The three Baltic capitals sit close enough together that a week by bus and on foot can carry you through medieval old towns, Art Nouveau facades and bohemian riverside quarters without ever touching a rental car.
Start in Tallinn, where the medieval Old Town is compact enough to walk end to end in twenty minutes but rewards a slower pace — climb to Kohtuotsa viewing platform in the late afternoon when the spires catch the light. Spend an extra day in Kalamaja, the old wooden-house district turned café quarter just beyond the walls, before boarding one of the frequent long-distance buses south.
Riga is the largest and, block for block, the most architecturally rich of the three — its Art Nouveau district holds more decorated facades than almost anywhere else in Europe, and a self-guided walk up Alberta iela will fill a morning easily. Don't skip the Central Market, set inside a row of repurposed Zeppelin hangars, for the best lunch of the trip: smoked fish and fresh rye bread from stalls that have barely changed in decades.
Vilnius closes the loop with a baroque Old Town that feels warmer and less polished than its neighbours, plus the self-declared 'republic' of Užupis just across the river, worth an afternoon for its street art and defiantly bohemian cafés. Book the bus legs a few days ahead in summer — Lux Express and Ecolines both run comfortable, wifi-equipped coaches every hour or two, and the three-and-a-half-hour hops between capitals are half the fun of the trip.
