Latvia: Riga

Sitting at the crossroads of the great empires that wrote the pages of Europe’s elaborate history, Rīga was – for centuries – a strategic linchpin in the annexation of important lands, until it was smothered into obscurity when the Iron Curtain fell. Today, with two decades of freedom (and a renewed status as Latvia’s capital) under its belt, the city is reclaiming its rightful title as the cosmopolitan cornerstone of the Baltic. Over the past few years hipster-chic cafes have spread like wildfire throughout the city centre, sweaty pork-and-potato dinners have been swapped for savvy new-Nordic-inspired dishes, and hundreds of crumbling facades are being restored to their brilliant, art nouveau lustre – all in time for Rīga to earn the long-deserved honour of being named the European Capital of Culture.