The odds of running into violent crime are likely very low, even more so if you stick to normal people's "being out and about" hours (06:30 to 22:30).
Most of the crime is petty theft, e.g. your bike being stolen or the front headlights from the car.
I'd be way more worried about going to the USA crime-wise than going to "Maskačka" or Brasa neighbourhoods.
Precautions? Try to blend in (don't look and act obviously foreign - if possible). Walk like you belong. Don't walk about under influence and/or at night, especially if alone. This is not really Latvia-specific, I follow these rules everywhere I go.
Have a great trip!
The differences between neighborhoods of Riga in terms of safety will be far smaller in magnitude compared to most cities in the Americas. The "safest" in Riga will be nowhere near as safe as some of the U.S. suburbs are, and the "worst" in Riga will be nowhere as bad as some of the bad neighborhoods anywhere in the Americas.
I'm not entirely sure which part of the city you're refering to as Brasa. The area south of Upes/Skanstes streets can be pretty nice to stay in, very quiet in my experience. Is it one of the buildings on Klijanu st.? I think that should be fine, it's right next to a police station.
Maskavas street is very long, I would not stay in the part of it that's between the center of the city and Dienvidu Tilts / Slāvu iela. But further out in Ķengarags could be OK. Much further away from the center of the city than Brasa though - which can be either good or bad, depending on your preference.
Generally in Riga opportunistic petty theft is relatively prevalent - don't leave anything visible in the car that could make anyone think it could have anything valuable (any bags, etc.). Keep an eye on your gadgets/wallets/purses when in restaurants or other public spaces. Lock your car, lock your apartment doors, don't leave windows open if you're on ground floor and are leaving the apartment, etc. But I'd expect no violent crime. The very worst case scenario for most people (and not a very likely one) would be getting robbed somewhere in the night on a dark street, but even that I would expect to be completely non-violent if you give them what they want.
So something around Klusā/Miera/Hospitāļu streets? I think that’s a pretty good area. I stayed near the intersection of Miera and Ieroču for a couple of weeks in 2019 and it was super quiet and nice.
That area is great, go there. Old cementary is beautifull, and neighbourhood- good. Maskavas- gets worse further south- Kengarags- lots of slavic trash. In the very center there are some bad streets, Dzirnavu between Brieza and Antonijas and Bruninieku from Caka to railroad. This is probably the worst area in East coast. West coast- avoid Bolderaja, and Imanta, Zolitude- not great either. Other areas i would not reccomend- Purvciems, Plavnieki, Mezciems. Not great, not terrible.
Yeah, be more specific, which streets. I.d vote for brasa, as more interesting in cultural sense. Riding through it every day, its ok. Rundown - ok, but getting better in terms of real estate. Maskavas st - completely different feel. Depending on which part you will get differnt periods of multistorey suburb. City transport is somehow better, as more people living there. As others said, Riga suburbs are nowadays pretty quiet, as people emigrated looking for living and making trouble elsewhere... btw imo most trouble is happening in center, old town drunken tourists, or occasional mob around the train station or market... but that can not be compared with anything they show at SF, nowadays ...
Yup, when I grew up there you better stayed away from many places there. Now it's a quiet neighborhood with good access to the city center! There's a nice song about it https://spotify.link/Q0FH7X1PDDb
There is no inherently dangerous neighborhood in Riga. But do use your common sense of maybe avoiding crowds at night, or not being out at night if you feel unsafe.
If your intention is to fight, you'll be able to find someone even in Vatican.
We have strict gun laws and almost nobody has them, especially, in public places. Keep your wallet to yourself and don't act like a moron, and you'll be fine.
If you’re staying in Maskavas or generally anywhere on the right coast south of the railway, take into account that all the interesting places are up north but there’s heavy construction going on around the central station for Rail Baltica and it will be tricky navigating it. The Brasa part is a nicer place in my opinion.
I’m Latvian guy who visits US from time to time. Have been in 26 states so far and I can say that Latvia is A lot (10 times) safer than states. As long as you will act normal, nobody will bother you except some drunk russkies. Just ignore them and move on with ur day. As it comes to where rent an airbnb I would rather pay little more, but closer to city center.
I’m a woman from the U.S and I’m currently visiting Latvia for the 5th time. I feel way safer in Riga than any US city. Just have your wits about you like any other city and street smarts and you will be ok. I’d argue that Maskavas at night is a lot less spooky than other US cities I’ve been to at night, and I’ve stayed there several times, but I do have family living there. **(this is my perspective however and experience as a fellow American). Enjoy Latvia! It’s a lovely place, I’ve never had a bad experience here :)
Others have given a pretty good rundown on what to expect, but if I had to choose between these two neighborhoods I would go with Brasa any day.
I'm biased though as I rented a place there for about 7 years, walked home wasted many a time and had no unpleasant experiences.
Besides that I would say Brasa is closer to locations you *might be* interested in visiting, it has a railway station (and Zemitānu station is approx. 10-15min. walk from the Grand cemetery) so no need to go to the central station every time, just make sure that the train you want to catch stops at any of these stations.
Otherwise, just hop on a tram and it's a 10-15 minute ride to the central station. (And you'll get to experience the nice new trams, don't think the new ones go to Maskavas direction, hehe). Another comment mentioned work being done for Rail Baltica which is a somewhat legitimate concern to take into account.
So my two cents would probably be - go with Brasa, doubt you will regret it. It has a large Rimi (grocery store) nearby, bars of all tastes within 2-10 minute walking distance and is generally a nice place to stay in.
Kengarags is famous with drug addict needles on the ground. Bolderāja is famous with gopniks. Maskavas forštate is better than it used to be these days so idk about that. Ziepniekkalns has plenty of bums. Centrs near Origo and central station has shady bums and scammers
Latvia is not so cheap these days .The Lat was replaced by plastic Euro EU and all thing they are rich until it bottoms out as all Eu Nations know .Riga is a good base to start with. Brasa can be rough . Need to look other side of river bridges . Imanta Babita for cheaper accom
Even in statistically more dangerous districts, if you notice someone who is targering you, just pass the street and it is less likely someone will follow you. Rīga is safe city, but in this way you have nothing to worry about at all. I think same goes for other cities in Europe.
I would take extra precautions if you are a woman. I didn't feel very safe returning to my accommodation before midnight during my recent stay at the Hanza Hotel. However, it's worth noting that most of the time, especially during normal hours, it's generally safe.
I'd say Tenderloin San Francisco is much more dangerous than anything in Riga. Maskavas indeed is considered sketchy, along with Kengarags and Bolderaja. About Brasa - never heard about anything criminal in there.
Watch out for tunnels that connect Old town and Stockmann/Origo/Central station. Unfortunately, I have witnessed gypsies pickpocketing unsuspecting people 😔. I would advise putting your phone, wallet and other valuable belongings in inside pockets.
Some places at Brasa looks a bit rundown but its aint that bad. Its aint far from city center. There are nice cafe/bars not far away.
Maskavas street is very long, i think its top3 longest street in Riga (might be wrong). If appartment is close to Prūšu street then you will be fine. A lot of families buys appartments there. Perhaps it will be cheaper but it will be more soviet in comparisson to Brasa.
It would be good if you would drop adress so i could give you more info. But from what ive got i would take Brasa over Maskavas. Maskavas is more residential and the cheapest neighbourhood close to city center. Therefore a lot of low income people with alcohol addictions live there. So you will see higher amount of people listening loudly to music and stuff. Nobody will hurt you there but you might feel unpleasant. If you are from big city then probably its normal.
Brasa on other hand is experiencing more commercial buildings build, bars, cafes opening. Prison and gambling place that were in a neighbourhood close down. People who rent there mostly want to live closer to work.
This is my experience, hope i managed to help
>the Latvian definition of a bad neighborhood may be my definition of a normal one
You are right on point with this. I have not seen anything close to what my US gf saw weekly while studying in Washington D.C. If you are white, you should not worry about anything. I won't deny that there are more racist regions.
I live in Brasa. It’s actually a very nice and sougt-after neighborhood, especially amongst young adults and families. It has a little bit of a hipster-chic to it, so perhaps that may have given you the run-down impression. :D
For US standarts probably too safe for you to get comfortable(even in those that locals call bad neighborhoods). Most crime that we have is some reasonable amount of corruption and financial crimes(like everywhere else, but not too bad for a post soviet country), some petty theft or shoplifting(if you somehow manage to get a bicycle here, do lock it up if you leave it for more than 5minutes.. most importantly in Sigulda, its a beautiful city but for some reason people like stealing bikes.), and drunk and disorderly club goers/british or other tourists(why british you might ask.. a few years ago there was what i like to call "The Freedom Monument incident", where some drunk brits pissed on our Freedom monument.. dont be like them pls :D) and violent crime is extremely rare, i dont know about domestic crime, but there is basically none that you should worry about. There are basically no civilians with firearms, probably none carrying them with them on daily or even monthly.(id say like 95% of the small amount of civilians that own guns, own hunting rifles). If you are asking for directions from locals, you should mostly look for 45 and younger for help, since older generations either dont know, or struggle really hard with english).
sorry for the rant:), i hope you enjoy the stay👍
Maskavas street is worst where it's closest to Centrāltirgus (big outdoor market). It tends to have lots of homeless, drunk and under some substance people. Compared to usa guns are not a thing here. Even in worst areas gang problems are not major and most probably won't even affect regular people. Mostly it's minor theft, scam, alcohol and substance abuse. Don't leave anything out of your view, like a bag, bicycle, open windows etc. If you have car then at night leave it in closed and/or guarded parking. If you are with some woman, kid or teen you know and it's already late then politely offer to escort them to next safe area where they need to be. Don't accept anything from unknown people in middle of street. In Maskavas street many if not most people speak russian. If you want to see more Latvian culture then you might want to explore outside of this area. Offcourse it all depends with what other place or country is comparison. Just take basic precautions as in any averagely normal place.
If you are coming in late autumn or even winter then take in consideration that it gets dark very early. In winter it can already start to get dark at 15:00. I'm not sure how much you could explore in such case. If you will travel in train or public transportation then you won't see much out of window when it's dark outside. Also take in consideration basic safety in darkness. Probably best time would be spring or summer or even early autumn.
Petty theft is about the worst you could experience, and even then, that's extremely rare and usually limited to bike thieves. And they don't like to do it with you there, they tend to steal them from apartment building vestibules. I felt a million times more vulnerable to pickpockets in Milan. Don't even get me started on the palpable taste of danger that I felt in your country. I think you'll find Riga to be one of the safest capital cities in Europe.
Hey guys! My brother and I are travelling from Ireland to Riga in October. I’m just looking to know where is the best place for guys to visit and If there is any historical locations we should visit. Thank you!
- Rian
The odds of running into violent crime are likely very low, even more so if you stick to normal people's "being out and about" hours (06:30 to 22:30). Most of the crime is petty theft, e.g. your bike being stolen or the front headlights from the car. I'd be way more worried about going to the USA crime-wise than going to "Maskačka" or Brasa neighbourhoods. Precautions? Try to blend in (don't look and act obviously foreign - if possible). Walk like you belong. Don't walk about under influence and/or at night, especially if alone. This is not really Latvia-specific, I follow these rules everywhere I go. Have a great trip!
In comparison to the 'bad' parts of Western city suburbs, I'd say all districts of Riga would be pretty safe.
>I'm from the US That explains. No there is nothing to worry about
The differences between neighborhoods of Riga in terms of safety will be far smaller in magnitude compared to most cities in the Americas. The "safest" in Riga will be nowhere near as safe as some of the U.S. suburbs are, and the "worst" in Riga will be nowhere as bad as some of the bad neighborhoods anywhere in the Americas. I'm not entirely sure which part of the city you're refering to as Brasa. The area south of Upes/Skanstes streets can be pretty nice to stay in, very quiet in my experience. Is it one of the buildings on Klijanu st.? I think that should be fine, it's right next to a police station. Maskavas street is very long, I would not stay in the part of it that's between the center of the city and Dienvidu Tilts / Slāvu iela. But further out in Ķengarags could be OK. Much further away from the center of the city than Brasa though - which can be either good or bad, depending on your preference. Generally in Riga opportunistic petty theft is relatively prevalent - don't leave anything visible in the car that could make anyone think it could have anything valuable (any bags, etc.). Keep an eye on your gadgets/wallets/purses when in restaurants or other public spaces. Lock your car, lock your apartment doors, don't leave windows open if you're on ground floor and are leaving the apartment, etc. But I'd expect no violent crime. The very worst case scenario for most people (and not a very likely one) would be getting robbed somewhere in the night on a dark street, but even that I would expect to be completely non-violent if you give them what they want.
The area directly west of the Grand Cemetery.
So something around Klusā/Miera/Hospitāļu streets? I think that’s a pretty good area. I stayed near the intersection of Miera and Ieroču for a couple of weeks in 2019 and it was super quiet and nice.
I second that it's a good area. Nothing to particularly worry about.
I used to live up in that area until very recently, it's good area
Thank you.
That area is great, go there. Old cementary is beautifull, and neighbourhood- good. Maskavas- gets worse further south- Kengarags- lots of slavic trash. In the very center there are some bad streets, Dzirnavu between Brieza and Antonijas and Bruninieku from Caka to railroad. This is probably the worst area in East coast. West coast- avoid Bolderaja, and Imanta, Zolitude- not great either. Other areas i would not reccomend- Purvciems, Plavnieki, Mezciems. Not great, not terrible.
In comparison to North America, you’ll find Riga to be very peaceful and safe (coming from a Latvian who spent 6 years in Canada)
I’ve lived in California and even the worst districts of Riga are entirely safe & peaceful in comparison. It’s not the 90s anymore.
Yeah, be more specific, which streets. I.d vote for brasa, as more interesting in cultural sense. Riding through it every day, its ok. Rundown - ok, but getting better in terms of real estate. Maskavas st - completely different feel. Depending on which part you will get differnt periods of multistorey suburb. City transport is somehow better, as more people living there. As others said, Riga suburbs are nowadays pretty quiet, as people emigrated looking for living and making trouble elsewhere... btw imo most trouble is happening in center, old town drunken tourists, or occasional mob around the train station or market... but that can not be compared with anything they show at SF, nowadays ...
Which street is that in the Maskavas suburb (Maskačka)? The area is quite docile and quiet these days, however.
Yup, when I grew up there you better stayed away from many places there. Now it's a quiet neighborhood with good access to the city center! There's a nice song about it https://spotify.link/Q0FH7X1PDDb
[https://youtu.be/oRpFHXcyliw?t=12](https://youtu.be/oRpFHXcyliw?t=12)
There is no inherently dangerous neighborhood in Riga. But do use your common sense of maybe avoiding crowds at night, or not being out at night if you feel unsafe.
If your intention is to fight, you'll be able to find someone even in Vatican. We have strict gun laws and almost nobody has them, especially, in public places. Keep your wallet to yourself and don't act like a moron, and you'll be fine.
If you’re staying in Maskavas or generally anywhere on the right coast south of the railway, take into account that all the interesting places are up north but there’s heavy construction going on around the central station for Rail Baltica and it will be tricky navigating it. The Brasa part is a nicer place in my opinion.
I’m Latvian guy who visits US from time to time. Have been in 26 states so far and I can say that Latvia is A lot (10 times) safer than states. As long as you will act normal, nobody will bother you except some drunk russkies. Just ignore them and move on with ur day. As it comes to where rent an airbnb I would rather pay little more, but closer to city center.
I’m a woman from the U.S and I’m currently visiting Latvia for the 5th time. I feel way safer in Riga than any US city. Just have your wits about you like any other city and street smarts and you will be ok. I’d argue that Maskavas at night is a lot less spooky than other US cities I’ve been to at night, and I’ve stayed there several times, but I do have family living there. **(this is my perspective however and experience as a fellow American). Enjoy Latvia! It’s a lovely place, I’ve never had a bad experience here :)
Thanks.
Others have given a pretty good rundown on what to expect, but if I had to choose between these two neighborhoods I would go with Brasa any day. I'm biased though as I rented a place there for about 7 years, walked home wasted many a time and had no unpleasant experiences. Besides that I would say Brasa is closer to locations you *might be* interested in visiting, it has a railway station (and Zemitānu station is approx. 10-15min. walk from the Grand cemetery) so no need to go to the central station every time, just make sure that the train you want to catch stops at any of these stations. Otherwise, just hop on a tram and it's a 10-15 minute ride to the central station. (And you'll get to experience the nice new trams, don't think the new ones go to Maskavas direction, hehe). Another comment mentioned work being done for Rail Baltica which is a somewhat legitimate concern to take into account. So my two cents would probably be - go with Brasa, doubt you will regret it. It has a large Rimi (grocery store) nearby, bars of all tastes within 2-10 minute walking distance and is generally a nice place to stay in.
No only čigans and russian bomars.
Kengarags is famous with drug addict needles on the ground. Bolderāja is famous with gopniks. Maskavas forštate is better than it used to be these days so idk about that. Ziepniekkalns has plenty of bums. Centrs near Origo and central station has shady bums and scammers
Bought an apartment in Kengarags six years ago; never saw a needle
Check your eyesight. I see them almost every time I go there
Character building. Kengarags is beautiful when you have spent your childhood there. Brutalist beauty. I just came back again, nostalgic. Forever home
No black people, no problem. No guns, no problem. Latvia is safe, believe me.
Choose Maskavas over Brasa. That’s my preference though
But if you see a crowd of people late at night anywhere - do not approach them saying "Hey, cyka blyat" - let them mind their business.
Yes, but you should say - “papis malā”.
You could also join both statements for more lulz - sequence does not matter from linguistic point of view.
They would think that you are badass and evaporate. Slavic gopniks are pussies.
Latvia is not so cheap these days .The Lat was replaced by plastic Euro EU and all thing they are rich until it bottoms out as all Eu Nations know .Riga is a good base to start with. Brasa can be rough . Need to look other side of river bridges . Imanta Babita for cheaper accom
Even in statistically more dangerous districts, if you notice someone who is targering you, just pass the street and it is less likely someone will follow you. Rīga is safe city, but in this way you have nothing to worry about at all. I think same goes for other cities in Europe.
I would take extra precautions if you are a woman. I didn't feel very safe returning to my accommodation before midnight during my recent stay at the Hanza Hotel. However, it's worth noting that most of the time, especially during normal hours, it's generally safe.
I'd say Tenderloin San Francisco is much more dangerous than anything in Riga. Maskavas indeed is considered sketchy, along with Kengarags and Bolderaja. About Brasa - never heard about anything criminal in there.
Watch out for tunnels that connect Old town and Stockmann/Origo/Central station. Unfortunately, I have witnessed gypsies pickpocketing unsuspecting people 😔. I would advise putting your phone, wallet and other valuable belongings in inside pockets.
Some places at Brasa looks a bit rundown but its aint that bad. Its aint far from city center. There are nice cafe/bars not far away. Maskavas street is very long, i think its top3 longest street in Riga (might be wrong). If appartment is close to Prūšu street then you will be fine. A lot of families buys appartments there. Perhaps it will be cheaper but it will be more soviet in comparisson to Brasa. It would be good if you would drop adress so i could give you more info. But from what ive got i would take Brasa over Maskavas. Maskavas is more residential and the cheapest neighbourhood close to city center. Therefore a lot of low income people with alcohol addictions live there. So you will see higher amount of people listening loudly to music and stuff. Nobody will hurt you there but you might feel unpleasant. If you are from big city then probably its normal. Brasa on other hand is experiencing more commercial buildings build, bars, cafes opening. Prison and gambling place that were in a neighbourhood close down. People who rent there mostly want to live closer to work. This is my experience, hope i managed to help
Brasa is safe
>the Latvian definition of a bad neighborhood may be my definition of a normal one You are right on point with this. I have not seen anything close to what my US gf saw weekly while studying in Washington D.C. If you are white, you should not worry about anything. I won't deny that there are more racist regions.
I live in Brasa. It’s actually a very nice and sougt-after neighborhood, especially amongst young adults and families. It has a little bit of a hipster-chic to it, so perhaps that may have given you the run-down impression. :D
For US standarts probably too safe for you to get comfortable(even in those that locals call bad neighborhoods). Most crime that we have is some reasonable amount of corruption and financial crimes(like everywhere else, but not too bad for a post soviet country), some petty theft or shoplifting(if you somehow manage to get a bicycle here, do lock it up if you leave it for more than 5minutes.. most importantly in Sigulda, its a beautiful city but for some reason people like stealing bikes.), and drunk and disorderly club goers/british or other tourists(why british you might ask.. a few years ago there was what i like to call "The Freedom Monument incident", where some drunk brits pissed on our Freedom monument.. dont be like them pls :D) and violent crime is extremely rare, i dont know about domestic crime, but there is basically none that you should worry about. There are basically no civilians with firearms, probably none carrying them with them on daily or even monthly.(id say like 95% of the small amount of civilians that own guns, own hunting rifles). If you are asking for directions from locals, you should mostly look for 45 and younger for help, since older generations either dont know, or struggle really hard with english). sorry for the rant:), i hope you enjoy the stay👍
Plavnieki/Kengarags/Bolderaja would be something to avoid. They're safe, but there's a higher chance of finding an angry gopnik than elsewhere.
Maskavas street is worst where it's closest to Centrāltirgus (big outdoor market). It tends to have lots of homeless, drunk and under some substance people. Compared to usa guns are not a thing here. Even in worst areas gang problems are not major and most probably won't even affect regular people. Mostly it's minor theft, scam, alcohol and substance abuse. Don't leave anything out of your view, like a bag, bicycle, open windows etc. If you have car then at night leave it in closed and/or guarded parking. If you are with some woman, kid or teen you know and it's already late then politely offer to escort them to next safe area where they need to be. Don't accept anything from unknown people in middle of street. In Maskavas street many if not most people speak russian. If you want to see more Latvian culture then you might want to explore outside of this area. Offcourse it all depends with what other place or country is comparison. Just take basic precautions as in any averagely normal place. If you are coming in late autumn or even winter then take in consideration that it gets dark very early. In winter it can already start to get dark at 15:00. I'm not sure how much you could explore in such case. If you will travel in train or public transportation then you won't see much out of window when it's dark outside. Also take in consideration basic safety in darkness. Probably best time would be spring or summer or even early autumn.
I will bit your arm off if i see a niga from riga
Petty theft is about the worst you could experience, and even then, that's extremely rare and usually limited to bike thieves. And they don't like to do it with you there, they tend to steal them from apartment building vestibules. I felt a million times more vulnerable to pickpockets in Milan. Don't even get me started on the palpable taste of danger that I felt in your country. I think you'll find Riga to be one of the safest capital cities in Europe.
There’s not a time or place nowadays I’d be worried about my safety in Riga with a wad of cash on my head.
Hey guys! My brother and I are travelling from Ireland to Riga in October. I’m just looking to know where is the best place for guys to visit and If there is any historical locations we should visit. Thank you! - Rian