Train to Trakai

Trakai castle is neither in Vilnius, nor a ‘hidden gem’ as such, but still deserves a post. Just over half an hour’s train journey from Vilnius the main attraction is the brick-and-stone castle – which saw its heyday around 1300, when Lithuania was one of the largest countries in Europe. There isn’t much to say about it that the tourist guides haven’t – the castle is beautiful and interesting to visit, the lakes surrounding it are wonderful in their own right. The town next door is home to exquisite restaurants and tourist-souvenir shopping heaven, but it is just as nice just to stroll along the waterfront and marvel at the charm of the old wooden houses. Some posts on this blog will inevitably fail to be original either in terms of the photography or content, but rather serve as a blogging equivalent of a re-tweet – endorsing something that someone else has already pointed out. This is one of those, so if there’s a day to spare in Vilnius, Trakai would certainly deserve being on the to-do list. And everything there is to say about the place is a quick web-search away.