Where to Stay in Vilnius: Honest Advice
It's easy to get Vilnius wrongminutes. I learned that the hard way when I spent two days wandering the Old Town, lured by the promise of a "central" hotel, only to find myself stranded on a quiet street near the Cathedral, miles from the main drag. I’d booked a place that was supposed to be "near everything," but the "everything" turned out to be a single bakery and a 10-minute walk to the nearest tram stop. I was tired, hungry, and realizing I’d made the classic tourist mistake of prioritizing distance over convenience. After a night of sleeping on a bench outside the Gates of Dawn (a mistake I won’t repeat), I decided to try again. This time, I asked a local at a café on Pilies Street—where the best coffee in Vilnius is served, by the way, for just 2 euros a cup—and she pointed me toward the Hotel Lietuva. It’s a small, family-run place right on the corner of Žirmūnų Street and Pilies Street, just steps from the river and the Old Town’s main attrac...