Vilnius keeps Christmas outdoors, and the Old Town is where it happens. The city tree on Cathedral Square has become a symbol of Christmas across Lithuania, with market stalls, a carousel and a Christmas train gathered around it. Pack hats and gloves: everything here is outside. Here's what we checked, from the tree lighting to open-air skating on Town Hall Square.
Christmas Town is the Christmas market in Cathedral Square, in the heart of Vilnius Old Town. Kids browse the stalls with the city Christmas tree and a carousel on the same square.
It works as a come-and-go outing: drop in after school or after dark, walk the stalls, and head home when the kids get cold. Everything is outdoors, so dress for a Vilnius winter.
The lighting of the Christmas tree in Cathedral Square is how Vilnius opens its winter season, and the tree has become a symbol of Christmas across Lithuania. Kids get to see the lights come on in the middle of the Old Town.
Missed lighting night? The tree stays up through the holidays, so it still makes an easy stroll with kids on any visit to the Old Town.
Vilnius Ice Rink (Vilniaus ledas) is the open-air Christmas skating rink set up in Town Hall Square, in the heart of the Old Town. Kids skate in timed sessions under the open sky.
Best for kids who have skated before, or who are happy holding a grown-up's hand on the ice.
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 keeps Christmas outdoors, and the Old Town is where it happens. The city tree on Cathedral Square has become a symbol of Christmas across Lithuania, with market stalls, a carousel and a Christmas train gathered around it. Pack hats and gloves: everything here is outside. Here's what we checked, from the tree lighting to open-air skating on Town Hall Square.
Christmas Town is the Christmas market in Cathedral Square, in the heart of Vilnius Old Town. Kids browse the stalls with the city Christmas tree and a carousel on the same square.
It works as a come-and-go outing: drop in after school or after dark, walk the stalls, and head home when the kids get cold. Everything is outdoors, so dress for a Vilnius winter.
The lighting of the Christmas tree in Cathedral Square is how Vilnius opens its winter season, and the tree has become a symbol of Christmas across Lithuania. Kids get to see the lights come on in the middle of the Old Town.
Missed lighting night? The tree stays up through the holidays, so it still makes an easy stroll with kids on any visit to the Old Town.
Vilnius Ice Rink (Vilniaus ledas) is the open-air Christmas skating rink set up in Town Hall Square, in the heart of the Old Town. Kids skate in timed sessions under the open sky.
Best for kids who have skated before, or who are happy holding a grown-up's hand on the ice.
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.
