Some Vilnius playgrounds are worth crossing town for. Kids climb a rope pyramid while jets land a fence away, dig into a sand dune in the middle of a city square, or ride a metal slide down a grassy hillside. We picked the ones with something you won't find at the corner swings. Here's what we checked, from the airport plane-spotting playground to the Japanese Garden.
A playground built by the city next to Vilnius Airport's official planespotting site, on the south side of the runway. Kids climb the rope pyramid and ride the slides while passenger and cargo jets take off and land just beyond the fence.
The viewing site next door has a sunken part and a raised deck made for photographers, plus a shelter and benches.
A 0.6-hectare green square built around a small, partly planted sand dune, a nod to the dune landscape of Lithuania Minor. Kids use the dune as one oversized sandbox.
Around it are a small rubber-surfaced play area, a picnic spot with tables and benches, and courts for basketball, tennis and volleyball plus a mini football pitch. A path loops the lawn, planted with young birches and pines.
Pelesos Square is a renovated green slope between Pelesos and Liepkalnio streets, about 600 m from the railway station. It has two playgrounds for different ages, and the one for older kids is set into the hillside around an 11 m metal slide.
Sports areas, a lookout point, a rain garden, benches, a drinking fountain and a public toilet fill out the rest of the square.
A public square built around a gentle artificial stream, laid out on ground where a river flowed during the last ice age. A children's playground shares the square, so kids can move between the play equipment and the water.
A playground and climbing area in the Business Garden office park, on the edge of the Lazdynai forest. The centerpiece is a giant green praying mantis climbing frame. Beside it, BONOBO runs a paid outdoor climbing wall on the parking building, with a 10 m beginner wall and routes up to 22 m.
Between the office buildings, a garden of almost 40,000 plants has paths and leisure spots.
A riverside sports ground beside the White Bridge, the pedestrian bridge over the Neris. It holds a skatepark for skateboards and inline skates, three double-sided basketball courts, nine beach volleyball courts, outdoor workout equipment and children's playgrounds, spread across 8.36 hectares.
Older kids can ride or shoot hoops while younger siblings play nearby. The open field next door hosts concerts and festivals.
Amatų skveras is a public square on Naugarduko street, next to the Vinted headquarters, laid out as a playground and a place to spend free time. It is one of the city's newer playgrounds.
The play area is built for kids of different ages, so younger and older siblings can play at the same time.
Bernardine Garden fills a loop of the Vilnia river at the edge of the Old Town, across from the slopes of Kalnai Park. Kids get two playgrounds, a carousel, a pond and a musical fountain, plus a giant chessboard and a petanque court. There are cafes and a summer library and reading room. The oldest oak in Vilnius stands in the corner by the footbridge to the Art Academy.
Tauras Hill Park covers 8.4 hectares of slopes, paths and lawns on a hill in the city center. Kids get two playgrounds and a sports ground, and there are drinking water stations, plenty of benches and a public toilet.
The park also holds the Vytautas Kernagis open-air stage, named for the Vilnius singer-songwriter.
A former Reformed Church cemetery turned public garden, reopened in 2021 after a rebuild. Red clinker paving across the central lawn marks where the demolished chapels and church once stood.
Kids head for the playground on the west side, then follow the small water channels that run between the flower beds. Maples, lindens and oaks keep much of it shaded, and a vine-covered pavilion has benches.
An 18-hectare park built around Jeruzalė Pond, with woodland along its edges. A boardwalk runs over the water near the shore, so kids can walk out to spots that are normally out of reach.
Around the pond are a fountain, two wooden terraces, three playgrounds, footpaths and 59 benches, so a slow loop with stops works well with small kids.
A Japanese stroll garden around Šnipiškės pond, laid out to a concept by Japanese landscape architect Shiro Nakane. Paths loop past a red arched bridge over a koi pond, a moon bridge, a pontoon bridge, cascades, a raked-gravel dry garden and a sakura alley. Swans live on the water.
Kids get a playground and outdoor musical instruments, and there are drinking fountains, a gazebo and a public toilet.
Lukiškės Square is the city's largest square: about 3.5 hectares of lawns and paths with 58 benches, on the edge of Gediminas Avenue. It has a kids' playground, drinking fountains, a café, public toilets and a summer reading room.
Renovated and reopened in 2017, it is also where Lithuania holds state holidays and commemorations, so some days bring ceremonies and crowds.
Some Vilnius playgrounds are worth crossing town for. Kids climb a rope pyramid while jets land a fence away, dig into a sand dune in the middle of a city square, or ride a metal slide down a grassy hillside. We picked the ones with something you won't find at the corner swings. Here's what we checked, from the airport plane-spotting playground to the Japanese Garden.
A playground built by the city next to Vilnius Airport's official planespotting site, on the south side of the runway. Kids climb the rope pyramid and ride the slides while passenger and cargo jets take off and land just beyond the fence.
The viewing site next door has a sunken part and a raised deck made for photographers, plus a shelter and benches.
A 0.6-hectare green square built around a small, partly planted sand dune, a nod to the dune landscape of Lithuania Minor. Kids use the dune as one oversized sandbox.
Around it are a small rubber-surfaced play area, a picnic spot with tables and benches, and courts for basketball, tennis and volleyball plus a mini football pitch. A path loops the lawn, planted with young birches and pines.
Pelesos Square is a renovated green slope between Pelesos and Liepkalnio streets, about 600 m from the railway station. It has two playgrounds for different ages, and the one for older kids is set into the hillside around an 11 m metal slide.
Sports areas, a lookout point, a rain garden, benches, a drinking fountain and a public toilet fill out the rest of the square.
A public square built around a gentle artificial stream, laid out on ground where a river flowed during the last ice age. A children's playground shares the square, so kids can move between the play equipment and the water.
A playground and climbing area in the Business Garden office park, on the edge of the Lazdynai forest. The centerpiece is a giant green praying mantis climbing frame. Beside it, BONOBO runs a paid outdoor climbing wall on the parking building, with a 10 m beginner wall and routes up to 22 m.
Between the office buildings, a garden of almost 40,000 plants has paths and leisure spots.
A riverside sports ground beside the White Bridge, the pedestrian bridge over the Neris. It holds a skatepark for skateboards and inline skates, three double-sided basketball courts, nine beach volleyball courts, outdoor workout equipment and children's playgrounds, spread across 8.36 hectares.
Older kids can ride or shoot hoops while younger siblings play nearby. The open field next door hosts concerts and festivals.
Amatų skveras is a public square on Naugarduko street, next to the Vinted headquarters, laid out as a playground and a place to spend free time. It is one of the city's newer playgrounds.
The play area is built for kids of different ages, so younger and older siblings can play at the same time.
Bernardine Garden fills a loop of the Vilnia river at the edge of the Old Town, across from the slopes of Kalnai Park. Kids get two playgrounds, a carousel, a pond and a musical fountain, plus a giant chessboard and a petanque court. There are cafes and a summer library and reading room. The oldest oak in Vilnius stands in the corner by the footbridge to the Art Academy.
Tauras Hill Park covers 8.4 hectares of slopes, paths and lawns on a hill in the city center. Kids get two playgrounds and a sports ground, and there are drinking water stations, plenty of benches and a public toilet.
The park also holds the Vytautas Kernagis open-air stage, named for the Vilnius singer-songwriter.
A former Reformed Church cemetery turned public garden, reopened in 2021 after a rebuild. Red clinker paving across the central lawn marks where the demolished chapels and church once stood.
Kids head for the playground on the west side, then follow the small water channels that run between the flower beds. Maples, lindens and oaks keep much of it shaded, and a vine-covered pavilion has benches.
An 18-hectare park built around Jeruzalė Pond, with woodland along its edges. A boardwalk runs over the water near the shore, so kids can walk out to spots that are normally out of reach.
Around the pond are a fountain, two wooden terraces, three playgrounds, footpaths and 59 benches, so a slow loop with stops works well with small kids.
A Japanese stroll garden around Šnipiškės pond, laid out to a concept by Japanese landscape architect Shiro Nakane. Paths loop past a red arched bridge over a koi pond, a moon bridge, a pontoon bridge, cascades, a raked-gravel dry garden and a sakura alley. Swans live on the water.
Kids get a playground and outdoor musical instruments, and there are drinking fountains, a gazebo and a public toilet.
Lukiškės Square is the city's largest square: about 3.5 hectares of lawns and paths with 58 benches, on the edge of Gediminas Avenue. It has a kids' playground, drinking fountains, a café, public toilets and a summer reading room.
Renovated and reopened in 2017, it is also where Lithuania holds state holidays and commemorations, so some days bring ceremonies and crowds.
