Best Hostels with City Tours in Riga
2 top-rated hostels with city tours in Riga Handpicked for travelers who want the best.
Two Riga hostels run actual city tours from their lobbies: Cinnamon Sally's free 11am walking tour led by their own staff, and Hedgehogs' tour desk that books the Jurmala beach train day, the KGB Museum tour and the Riga Old Town pub crawl. Neither outsources to third-party tour operators, which is why the tours stay cheap and the staff can give real route tips.
Riga is a UNESCO World Heritage old town with more than a third of its buildings in Art Nouveau style โ the highest concentration in Europe โ which means a guided walking tour genuinely adds value here. The free walking tour circuit covers the House of the Blackheads, Dome Cathedral, the Three Brothers medieval houses, and Alberta iela's Eisenstein Art Nouveau masterpieces in two hours. The KGB Museum (The Corner House) on Brฤซvฤซbas iela is heavy but essential for understanding Latvian 20th-century history, and the Jurmala train out to the coast is a 25-minute, โฌ2.50 day trip that anchors a lot of Baltic itineraries.
๐ถWhy Riga is Perfect for City Tours
Cinnamon Sally runs the only staff-led free walking tour in the Riga hostel scene. It leaves from the lobby at 11am every day, takes 2 hours, covers Old Town and a slice of Alberta iela's Art Nouveau district, and the tip at the end is optional but generally โฌ5-10. The staff doing it are fluent in English and have the city notes โ they'll add Central Market, Folkklubs Ala, and which tram goes where to the briefing.
Hedgehogs' tour desk at reception handles the paid tours: the Sigulda Olympic bobsled day (โฌ95, partnership with Naughty Squirrel, Friday and Saturday slots book out fast), the KGB Museum guided tour (โฌ10, 90 minutes at the Corner House on Brฤซvฤซbas iela), and the Jurmala beach day (โฌ2.50 self-organized train tickets, staff hand out a beach map). The desk is open 24 hours thanks to the 24-hour reception.
The two hostels stack perfectly because they share a building โ Cinnamon Sally on the ground floor, Hedgehogs on the second floor. Do the free walking tour at 11am from Cinnamon Sally, lunch at the Hedgehogs ground-floor Latvian restaurant, afternoon KGB Museum tour booked from Hedgehogs. One Merฤทeฤผa iela 1 day covers the essentials.
Traveler's take
โTours through hostels beat tours through third-party agencies in Riga because the staff actually know the city and they're not upselling. Cinnamon Sally's 11am walking tour is led by the same staff who check you in โ they live here, they drink at Piens on Miera iela, they'll tell you which Central Market stall has the best smoked sprats. Hedgehogs' tour desk books the structured day trips you can't self-organize easily: the Sigulda bobsled (via Naughty Squirrel, โฌ95), the KGB tour (โฌ10 with a guide who speaks English), and the Jurmala beach train (โฌ2.50 self-organized but staff will pack you a map).โ
Our Top 2 Picks
Hostels in Riga with city tours, sorted by guest rating.
Cinnamon Sally Backpackers Hostel
Centrs (opposite Central Station)
Wonderful
2,315 reviews
Cinnamon Sally sits at Merฤทeฤผa iela 1, directly opposite Riga Central Station and a five-minute walk to the Old Town. Famous in Baltic backpacker circles for its homemade breakfast, bottomless free coffee and a strict adults-only, no-stag-party policy that keeps the vibe travel-sociable rather than chaotic.
From
โฌ18//night
Why travelers love Cinnamon Sally Backpackers Hostel
โInterrailers on the Warsaw-Tallinn loop check in here for a reason. The breakfast buffet is unusually generous for the price bracket, the coffee machine runs around the clock, and the staff push free Riga walking tours and pub crawls at check-in. Entry is signposted through the McDonald's courtyard, which catches new arrivals out.โ
Hedgehogs Backpackers Hostel
Centrs (Merฤทeฤผa iela, opposite Central Station)
Very Good
525 reviews
Hedgehogs sits on the second floor of the same Merฤทeฤผa iela 1 building as Cinnamon Sally, opposite Riga Central Station. The split is clear: Cinnamon Sally does breakfast and quiet, Hedgehogs does the bar, karaoke, ping-pong and live music nights. In-house restaurant, mini-mart, 24-hour front desk and a 9.6 couples location rating anchor it.
From
โฌ19//night
Why travelers love Hedgehogs Backpackers Hostel
โExpect a busier evening scene than most Riga hostels โ happy hour nightly, live music some weekends, karaoke mid-week, ping-pong tournaments, movie nights. The lounge has a vending machine for late snacks and the mini-mart downstairs saves the Rimi walk. Cinnamon Sally's free walking tour and Hedgehogs' bar crawl start from the same stairwell, which makes stacking activities easy.โ
๐กTips for Choosing a Hostel with City Tours in Riga
- 1Cinnamon Sally's free walking tour leaves from the lobby at 11am sharp every day, 2 hours, tip โฌ5-10. Staff lead it themselves, so you get real local tips.
- 2Book the KGB Museum (The Corner House) guided tour 24 hours ahead at Hedgehogs' desk for the โฌ10 slot with an English-speaking guide. Walk-ups pay โฌ10 entry without a guide.
- 3The Jurmala beach train is โฌ2.50 from Riga Central Station, 25 minutes each way. Hedgehogs' desk hands out a beach map and tram routes once you arrive.
- 4Sigulda Olympic bobsled is technically a Naughty Squirrel partnership but bookable from Hedgehogs' desk too. โฌ95 all-in, 48h lead time, Friday-Saturday slots go first.
- 5The Art Nouveau walking tour extends to Alberta iela only โ not further. Skip the paid add-on that claims to cover Maskavas forลกtate, the free version already includes the best Eisenstein buildings.
- 6St Peter's Church tower sunset climb (โฌ9) is the post-walking-tour add-on. 72m spire, best panorama of Old Town and the Daugava river.
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