Some days the kids want to see something big: the city from high up, a famous square, a hill with a view at the top. This list gathers the landmarks and lookout points we'd take them to, from Old Town classics to spots a short drive out of town. Pair one with a playground or a snack stop and it fills a morning.
A white granite pillar topped with a crown of stars marks the spot French geographers fixed as the center of Europe in 1989. Sculptor Gediminas Jokūbonis built the pillar in 2004, beside the marker stone unveiled in 1997.
The area around it has been a protected reserve since 1992, taking in Lake Girija, the Bernotai Mound, a hillside and the neighboring forest.
The Old Town's main square opens in front of the neo-classical cathedral, with a 57-meter bell tower standing apart from it and the Gediminas monument nearby.
Kids can hunt for the stebuklas (miracle) stone: local legend says step on it, turn around three times, and a wish comes true. Red granite in the paving traces the old Lower Castle fortifications. Winter brings the city's tallest Christmas tree.
Vilnius TV Tower is the tallest structure in Lithuania, at 326.4 meters. The observation deck sits 170 meters up on the 67th floor, with a bistro looking out over the city and an open terrace in the warm season.
At its foot, granite markers and the bronze "Sacrifice" sculpture remember the 14 people killed defending the tower on January 13, 1991, and a small park shows historic broadcast antennas.
Pūčkoriai Exposure is the tallest exposed cliff in Lithuania: 65 meters high and 260 meters wide, above the Vilnia River in Pavilniai Regional Park. A trail with wide stairs, wooden walkways and terraces passes both the top and the bottom, so kids can look up at the cliff and down from it.
Old Polish military trenches and a concrete bunker still sit at the site.
Three white concrete crosses, 12 meters tall, stand on top of the hill in Kalnai Park. A small observation deck at their base looks out over the Old Town, and broken pieces of the earlier monument, pulled down by the Soviet authorities in 1950, lie a few meters below.
Kalnai Park around it has wooded hills, paths and benches, and the Bernardine Garden sits at the foot.
Some days the kids want to see something big: the city from high up, a famous square, a hill with a view at the top. This list gathers the landmarks and lookout points we'd take them to, from Old Town classics to spots a short drive out of town. Pair one with a playground or a snack stop and it fills a morning.
A white granite pillar topped with a crown of stars marks the spot French geographers fixed as the center of Europe in 1989. Sculptor Gediminas Jokūbonis built the pillar in 2004, beside the marker stone unveiled in 1997.
The area around it has been a protected reserve since 1992, taking in Lake Girija, the Bernotai Mound, a hillside and the neighboring forest.
The Old Town's main square opens in front of the neo-classical cathedral, with a 57-meter bell tower standing apart from it and the Gediminas monument nearby.
Kids can hunt for the stebuklas (miracle) stone: local legend says step on it, turn around three times, and a wish comes true. Red granite in the paving traces the old Lower Castle fortifications. Winter brings the city's tallest Christmas tree.
Vilnius TV Tower is the tallest structure in Lithuania, at 326.4 meters. The observation deck sits 170 meters up on the 67th floor, with a bistro looking out over the city and an open terrace in the warm season.
At its foot, granite markers and the bronze "Sacrifice" sculpture remember the 14 people killed defending the tower on January 13, 1991, and a small park shows historic broadcast antennas.
Pūčkoriai Exposure is the tallest exposed cliff in Lithuania: 65 meters high and 260 meters wide, above the Vilnia River in Pavilniai Regional Park. A trail with wide stairs, wooden walkways and terraces passes both the top and the bottom, so kids can look up at the cliff and down from it.
Old Polish military trenches and a concrete bunker still sit at the site.
Three white concrete crosses, 12 meters tall, stand on top of the hill in Kalnai Park. A small observation deck at their base looks out over the Old Town, and broken pieces of the earlier monument, pulled down by the Soviet authorities in 1950, lie a few meters below.
Kalnai Park around it has wooded hills, paths and benches, and the Bernardine Garden sits at the foot.
