Shopping in the Baltics

Every tourist would never miss one section of the travel itinerary – Shopping. Every body would want to explore local shops and museums to purchase memoirs and souvenirs to display at their homes or gifts to loved ones or simply memorabilia to remember their delightful tour by. Hence, at every tourist attraction, one can see an array of shops selling local wares, handicrafts and baubles to entice the visitors.

For shopping during a winter vacation in Latvia, one must never miss the Latvia Christmas Market. Come November, till Christmas, the Riga’s old town festive cheer is hard to miss. Complete with a Christmas tree, the market provides the tourists everything from folk crafts and decorations to traditional food of the area. Riga is believed to be the place where the first Christmas tree was originated, so it is considered a factually edifying location to shop at, for the Christmas.

img credit: xerethra

The Latvia Christmas market includes a group of wooden huts that cater to the tourists from 10 am to 8 pm. There are various stalls that sell crafts and other merchandise are operable from November until Christmas night. Besides these, lots of entertainment like jugglers, men dressed as elves and Santa Clauses and other street entertainers are also delight the visitors.

The prices of the goods sold here are very low, much to the joy of the shoppers. They can choose from a collection of silks, sheepskin, leather and wax apparels and products. Paintings and crafts made of wicker and birch are also sold here. Baskets, gloves and other archaic goods that remind one of the good old days enchant everyone. The old-world craftsmanship charms the shoppers in the form of ornate hand woven linen products.

img credit: sashapo

Shopping is an exhaustive process and those who shop need to be frequently re-fueled to keep up their energy levels. This concern is well taken care of by the eateries and food tents in the Christmas market. Many stalls sell food products like snacks, wine and cocktails. Salamis, other meats and cheeses are most popular amongst the tourists. Smoked eel is a local favorite as is the pig barbecue roast where a whole pig is cooked.

The Tallinn Christmas market is also popular and it is visited by thousands of people every year. Located in the historic Town Hall Square, the market looks antique, adding to the charm of the festival. Crafts and food that capture the hearts of the tourists are found here.

photocredits: stephanemartin