Daugavpils is Latvia's second-largest city, sitting in the southeastern corner of the country near the borders with Lithuania, Belarus, and Russia. It's a predominantly Russian-speaking city — a legacy of Soviet-era settlement — and feels markedly different from Riga: less polished, more post-industrial, with a pace and atmosphere of its own.
The main draw is the Daugavpils Fortress, a vast 19th-century star-shaped fortification built by Tsar Alexander I. It's partly restored and now houses the Mark Rothko Art Centre, a well-regarded museum dedicated to the abstract expressionist painter who was born here in 1903. The collection includes several original Rothko works alongside rotating contemporary exhibitions — an unlikely but genuinely rewarding find in an off-the-beaten-path city.
The old town has some handsome Orthodox churches and a few surviving wooden buildings. The city's position near the Daugava River and the surrounding lakes makes it a decent base for exploring the Latgale region. Direct trains and buses run from Riga (2.5–3 hours).