New England is synonymous with autumn, but while there’s too much orange in the White House, many of us will be looking elsewhere for our leaf-peeping fix.
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Thankfully, there’s somewhere with plenty of golden hues much closer to home: Sigulda.
Regarded as Latvia’s autumn capital, the town is just over an hour away from the capital Riga by train and boasts an abundance of trees that turn shades of yellow, orange and red when there’s a chill in the air.
Best of all, you’ll likely have the scenery all to yourself as you won’t find any tourist crowds here – other than those who read Euronews Travel’s autumn bucket list, which included Sigulda as a must-visit.
I first visited Sigulda last summer, and made it my mission to return in the autumn to see it for myself, which is exactly what I did earlier this month.
Here’s what you should do while you’re there.
What to do in Sigulda
While the town itself is very pretty in autumn, the best scenery can be found around the Gauja River, which you can cross via cable car.
The seven-minute ride passes over the Gauja Valley, and along the way you’ll spot several castles.
After passing to the other side of the river, you can take a short walk through the woods to Gutman’s Cave.
The largest cave in the Baltics, the walls are covered in carvings from lovers who have visited here over the centuries.
The cave is associated with the legend of the “rose of Turaida”, a girl named Maija who was abandoned during the Swedish-Polish war and grew up in Turaida Castle (more on that in a moment).
Maija fell for the castle’s gardener, Victor Heil, and the pair would meet in the cave. Unfortunately, army deserter Jakubowsky also fell for Maija, and lured her to the cave by pretending to be Victor before murdering her after she tricked him into attacking her by saying she had a magic scarf that would protect her from all injuries.
From Gutman’s Cave, it’s another short walk to Turaida Castle. From the top of the main tower, you’ll have views all around, with each window offering a vista prettier than the last.
The castle itself dates back to 1214, and you’ll be able to learn about its history through several exhibitions on site, while the gardens are home to numerous sculptures from Indulis Ranka.
There are a number of castles scattered around Sigulda, including the New Castle, which is home to several creative businesses which occupy the old manor buildings.
Here, you can buy your very own Sigulda walking stick, with the patterned cane serving as a symbol of the town.
Sigulda is seen as the gateway into Gauja National Park, so there are plenty of hiking trails where you can put your walking stick to good use. Your best source for trails is Enter Gauja, the official tourism website for the region.
Another popular town to visit within the Gauja region is Cēsis, which is home to a medieval castle dating back to the 13th century.
How to get there
Both Sigulda and Cēsis are accessible by train, which takes around an hour and 10 minutes from Riga for the former and an hour and 20 minutes for the latter.
You can grab a ticket in the station, or book through the Vivi website.
If you don’t want to walk, there are buses from Sigulda to Turaida Castle, but they run just once per hour, so you may be left waiting a while. Tickets can be bought directly from the driver with cash or card.
