Liepaja is a fascinating town both because of its geography and its history. Many people go there and hire a car to visit the immaculate white sandy beaches that line the coast. Even on hot summer days they’re uncrowded.
Mixing the beach with other activities is the Seaside Park which has beautiful gardens as well as a range of entertainment for young and old backing onto another of the city’s beaches. The city has no old town as such because of wartime bombing but the rebuilding of the city in the old style still gives it great character.
Liepaja Mini Guide
The city of Liepaja is located in the western regions of Latvia. The city sits on the coast of the Baltic Sea and has the nickname of 'the city where the wind is born' due to the prevailing breeze from the coast.
With a population of 85,000 it is quite a small city, yet is still the third largest in the country. With a temperate climate it has warm summers and mild winters. The city is also situated close to Liepaja Lake. The city is divided into two areas, the Old Town and The New Town districts.
The main city centre is the Old Town and, despite the name, it actually is more developed in recent years than the New Town area. The coast around Liepaja is as yet undeveloped by the tourist industry so there are miles of unbroken sandy beaches to be explored. The reason for this lack of development is attributed to the city's very basic infrastructure that needs to be developed in order for the city to become more tourist friendly.
One of the attractions of Liepaja is Jumala Park. The park and indeed the city itself was initially known as a health resort and many travelled to the city to improve their well being. Today the park is known for its music concerts and has attributed the city with the title of being Latvia's music capital.
Another historical landmark to explore is Libava's Fortress which was built by the Russian Empire in the nineteen hundreds. The purpose of the fort was to defend against the German army and the warren of secret passages that are underground the fort have many fantastic stories associated with them.
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