Kaunas

Kaunas, Lithuania's second city, lies about 100 km west of Vilnius and is an easy day trip by train. LTG Link trains leave Vilnius railway station (Geležinkelio g. 16) roughly hourly, take about 1 hour 15 minutes and cost about €7-12 one way; see ltglink.lt. Coaches from the Vilnius bus station are cheaper at about €4-9 and take around 1 hour 30 minutes. In Kaunas the railway and bus stations stand next to each other, about 20 minutes' walk from Laisvės alėja, the long pedestrian boulevard that forms the spine of the interwar modernist centre. The street leads east to the Old Town and Rotušės a. (Town Hall Square), the medieval core, where the white Town Hall and surrounding merchant houses are the main sights. Nearby are Kaunas Castle and the confluence of the Nemunas and Neris rivers. The Ninth Fort, a former fortress and later a site of mass killings in World War II, now holds a museum and memorial and needs a bus or taxi from the centre. Museums generally cost €3-8. A suggested one-day arc is to arrive on a morning train, walk Laisvės alėja and the modernist quarter, have lunch in a cafe in the Old Town, visit the Ninth Fort or one of the museums in the afternoon, and return on an evening train. The round trip by train costs about €14-24. The city is flat and compact, so walking is easy. May to September gives the best weather for strolling and for outdoor terraces along Laisvės alėja, though the city is pleasant in autumn too. Winter days are short, so plan sights indoors. Trains back to Vilnius run into the evening, but check the final departure before settling into dinner.