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Visas: Many nationalities require a visa, and a few require an invitation as well. Citizens of Andorra, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the UK, Australia and the USA can travel visa-free for stays of up to 90 days; citizens of many countries do not require a visa if they already have one for Estonia or Lithuania.
Public holidays: New Year's Day (1 Jan); Good Friday; Easter Day; Labour Day (1 May); Mothers' Day (second Sunday in May); Ligo (Midsummer festival, 23 June); Jani or Janu Diena (St John's Day, 24 June). National Day (anniversary of proclamation of Latvian republic, 1918, 18 Nov); Christmas (Ziemsvetki, 25 Dec); Second Holiday (26 Dec); New Year's Eve (31 Dec).
Good reading: Among the Russians by Colin Thubron recounts a drive through the pre-glasnost Soviet Union, including Riga. It captures the gloomy, resigned mood of the time. The Baltic States: The Years of Independence 1917-40 by Georg von Rauch and The Baltic States: Years of Dependence 1940-80 by Romualdas Misiunas and Rein Taagepera are both weighty historical tomes. Venusburg, by British novelist Anthony Powell, was published in 1932 and tells the amusing tale of an English journalist trying unsuccessfully to make his mark as a foreign correspondent amid exiled Russian aristocrats, Baltic German intellectuals and earnest local patriots. It re-creates the atmosphere of a thinly disguised 1930s Latvia, which is never actually named.
Local dishes: Latvians consume a lot of dairy products, eggs, potatoes, fish and grains; although you will also find plenty of meat in restaurants. Fish may include Siļķe (herring) līdaka (pike), zutis (eel), forele (trout), or lasis (salmon). If fish is cepts, it's fried, if sālīts or mazsālīts, it's salted; and kūpīnats means it'll be smoked. Soups and sausage are also popular. Zāvēta desa is smoked sausage. In summer and autumn, good use is made of berries, freshly picked from the forest. Fruit pies and tarts (Kūka) are abundant at this time of year. You will also find a huge array of freshly baked cakes, breads and pastries. Latvia's leading beer is Aldaris.
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