Plan a first Vilnius trip with kids around these. They're the places we'd take visiting family first, picked because they hold a kid's attention and not only an adult's. The Old Town is compact enough to walk with kids, and the hills around it give the best views. Here's what we checked, from Gediminas Castle Tower to Vichy Water Park.
The last tower of Vilnius's medieval Upper Castle, on top of Gediminas Hill. Inside, narrow steps climb past castle models, armor, Baltic jewelry and an interactive timeline where kids can picture a Crusader attack. The observation deck looks out over the red roofs and church towers of the Old Town.
Legend says Grand Duke Gediminas dreamed of an iron wolf howling on this hill and founded the city here.
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.
The residence of Lithuania's grand dukes, gone from the mid-1600s and rebuilt this century, is now a national museum. Four routes run through it: surviving castle walls and archaeological finds, furnished Renaissance and Baroque state rooms, weapons and palace kitchen displays, and temporary exhibitions.
The state rooms route climbs an observation tower with views over the city. Outside are a Renaissance garden and bas-reliefs.
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.
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.
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.
The museum fills the city's first public power plant. Downstairs are its original steam boilers, turbines and control panel. The 1,000 m² Transformation Hall puts the two largest Tesla coils in the Baltics inside a Faraday cage, and challenges at each exhibit earn points to swap for souvenirs.
The two top floors hold an interactive science zone with a Jacob's ladder, a Möbius strip and a Bernoulli ball.
Žaislų muziejus tells the story of Lithuanian toys, and kids are invited to pick up and try many of the exhibits. Four permanent exhibitions run from medieval toys rebuilt from archaeological finds, through a hands-on Stone Age room of stone, wood and sand, to toys from a century ago and 20th-century toys and arcade machines.
Most of the 5,000-plus items in the collection were donated by visitors.
The national railway museum fills part of the second floor of Vilnius station, with almost 900 exhibits on how Lithuania's trains run: passenger travel, track maintenance and signaling.
Outside, the Rail Park (Bėgių parkas) spreads 12 exhibits over 7,100 square meters: locomotives, wagons, a water steam pump and a wagon heating boiler. It suits train-mad kids who want to see the real thing up close.
Vingis Park covers 157 hectares of century-old pine forest inside a loop of the Neris River, with about 16 km of walking and cycling paths. Kids get two playgrounds, outdoor music instruments and a disc golf course, plus basketball, volleyball and badminton courts.
A rental stand rents out bikes, roller skates and scooters in spring and summer, and cross-country skis in winter. The Song Festival stage hosts big open-air concerts.
A forest rope park with six harness courses strung between the trees. Yellow and Orange are built for younger kids, while Green, Blue, Red and Gray climb higher for teens and adults. Instructors run the courses, and a parent can go along with a younger child.
Three forest pavilions are rented out for birthday parties, and orienteering games run for groups.
A Polynesian-themed aqua park spread over several floors. There are nine slides, from family boat rides on the Ohana river to the 60 km/h Moreja volcano, plus the Dolphins' sea wave pool with waves up to 1.5 m and the 137 m Canoe river for floating on rings.
Smaller children get the Game island, eight platforms of tunnels and slides where they control the water jets, watched by lifeguards.
Plan a first Vilnius trip with kids around these. They're the places we'd take visiting family first, picked because they hold a kid's attention and not only an adult's. The Old Town is compact enough to walk with kids, and the hills around it give the best views. Here's what we checked, from Gediminas Castle Tower to Vichy Water Park.
The last tower of Vilnius's medieval Upper Castle, on top of Gediminas Hill. Inside, narrow steps climb past castle models, armor, Baltic jewelry and an interactive timeline where kids can picture a Crusader attack. The observation deck looks out over the red roofs and church towers of the Old Town.
Legend says Grand Duke Gediminas dreamed of an iron wolf howling on this hill and founded the city here.
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.
The residence of Lithuania's grand dukes, gone from the mid-1600s and rebuilt this century, is now a national museum. Four routes run through it: surviving castle walls and archaeological finds, furnished Renaissance and Baroque state rooms, weapons and palace kitchen displays, and temporary exhibitions.
The state rooms route climbs an observation tower with views over the city. Outside are a Renaissance garden and bas-reliefs.
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.
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.
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.
The museum fills the city's first public power plant. Downstairs are its original steam boilers, turbines and control panel. The 1,000 m² Transformation Hall puts the two largest Tesla coils in the Baltics inside a Faraday cage, and challenges at each exhibit earn points to swap for souvenirs.
The two top floors hold an interactive science zone with a Jacob's ladder, a Möbius strip and a Bernoulli ball.
Žaislų muziejus tells the story of Lithuanian toys, and kids are invited to pick up and try many of the exhibits. Four permanent exhibitions run from medieval toys rebuilt from archaeological finds, through a hands-on Stone Age room of stone, wood and sand, to toys from a century ago and 20th-century toys and arcade machines.
Most of the 5,000-plus items in the collection were donated by visitors.
The national railway museum fills part of the second floor of Vilnius station, with almost 900 exhibits on how Lithuania's trains run: passenger travel, track maintenance and signaling.
Outside, the Rail Park (Bėgių parkas) spreads 12 exhibits over 7,100 square meters: locomotives, wagons, a water steam pump and a wagon heating boiler. It suits train-mad kids who want to see the real thing up close.
Vingis Park covers 157 hectares of century-old pine forest inside a loop of the Neris River, with about 16 km of walking and cycling paths. Kids get two playgrounds, outdoor music instruments and a disc golf course, plus basketball, volleyball and badminton courts.
A rental stand rents out bikes, roller skates and scooters in spring and summer, and cross-country skis in winter. The Song Festival stage hosts big open-air concerts.
A forest rope park with six harness courses strung between the trees. Yellow and Orange are built for younger kids, while Green, Blue, Red and Gray climb higher for teens and adults. Instructors run the courses, and a parent can go along with a younger child.
Three forest pavilions are rented out for birthday parties, and orienteering games run for groups.
A Polynesian-themed aqua park spread over several floors. There are nine slides, from family boat rides on the Ohana river to the 60 km/h Moreja volcano, plus the Dolphins' sea wave pool with waves up to 1.5 m and the 137 m Canoe river for floating on rings.
Smaller children get the Game island, eight platforms of tunnels and slides where they control the water jets, watched by lifeguards.
