Trakai – a beautiful day trip from Vilnius, Lithuania

Trakai, with its beautiful ancient castle, gorgeous lake and relaxed vibes, is a short day trip from Vilnius, Lithuania, that you don’t want to miss.

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One of the best day trips you can take while visiting Vilnius is to the town of Trakai, a.k.a The Lake Town.

Trakai is the former capital of Lithuania, a place full of history and charm. It’s a great day trip that you don’t want to miss when you visit Vilnius.

Trakai, Lithuania
A typical Trakai postcard πŸ˜€

Locals from Vilnius often go to Trakai for the weekend to get away from city life.

Still, even though I went there on a sunny day during high season, it didn’t feel crowded at all.

There were a lot of people, but there were no lines. Just plenty of boats and lots of space for everyone.

What’s special about Trakai?

Trakai is famous for its gorgeous lakes and magical castle.

It’s a very popular tourist destination, one of the major ones in Lithuania.

It offers something for both nature and history lovers. Landscape photographers will also love this place.

The entire town and its area are listed as a Historical National Park in Lithuania.

It’s also interesting to note that this little town has been a multinational place throughout the decades, home to Lithuanians, Jews, Poles, Russians, Tatars and Karaites.

It’s a very peaceful place that makes you feel like you’re going back in time for a few hours.

Getting to Trakai from Vilnius

I took a tour with Vilnius City Tour, accompanied by a local guide.

The tour is for a small group of about 10 people.

We rode in a minivan that departed from Vilnius city centre, across the street from the the Vilnius Cathedral.

It takes about 30-40 minutes to drive from Vilnius to Trakai, depending on traffic.

On the way the guide told us about landmarks in Vilnius as we passed by them.

Later she told us about the history of Trakai and about the culture of Lithuania, from traditional foods to the languages spoken.

The scenery along the way is beautiful and green and when you arrive at Trakai, one of the first things you’ll see is the lake.

Trakai lake

While the minivan took us into the town all the way to the castle, the guide told us about the various landmarks we were passing by.

One of them, the Chocolate Museum, sounded very intriguing (but I didn’t get a chance to visit it that day…)

Trakai Castle

Trakai - the bridge to the castle
The bridge to the castle in Trakai (Get a poster)

The main highlight and biggest tourist attraction in Trakai is Trakai Castle Island.

When we arrived, we crossed the bridge over the lake and entered the red brick restoration of an impressive 15th century castle.

Our guide was very knowledgeable and entertaining and gave us the much-needed context for the display.

Trakai castle
Trakai Castle

The Trakai castle we can visit today is just one of two castles that existed in Trakai in the past.

Both had been ruined, but this one was restored. The restoration took about 100 years (!) after which it was turned into a museum.

It was the residential castle of the Dukes of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. After the capital had moved from Trakai to Vilnius, the castle was used as a prison for the rich.

When you visit the castle you’ll see, among other things, an impressive collection of ancient coins that were found in excavations.

After the guided tour of the castle ended we had some free time to explore on our own.

I used some of it to see more parts of the castle, especially the part that shows what the castle rooms used to look like.

I particularly liked the dining room and fancy bedroom from the 19th century.

Lake GalvΔ— in Trakai

Trakai - boats by the lake

As you leave the castle grounds, the panoramic view of the lake is just gorgeous.

You can take a boat trip around the lake. There are many boats of many kinds and sizes everywhere you look.

You can also just take a walk around the lake and admire the scenery.

There are lots of restaurants by the water and some cute souvenir shops.

It’s a perfectly relaxing place to spend your time, especially on a nice day.

After we spent some time at the lake, we got back to Vilnius city centre in the minivan. The whole day trip took about 4 hours.

You can find more details about the Trakai tour here and check availability in the calendar below:

Staying overnight in Trakai

Instead of taking a day tipr, you may want to stay overnight in Trakai, see more of the town and explore the nearby area.

In that case, you can for easy access to the local attractions.

Here are some activities that are available if you stay in Trakai:

More places to see in Lithuania

Vilnius

Vilnius, the capital – check out my guide to fun things to do in Vilnius.

Kaunas

Kaunas, Lithuania’s second city: Things to do in Kaunas.

Birstonas

Birstonas, which you can easily get to from either Vilnius or Kaunas – Read about it here: Visit the spa town of Birstonas.

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I was a guest of Vilnius City Tour and Go Vilnius. All opinions are my own.

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7 Comments

Great post! I am always happy to see bloggers visiting my home country and sharing their experiences. Trakai is always on my list no matter how many times I’ve been there πŸ™‚ It’s a great place to visit at any time of year.

I hope one day you get to visit the western part of the country and the legendary moving dunes in Nida on the Baltic coast πŸ™‚

Intriguing makes you want to see it for yourself
Who were the first lithuanians?
Where did they come from or were they always there?

I love trakai! We saw the castle covered in snow so it was lovely to see your images in the sunshine! We sadly did not go into the castle and after reading this I know we need to go back to go inside.

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