Ventspils is a compact small city built for walking and cycling. The Livonian Order Castle and the surrounding old town can be covered in a morning; the long Blue Flag beach and pine-backed dunes take an afternoon. The herd of decorated cow sculptures dotted around the centre — leftovers of the global "CowParade" exhibition that the city hosted in 2002 and never quite gave back — has become a low-key civic mascot.