: new government buildings, embassies, schools, cultural institutions, and apartment blocks, all built in the confident interwar modernist style that was sweeping Europe at the time. The result is one of the finest and most concentrated collections of 1920s and 1930s architecture anywhere on the continent, recognised by UNESCO in 2023.

Kaunas was also the European Capital of Culture in 2022, a designation that brought a wave of investment in galleries, performance spaces, and public art. The city used the moment well. The cultural infrastructure it built during that year has outlasted the designation itself.

The Basketball City

In Lithuania, Kaunas means one thing above all else: Žalgiris. The basketball club of the same name as the famous 1410 battlefield is the most supported sports team in the country, and the 15,000-seat Žalgiris Arena is one of the loudest and most atmospheric venues in European basketball. If you are visiting between October and April and there is a home game, getting a ticket is one of the most memorable experiences Lithuania can offer. The atmosphere is extraordinary.

The club's history is also deeply political. During the Soviet period, Žalgiris victories over CSKA Moscow were celebrated as a form of national resistance. The name itself, meaning "Green Forest", evokes the Lithuanian partisans who fought in the forests after the occupation. Basketball in Kaunas has never been just sport.

Getting there and around

Kaunas is 100 kilometres from Vilnius, around 1.5 hours by bus or car. Buses run every 20 to 30 minutes from the Vilnius bus station throughout the day and are cheap and reliable. The train takes slightly longer but is comfortable. Within Kaunas, the Old Town and the Laisvės Alėja corridor are both walkable. For the Ninth Fort and the Žalgiris Arena on the outskirts, a taxi or local bus is easiest. The modernist architecture trail map is available at the tourist office near the Old Town.