Am I in Italy or Lithuania?

January 21, 2024 Amie Leavitt

Out of all the places I have visited, Lithuania has been one of the biggest surprises.

At least the capital city of Vilnius was.

Why?

Well, I honestly never expected the architecture in this northeastern European city (that was formerly part of the Soviet Union) to look, so. . . Italian!

Lithuanian architecture

It was truly shocking to say the least. I mean, let's get real, Italy and Lithuania are absolutely nowhere near each other!

lithuania and italy

At first, I just thought it was an isolated building. But then, it was building after building after building!

lithuanian architecture

I conducted a Google search to see if I was just crazy, and nope, I was right. Here's what I found out: not only does the architecture have an Italian style, but many other aspects of Lithuanian culture do as well!

I found this article that explains it all in detail. It even specifies that Vilnius is the "most Italian city outside of Italy!" Definitely give this a read because it's very interesting! Click here!

Visiting for the Christmas Season

My main purpose for visiting Vilnius on my first visit was to see the city's Christmas market and famous Christmas tree. Every year, the tree is decorated in different colors of lights, and I was curious what 2023 had in store for me!

Bus to Vilnius

I took the bus from Riga (check out my article about that here) and only had a few hours to see the city before my flight out to Norway.

Vilnius flight to Norway

I move through places quickly on my first visit. Generally, that's because I like to get a general overview and then those places that I really love, I'll come back and spend more time. I personally feel like there's nothing worse than being in a city for 3 or 4 days and you would have been totally fine just spending 3 or 4 hours there!

Once I arrived at the Vilnius Bus Terminal, I went on foot to the Christmas market. Google said that it wasn't too far, and I didn't mind seeing the city along the way. Normally, that would have been a great decision. And it was partly. But also partly not. I loved seeing the city, but the sidewalks were in pretty poor shape (they don't shovel walks here in general), and so I found it dicey at best in many places since the tromped down snow was starting to freeze. Thankfully I didn't break anything on my way to the Christmas market and famous tree.

Along the way, I encountered the beautiful Italian architecture of Vilnius. I also ran across some fun streets with elaborate Christmas decorations that reminded me of Strasbourg, France. One building in particular was decked out from roof to floor in all kinds of holiday accoutrement, just as elaborately as the buildings are decorated in Alsace.

Festive house in Vilnius

After a lot of careful walking (and constantly scraping my shoes on every rough service I could find to keep my tread free), I finally made it to the Christmas market.

The tree in 2023 was decorated in a brilliant gold, as were the giant gift decorations setup below it. The market was super crowded for a Sunday evening, selling all kinds of traditional foods and local handicrafts.

Vilnius famous tree

This was when I was absolutely positive that there had to be an Italian influence in this city. I mean, come on, this looks very similar to the Leaning Tower of Pisa, except for it's standing up straight. Am I right, or am I right?

Vilnius Tower

The tower was closed when I arrived, but I was able to walk up those steps (carefully since they were covered in snow) and take pictures from the perch at the bottom of the tower.

Ubering it to the Airport

After listening to a Santa serenade Christmas music on a trumpet, I decided that I was 100-percent going to call an Uber to get to the airport instead of trying to figure out the bus. I was done walking on these treacherous roads.

vilnius santa

The Uber picked me up right in the parking lot by the Christmas market and guess what the total damage was? A whopping $7! I totally laughed when I saw this price because I knew right then that the fare from the bus terminal to the center of town must have been a mere pittance.

Vilnius uber

I arrived to the airport to find it basically empty. Security was therefore a breeze and I had plenty of time to go to the lounge with my Priority Pass membership. It was so lovely to sit in a cozy lounge with cushy sofa-style seating and relax with yummy food and drink before my late-night flight. What a lovely way to end my quick stop in Vilnius.

vilnius airport lounge

Overall Thoughts?

So would I go to Vilnius again? Absolutely! I really enjoyed it here and even though I had just a few hours, I was able to see some of the highlights and get an idea of what to expect on the next trip.

I loved finding out the Italian connection and being able to figure that out for myself by just observing the world around me. It's always a great feeling to have your initial thoughts and impressions be confirmed by actual facts!

If you have the chance to visit Vilnius, I definitely think you should!