Trakai
Travel Guide Europe Lithuania Trakai
Introduction
Trakai is a town about half an hour west of the capital of Lithuania, Vilnius. It's most famous because of its castle (see below), but there are some nice churches and museums, next to the great natural surroundings.
Sights and Activities
Trakai Island Castle
The fantastic fairytale like Trakai Island Castle is located about 25-30 kilometres from Vilnius. It is located in the town of Trakai, on an island of Lake Galvė. The construction of the redbrick castle began in the 14th century by Kęstutis, and around 1409 major works were completed by his son Vytautas the Great, who died in this castle in 1430. Trakai was one of the main centers of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the castle held great strategic importance.
Entrance costs 14LT (about €4, June 2011) and also gives you access to the splendid museum inside, with lots of historic art, coins, clothes and more. Except for the castle itself, it is also nice to walk around and enjoy the rustic area with forests, lakes and nice walks.
Events and Festivals
Getting There
By Plane
By Train
Lithuanian Railways operates around 10 daily trains between Trakai and Vilnius. Note that many train tend to leave either in the first half of the morning or later in the afternoon. It takes about 35 minutes and costs 6LT (June 2011).
By Car
By Bus
Buses from Vilnius take about 40 minutes and cost around 6LT (June 2011).
By Boat
Getting Around
By Car
By Public Transport
By Foot
Most of Trakai, including the castle, are easily navigated on foot.
By Bike
For longer distances you might rent bikes, although this is only appropriate if you venture outside the town and castle area.
Eat
Drink
Keep Connected
Internet
Phone
See also: International Telephone Calls
Post
Lietuvos Paštas is the national postal service of Lithuania. Postal services are generally not very fast, but fairly reliable. That is, most of the postcards and letters will eventually arrive on the foreign adress, albeit after some days or even weeks. If you want it to be sent the fastest possible, go for courier instead of ordinary (domestic post) or for airmail instead of surface (international mail).
Post offices are usually open from 8:00am to 6:00pm on Monday to Friday and 9:00am to 2:00pm on Saturdays, although these opening hours may vary depending on the office, with big central offices keeping longer hours, while small villages might have shorter opening times. Stamped mail (both national and international) can be dropped in the yellow post boxes for collection. Stamps are available at post offices and kiosks.
On Travellerspoint
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This is version 4. Last edited at 4:26 on Jan 24, 12 by sleepBot. 2 articles link to this page.
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