Miles of Aisles at the Riga Centraltirgus

It’s no big secret that I am a fan of markets.  And while I’ve written about some of my favorite Baltic markets in Tallinn and Vilnius, I have yet to write about my great Baltic market love – the Riga Centraltirgus.

We only had one full day in Riga, and during that day Riga and I had quite a tumultuous relationship.  I came to Riga having read that some found it to be overrated, not as charming as Tallinn, or even unattractive.  These things wouldn’t bother me (I love me some unattractive architecture and urban decay), but what did bother me was the torrential downpours and thunderstorms that lasted through most of the day.  Torrential downpours that tainted our walk through the Old Town and Art Nouveau districts.  What the rain didn’t ruin, however, was my time in Riga Centraltirgus.

I feel as though I could wax poetic on and on for hours and hours about the expansive market.  Laid out in an incredibly organized manner, across four old airplane hangars, it’s sheer size was intimidating.  Each hangar specialized in different types of products – bread and pastries in one, dairy in another, meats and seafood, pickles, gifts – the opportunities for consumption were incredible.

The people working there, too, were all too obliging to allow me to point and sample.  We purchased too much from these people, mostly older women – their smiles and passion for their locally produced or grown was contagious.  A kilo of Lativan cheese?  Sure, we can eat that.  A couple loaves of brown bread? Two pints of chanterelle mushrooms? Berries? Bee pollen? Fresh fried donuts? Knit socks?  We took it all, in brand new reusable bags purchased from the market as well.

What was also fascinating was the array of “foreign” foods.  Central Asian, Russian, and Georgian food stalls lined the outer edges of the hangars.  Thinking about the nature of ethnic or foreign foods in a place – it all made sense.  Labor was imported and spread throughout the USSR under Communism, leaving pockets of ethnic minorities in strange lands, and we were able to profit from it – eating Uzbek somsa and Armenian lavash in a nation known for pickles and herring.

It was so hard for us to believe, then, filled with admiration for this market and its city by proxy, that Latvians are leaving Riga in droves for greener pasture.  We met Aleksander, a local chef running a cafe in the Riga Centraltirgus, who had run restaurants all over Europe, from Barcelona to Moscow.  He returned to Lativa due to a patriotic need – something that isn’t shared by many of his countrymen, apparently.

“They can make more money working in kitchens in the Nordic countries. Norway, Denmark.  It’s sad to see so many people going. In coming generations there will be no one to run the market.”

It was a sad story, but made David and I very glad to be able to experience the place before its perhaps eventual decline.  It’s hard to imagine a people as prideful as the Latvians letting their showcase market lose steam and appeal – unless, of course, larger scale, big business food retailers (dare I say folks like Walmart) come in to aggregate retail services under a multinational corporate banner.  I shudder to think.

The long and short of it is, when you go to Riga, make your first stop the Centraltirgus.  Spend as many hours as you need wandering the aisles there, shopping, talking, eating, and laughing.  If you have time, hit the other parts of town on the more traditional tourist path – but only once you’re full of kvass, cheese, berries, and whatever else you happen to purchase. 

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Riga Centraltirgus is easily reachable on foot from the Old Town or Art Nouveau district.  If you’re staying, as we did, south of the Daugava in Agenskalns, you can take tram 2, 4, or 5 from in front of the National Library, or tram 2 from up the road a block or so (toward the river) from Agenskalns tirgus.

Find more information on the market here.