Kėdainiai is one of the best small-town surprises in Lithuania. Much of the modern city is plain and industrial, but the old centre has a depth that is rare outside Vilnius: market squares, brick merchant houses, wooden and Gothic churches, two preserved synagogues, and traces of the Scottish and Jewish communities that shaped the town's trading life.
The draw is the Old Town, not a single monument. Didžioji gatvė runs between churches, museum buildings, and the Great Market Square, while the Multicultural Centre in the old synagogue complex gives the town's Jewish history a more serious frame.
Kėdainiai is easy from Kaunas, which makes it a strong half-day or slow day trip. It is not as dramatic as Trakai and not as polished as Vilnius, but it gives a clearer look at Lithuania's inland trading towns and the communities that once lived side by side there.