Riga in brief
Riga’s port is the whole Daugava. Almost none of it concerns you.
The Freeport of Riga Authority owns and regulates a working river port. The passenger quays and terminal are run separately, by Riga Passenger Port, at 3a Eksporta Str., not by the authority itself.
Cruise ships go to MK-3 and MK-4. Those are the only berths on this page that matter.
The operator’s own berth table gives them a combined length of 462 m at a depth of 9.5 m.
That is enough for the largest ship recorded here — Celebrity Silhouette, 319 m, with over 2,700 passengers aboard.
JPS-2 is the overflow, and it is worth naming precisely, because in most ports the overflow is a cargo quay.
The operator calls it “primarily designed for ferries, however, it is also suitable for cruise ships” — 6.9 m maximum draught, with an adjustable hydraulic ramp.
It sits in the same Eksporta iela complex. A second berth, not a second port.
JPS-1 appears in the same table at 7.6 m maximum draught, with no cruise designation stated either way.
Nothing in the port’s own material describes tendering, or a move to a cargo terminal, at any berth.
That is a negative result from the operator’s berth information and the authority’s passenger page — not a promise from either. It is as close to one as Riga publishes.
The walk is the part where we have to be straight with you.
The Freeport of Riga Authority says the passenger port “is located in the center of Riga, a short walk from Riga’s Old Town with its main tourist attractions”.
Then it links to Google Maps. It publishes no distance and no walking time — not in metres, not in minutes.
Cruise Europe’s port listing gives a city-centre distance of 0.5 km.
That is a port association’s figure, not the authority’s, and we label it that way every time it appears on this site.
The honest version is short, flat and along a river embankment, with the Old Town spires ahead of you.
Nobody official has put a number on it. We’re not going to invent one either.
What is at the quay is thin, and one gap is worth planning around.
There is a terminal building, paid EuroPark parking, free bus parking nearby and taxis — which the port says need to be booked in advance, not picked up at the quay.
There is no ATM in the passenger terminal. The Freeport of Riga Authority states that itself.
No port-run cruise shuttle is published by the authority or by the terminal operator. With the berth where it is, that reads as an absence of need, not an omission.
The building you walk through is on borrowed time, and that part is published.
Latvian public broadcaster LSM reports the current Soviet-era terminal as “unsuitable for large liners”.
A replacement is planned near the Eksporta and Umeo street junction, about two kilometres from the current ferry terminal, with construction to start by 2028 at the latest and first passengers in 2030.
That is a published timetable, not a change to your call. Berthing arrangements move later this decade; they have not moved yet.
Which tour earns its price here, and which is a coach you were already standing next to, is the job of our Riga shore excursion guide.
On foot from the ship
Cruise Europe’s port listing, and the only numeric figure anyone publishes for this walk. The Freeport of Riga Authority itself says only “a short walk from Riga’s Old Town” and links to a map — so read the half-kilometre as a port association’s figure, not the authority’s.
The designated cruise berths on the terminal operator’s own berth table — 462 m of quay combined, 9.5 m of water. Enough for Celebrity Silhouette at 319 m and over 2,700 passengers, the largest ship recorded here.
The operator calls it “primarily designed for ferries, however, it is also suitable for cruise ships” — 6.9 m maximum draught, adjustable hydraulic ramp. Same Eksporta iela complex, same walk. A busy-day berth, not a relocation.
Town Hall Square, Dome Square, the Three Brothers, the Swedish Gate, the Powder Tower and the Freedom Monument, all inside the medieval core. The buildings are separately ticketed; the walk between them isn’t.
The reason to cross the Baltic for Riga, and it is a public street. The museum at Alberta iela 12 is the optional part — 9.00 EUR from 1 May to 30 September, 5.00 EUR from 1 October to 30 April.
Three of the five pavilions are closed — Dairy and Vegetable for renovations, Meat for technical reasons, on the market’s own working-hours page. Gastronomy, Fish and the outdoor market are trading, and there is no admission charge.
What's nearby, broadly
Everything on that list is on foot from the gangway, which is why Riga is a cheap port day, not an expensive one. The paid sights are cheap too — 5 EUR at the cathedral, 10 EUR at the House of the Blackheads, 12.00 EUR for everything at the Art Museum RIGA BOURSE.
Commonly reached from
Riga is a summer call and a growing one. The Freeport of Riga Authority reports 85 cruise ships and 115,500 passengers in 2025 — the highest annual cruise passenger volume in the city’s history — with 100 ships from 23 operators already confirmed for 2026, including 13 overnight stays and 6 first-time callers. What it does not publish is a first or last call date, so the edges of the season are a question for your line, not for us. Itineraries that carry Riga often carry Gdansk or Gdynia as well — different country, different currency, and that catches people out. The ranked tour decision for this call lives in our Riga shore excursion guide.
Planning your Riga day
The specific picks — which paid excursion is actually worth it, what to skip, and why — already have their own dedicated guide, built and kept current on its own schedule. This page stays at the port-identity level on purpose; that one goes deep.
Booking a tour yourself? Our comparison of Shore Excursions Group and Viator covers which of the two suits which kind of port day — and when the ship’s own tour is still the better buy.
Best Riga shore excursions
Riga's berth is in the city centre, so a coach buys you almost nothing — here's what a tour is actually worth, and what the museums cost.
See the full excursion guide →Practical notes
Latvia is in the euro. The port next door on the same itinerary is not.
Every price on this page is in euro. It’s read on 22 September 2026.
If the same cruise calls at Gdansk or Gdynia, that country runs on Polish zloty. One country’s cash does not spend in the other.
Cards work nearly everywhere in practice — every museum cited here and Rigas satiksme’s app ticketing sell by card. No official source states it categorically, so treat that as a strong expectation, not a verified fact.
The one confirmed money catch is at the quay itself.
The Freeport of Riga Authority says there is no ATM in the passenger terminal. Draw cash in town, not at the gangway.
Public transport is 1.50 EUR. You probably will not need it.
Rigas satiksme’s standard fare is a 90-minute time ticket at 1.50 EUR. It’s valid on any tram, trolleybus or bus it operates. Two cost 3.00 EUR and ten cost 15.00 EUR.
Tickets also sell as code tickets through the Rigas satiksme app, or via Mobilly and Timey.
Rigas satiksme lists 24-hour, 3-day and 5-day tickets as well. Its price page for those did not load when we checked, so no figure for them appears here — a day ticket you cannot price is not a saving you can plan.
Taxis serve the terminal. The port says they need to be booked in advance. Neither the authority nor the operator publishes a fare.
Riga Central Market is the correction on this page. It matters more than anything else on it.
Every guide still sells this as five Zeppelin hangars full of food. Right now it is not.
The market’s own working-hours page lists the Dairy and Vegetable pavilions as closed for renovations and the Meat pavilion as closed for technical reasons, alongside a news item headed “Meat Pavilion Closed from 11 June”.
What is trading is the Gastronomy pavilion, the Fish pavilion and the outdoor market.
Gastronomy and Fish open Monday to Saturday 07:30–18:00 and Sunday 07:30–17:00. The outdoor market runs 07:00–18:00 daily.
On the first Monday of each month the pavilions close at 15:00 for a sanitary day, while outdoor trading carries on as normal.
No reopening date is published for any of the three closed pavilions — not on the working-hours page, not in the news list.
Go for the fish, the gastronomy hall and the outdoor stalls. Treat the other three as a bonus if they are back.
There is no admission charge. Parking at the market is 2.00 EUR for the first hour between 08:00 and 17:00, with the first 10 minutes free.
The Art Nouveau Museum nearly doubles in price in season. That’s a real planning fact.
From 1 May to 30 September the whole exposition is 9.00 EUR, or 5.00 EUR for pupils, students and pensioners.
From 1 October to 30 April the same ticket is 5.00 EUR, or 3.00 EUR reduced.
Interior-only tickets are 6.00 EUR in summer and 3.50 EUR in winter, the “virtual exposition” 4.00 EUR and 2.50 EUR, and a photo pass is 2.00 EUR in either season.
A shoulder-season call is materially cheaper here, not marginally. It is the same 1903 apartment at Alberta iela 12 in both.
Its opening days are genuinely disputed, though. The museum’s own listing shows all seven days 10:00–18:00 with tickets sold to 17:45; the official LiveRiga tourism page says Tuesday to Sunday, closed Monday.
Assume Monday may be closed and check before you build a morning on it.
What the other admissions cost, so you can price the day before you sail.
Riga Cathedral, founded in 1211, is 5 EUR adult and 3 EUR for children 11 to 18, free under 10. Monday to Saturday 10:00–17:00, Sunday 14:00–17:00.
The House of the Blackheads on Town Hall Square is 10 EUR adult, 6 EUR for pupils, students and seniors, free for pre-schoolers, with an audio guide at 4 EUR. Open every day 10:00–17:00, with some dated variations in September and October.
The Art Museum RIGA BOURSE on Dome Square is 12.00 EUR for the combined ticket, 8.00 EUR for the Great Exhibition Hall alone and 7.00 EUR for the permanent exhibitions.
A full museum day in Riga costs less than a single ship excursion in most Baltic ports. That is the whole argument for this call.
Language, and the one place it costs you money.
Latvian is the state language. Russian is widely spoken, and English is standard across the museums and the tourist trade.
An English-language guided tour costs more than a Latvian one at every museum we checked — 30.00 EUR against 20.00 EUR at the Art Nouveau Museum, 55 EUR against 45 EUR at the House of the Blackheads, 40.00 EUR against 30.00 EUR at the Art Museum RIGA BOURSE.
Ask which language the price covers before you book it.
Two things this page will not tell you, because nobody published them.
No official source we used gives a Latvian tipping norm or a seasonal weather profile. We make no claim about either — deliberately.
No source gives the walk from the quay in minutes, either. Work on “short and flat”, and build your margin off your own all-aboard instead.
Sources: the Freeport of Riga Authority’s own passenger page (rop.lv), Riga Passenger Port’s berth information (rpo.lv), Cruise Europe’s Riga port listing (cruiseeurope.com), Latvian public broadcaster LSM (eng.lsm.lv, 4 July 2025), the Riga Art Nouveau Museum’s own ticket prices (jugendstils.riga.lv), LiveRiga (liveriga.com), Riga Central Market’s own working-hours, visitor and news pages (centraltirgus.lv), the House of the Blackheads (melngalvjunams.lv), Riga Cathedral (doms.lv), the Latvian National Museum of Art (lnmm.gov.lv) and Rigas satiksme’s own ticket pages (rigassatiksme.lv) — all read 22 September 2026. The authority’s dedicated cruise page returned HTTP 403 on every attempt, so berth designations here come from the terminal operator rather than from the authority, and the 0.5 km city-centre distance is Cruise Europe’s rather than either party’s — all consulted September 22, 2026.
Planning a Riga port day?
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Riga FAQ
Can I walk from Riga’s cruise berth into the Old Town?
Yes, and it is one of the genuinely easy ones.
The Freeport of Riga Authority says the passenger port, “where most cruise vessels are usually berthed, is located in the center of Riga, a short walk from Riga’s Old Town with its main tourist attractions”.
The terminal address is Eksporta iela 3A, on the Daugava embankment — you step off onto the quay with the Old Town spires upriver in front of you.
There is no shuttle published by the port or the terminal operator. On that berth, there’s no obvious need for one.
How long is the walk, in minutes?
Nobody official says. We’re not going to be the first.
The Freeport of Riga Authority publishes no walking time and no distance — it writes “a short walk” and links to Google Maps.
Riga Passenger Port does not publish one either.
The only numeric figure we could source is Cruise Europe’s port listing, which gives a city-centre distance of 0.5 km. That is a port association’s number, not the authority’s, and turning it into minutes would manufacture a precision nobody actually has.
Does Riga ever tender, or move ships to a cargo berth?
Nothing in the port operator’s own material suggests either.
Riga Passenger Port’s berth table designates MK-3 and MK-4 for cruise ships, at a combined 462 m and 9.5 m depth.
It describes JPS-2, maximum draught 6.9 m, as “primarily designed for ferries, however, it is also suitable for cruise ships” — so the overflow is another passenger berth in the same Eksporta iela complex, not a relocation out of the centre.
The largest ship to have called is Celebrity Silhouette at 319 m with over 2,700 passengers.
What is true is that the terminal building is Soviet-era and, per LSM, “unsuitable for large liners” — which is why a replacement is planned for 2030.
Is Riga Central Market open, and is it worth the walk?
Partly open, and still worth it — but not for the reason every other page gives you.
The market calls itself “not only the largest shopping place in Latvia, but also the largest market in Europe”, and its pavilions are converted German Zeppelin hangars.
On its own current working-hours page, the Dairy and Vegetable pavilions are closed for renovations and the Meat pavilion is closed for technical reasons — with a news item headed “Meat Pavilion Closed from 11 June”.
What is trading is the Gastronomy pavilion, the Fish pavilion and the outdoor market.
Gastronomy and Fish run Monday to Saturday 07:30–18:00 and Sunday 07:30–17:00; the outdoor market runs 07:00–18:00 daily; and on the first Monday of each month the pavilions shut at 15:00 for a sanitary day.
Address Negu iela 7 — no admission charge, and no reopening date published for any of the three closed pavilions.
What does the Art Nouveau Museum cost?
It depends on the month. The gap is large enough to plan around.
From 1 May to 30 September the whole exposition is 9.00 EUR, or 5.00 EUR for pupils, students and pensioners.
From 1 October to 30 April the same ticket is 5.00 EUR, or 3.00 EUR reduced.
Interior-only and “virtual exposition” tickets are cheaper again, a photo pass is 2.00 EUR in both seasons, and a 40-minute guided tour is 20.00 EUR in Latvian or 30.00 EUR in a foreign language. Children under 7 go free.
The museum is at Alberta iela 12, in a 1903 building by Konstantins Peksens. Its own listing shows all seven days 10:00–18:00 with tickets to 17:45, while the official LiveRiga page says Tuesday to Sunday with Monday closed — so assume Monday may be shut and check.
Is there an ATM at the Riga cruise terminal?
No, and the port says so itself — the Freeport of Riga Authority states there is no ATM in the passenger terminal.
Latvia is in the euro. Cards are accepted nearly everywhere in the museums, restaurants and on Rigas satiksme’s app ticketing.
No official source states that categorically, so carry a little cash, not just a card.
Draw it in town. That matters most if your last call was Polish — zloty do not spend here.
What does public transport cost in Riga?
Rigas satiksme’s standard fare is a 90-minute time ticket at 1.50 EUR. It’s valid on any tram, trolleybus or bus it operates.
Two cost 3.00 EUR and ten cost 15.00 EUR. Tickets can also be bought as code tickets through the Rigas satiksme app, or via Mobilly and Timey.
Rigas satiksme lists 24-hour, 3-day and 5-day tickets as well, but the price page for those did not load — so no figure for them appears on this page.
From the cruise berth you will most likely not need transport at all.
What do the Old Town sights cost?
Less than you would expect — which is the real argument for spending your money on admissions here, not transfers.
Riga Cathedral, founded 1211, is 5 EUR adult and 3 EUR for children 11 to 18, free under 10. Monday to Saturday 10:00–17:00, Sunday 14:00–17:00.
The House of the Blackheads on Town Hall Square is 10 EUR adult and 6 EUR for pupils, students and seniors, open daily 10:00–17:00, with an audio guide at 4 EUR.
The Art Museum RIGA BOURSE opposite the cathedral is 12.00 EUR combined, 8.00 EUR for the Great Exhibition Hall alone or 7.00 EUR for the permanent exhibitions.
We could not read St Peter’s Church tower’s hours or admission — its own site returned “no start page defined” at every path we tried — so no figure for it is printed here.
How many cruise ships call at Riga?
The Freeport of Riga Authority reports 85 cruise ships and 115,500 passengers in 2025 — the highest annual cruise passenger volume in the city’s history.
For 2026 it has 100 ships from 23 operators confirmed, including 13 overnight stays and 6 vessels calling for the first time, and expects calls to exceed 100 a year in coming seasons.
Separately, Riga Passenger Port puts total non-cargo traffic at about 1 million guests a year across cruise ships, ferries, yachts and fleet vessels.
First and last call dates for the cruise season are not published on the pages we could reach.
What currency does Latvia use?
The euro — every price on this page is in euro, from the 5 EUR cathedral ticket to the 1.50 EUR transit fare, all read on 22 September 2026.
Card acceptance in Riga is near-universal in practice, though no official source states it categorically.
One confirmed practicality: the Freeport of Riga Authority says there is no ATM in the passenger terminal.
If the same itinerary calls in Poland, that country is on zloty. Do not assume one country’s cash works in the other.
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