Vilnius Old Town. One of the largest and best-preserved Baroque old towns in Northern Europe, and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Cobbled lanes, churches around every corner, courtyards full of coffee shops, and the bohemian micro-republic of Užupis. Could easily take two or three days. See Vilnius.
Trakai. A fairy-tale island castle in the middle of a lake, 28km west of Vilnius. It's touristy but genuinely beautiful, particularly on a clear day. The surrounding town has a Karaite community whose traditional pastries, kibinai, are worth the trip alone. Easy half-day from Vilnius. See Trakai.
Kaunas. Lithuania's second city and, many Lithuanians would argue, the most authentically Lithuanian one. Excellent street art, a compact old town with a 14th-century castle, the remarkable Devil's Museum, and lively cafe culture. Underrated. See Kaunas.
The Hill of Crosses (Kryžių kalnas). Near Siauliai in northern Lithuania, a low mound covered in over 200,000 crosses — devotional, political, personal. People have been leaving them here for at least 150 years, through Soviet attempts to bulldoze the site. Genuinely moving. See Hill of Crosses.
The Curonian Spit. A narrow 98km sand dune peninsula separating the Curonian Lagoon from the Baltic Sea, shared between Lithuania and the Russian Kaliningrad enclave. Towering shifting dunes, pine forests, fishing villages, and wide beaches. UNESCO-protected and extraordinary. Access via Klaipeda.
Klaipeda. Lithuania's only sea port and the gateway to the Curonian Spit, with a compact old town that shows its German (Memel) heritage. See Klaipeda.
Druskininkai. A spa town in the pine forests of southern Lithuania, with mineral baths, a well-regarded aqua park, and the surreal Grūtas Park — a Soviet sculpture garden where you can wander among toppled statues of Lenin and Stalin. See Druskininkai.
Kernave. The site of the medieval capital of Lithuania, now an archaeological park on a series of impressive earthwork mounds above the Neris river valley. UNESCO-listed. See Kernave.