Kaunas, Lithuania Travel Guide: Best Things to Do & Photography
If you’re already visiting Vilnius, Kaunas is absolutely worth a day trip. It’s only about an hour away by train, but the medieval castle, Old Town, architecture and viewpoints make it feel completely different from the capital.
Kaunas Lithuania: Best Things to Do, Old Town & Photography
Kaunas surprised me.
I went mostly because it was an easy train ride from Vilnius and I wanted to photograph another Lithuanian city. Castles. Churches. Old streets. Maybe a few good reference photographs for future paintings.
My son had other priorities.
He wanted Pull & Bear (an Eastern European clothing store).
So that’s roughly how we explored Lithuania’s second-largest city: I kept pointing cameras at medieval buildings while he looked for European clothing stores.
And somehow it worked.
Kaunas is only about an hour from Vilnius by train, but it doesn’t feel like Vilnius. It’s less polished, less obviously touristy and a little harder to define. Medieval brick sits beside Baroque churches and an enormous collection of modernist architecture. Then there are cafés, pedestrian streets, university students and people going about their lives.
If you’re already visiting Vilnius, Kaunas is absolutely worth a day.
Laisvės Alėja: Start Here
We started on Laisvės Alėja, the long pedestrian boulevard running through central Kaunas.
No cars.
Just trees, cafés, benches, sculptures and, because Lithuania was surprisingly hot in August, public misting arches spraying water across the walkway.
My son immediately ran through them.
I stood nearby with my camera pretending I was documenting innovative European urban cooling infrastructure.
I wanted to run through them too.
At the eastern end of the boulevard stands the enormous St. Michael the Archangel Church, with its pale Neo-Byzantine façade and large central dome. You can’t really miss it.
More importantly for me, I immediately saw a painting.
That’s one of the strange things about traveling as both a photographer and watercolor artist. I’m not necessarily looking for famous landmarks. I’m looking for shapes. Light. Interesting color combinations. Buildings that might turn into paintings six months—or six years—later.
St. Michael made the cut almost immediately.
Kaunas Old Town: This Is Where I Started Having Fun
Walk toward Old Town and Kaunas changes.
The streets get narrower. Cobblestones replace the broad pedestrian boulevard. Cafés push little tables into the streets. Balconies lean overhead.
And church towers keep appearing where you don’t expect them.
This was my favorite part of Kaunas to photograph.
One minute you’re looking down an ordinary street. Then the pale pink towers of St. Francis Xavier Church suddenly rise between the buildings.
That’s the photograph I want.
Not necessarily the perfect postcard view from directly in front of the church. Give me the tower half-hidden behind buildings. Put laundry, café tables, signs and people in front of it. Let the city look like a city.
Kaunas Old Town still feels lived in.
I liked that.
(Church of St. Franis Xavier rising above buildings of city center)
Aleksotas Viewpoint: There Is an Easy Way Up
Across the river is one of the best views over Kaunas.
There are two ways to reach it.
You can take the Aleksotas Funicular Railway and glide comfortably uphill like a sensible human being.
We did not do that. I make fun of the fat Americans who refuse to do a little climb- you should earn the view (and not buy it).
We climbed the stairs.
All of them.
More than 300 steps.
About halfway up I started questioning several decisions I’d made in life. My son was doing fine, of course. He’s 30 years younger, about 50 pounds lighter and wasn’t hauling around 20 pounds of camera equipment.
I consider those important details.
Eventually we reached the top.
Worth it.
From the overlook, Kaunas spreads out below you—red roofs, church towers, bridges and the tall white tower of Town Hall rising above Old Town.
For photography, this was one of my favorite viewpoints in the city.
Would I climb all those stairs again?
Probably.
Would I complain again?
Absolutely.
Kaunas Town Hall: The White Swan
Back in Old Town, it’s hard to miss Kaunas Town Hall.
Locals call it the White Swan, which makes sense the moment you see it. The building is almost ridiculously elegant: white façade, tall Baroque tower, balconies and arches sitting at the center of a broad square.
It dates to the 16th century and today houses the Kaunas City Museum.
But I was mostly interested in photographing it.
Walk around the square rather than stopping at the obvious frontal view. The tower changes dramatically depending on where you stand, and some of the better compositions include surrounding streets and buildings rather than isolating Town Hall by itself.
Sometimes the photograph around the landmark is more interesting than the landmark.
Vytautas the Great Church
A short walk toward the Nemunas River brings you to the Church of Vytautas the Great.
This is a completely different Kaunas.
Red brick. Gothic lines. Tall tower.
After all the pale Baroque architecture around Town Hall, the church feels heavier and older.
It also sits beautifully near the river, making it an easy stop while walking between Old Town and Kaunas Castle.
I spent quite a bit of time photographing churches in Lithuania. Not because I was trying to document every church—I would probably still be there—but because they dominate so many city views.
They’re visual anchors.
And sooner or later, many of them end up in my paintings.
Kaunas Castle: Finally, a Castle
Keep walking along the river and eventually you reach Kaunas Castle.
Now we’re talking.
The red-brick fortress dates to the 14th century and was built by the Grand Duchy of Lithuania during conflicts with the Teutonic Order. It stands near the meeting point of the Nemunas and Neris rivers.
Parts have been reconstructed, but enough survives to give you a sense of the original fortress.
Round defensive tower. Thick walls. Deep red brick.
Exactly what I came for.
You can explore sections of the castle and museum, but even if you don’t go inside, the exterior and surrounding grounds are worth visiting.
It’s also wonderfully photogenic.
Of course it is.
And Then We Ate Shakshuka
After walking all over Kaunas—and climbing those stupid stairs—we needed food.
We found shakshuka.
Eggs. Tomato. Spices. Everything bubbling together in a hot skillet.
It was fantastic.
Possibly my favorite meal in Lithuania.
I later realized shakshuka isn’t Lithuanian at all.
Whatever.
After a full day walking around Kaunas, it tasted Lithuanian enough to me.
Then we caught the train back to Vilnius.
Another sunset.
Not a bad day.
From Kaunas Photographs to Watercolor Paintings
That’s normal.
Some sit on hard drives for years before I see a painting in them. Others are obvious immediately.
I came home from Lithuania with thousands of photographs.
Purchase this original painting and print
Kaunas gave me several of those.
The dome of St. Michael the Archangel became one watercolor. The towers of St. Francis Xavier rising above Old Town became another.
That’s ultimately why I travel with so much camera equipment.
I’m not just collecting photographs of places I’ve visited. I’m building a reference library I’ll probably be painting from for the rest of my life.
Kaunas earned its place in it.
Is Kaunas Worth Visiting?
Yes—especially if you’re already staying in Vilnius.
Kaunas is close enough to visit as an easy day trip, but different enough that it doesn’t feel like you’re simply seeing another version of the same city.
For me, the highlights were Kaunas Old Town, Aleksotas viewpoint, Kaunas Castle, Laisvės Alėja and the city’s churches and architecture.
Photographers will find plenty to work with. Old streets frame church towers beautifully, the Aleksotas overlook gives you the wider cityscape, and Kaunas has enough architectural variety that the scenery keeps changing as you walk.
Would I choose Kaunas over Vilnius if I only had time for one?
No.
But if you’re spending several days in Lithuania, I’d absolutely make room for both.
Explore More Baltic Travel Guides
- Lithuania Travel Guide
- Riga Latvia Travel Guide
- Tallinn Estonia Travel Guide
- Kaunas Lithuania Travel Guide
Plan Your Trip to Kaunas:
Hotel
Situated minutes from the city center
Other Kaunas Hotels:
A nice choice too:
Coffee
Unfortunately, most bakeries and coffee shops in Lithuania don’t open until 7:30 a.m. For photographers chasing summer sunrises, that means being up hours before your first shot of caffeine—an impossible situation. I was convinced I’d die of coffee deprivation before then. My advice: stock up the day before on supermarket iced coffees and drink just enough to survive until the cafés open (a strategy I tested and can confirm works).
My son and I arrived in Kaunas mid-morning so we did not have to deal with this problem. Our stay in Vilnius was another issue though.
Tours
Find things to do in Kaunas- day trips (museums and public transport), and more:
Travel Guides
Here is the recently published Lonely Planet Guide. This is what I used to plan the trip (in conjunction with the all-beloved internet):
Lonely Planet Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania
Another travel guide available for Kaunas (Lithuania):
Insight Guides Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania: Travel Guide with eBook
Flights:
My son and I took the train from Vilnius to Kaunas. Kaunas does have an airport though:
Trains:
Vilnius to Kaunas train and transportation options
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Ryan Fox Painting
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