Riga's Old Town, where most of the Tourist Attractions are, is compact enough to wander easily but has enough within it to easily give you a full week of drinking, eating and nosing about.

The 'New Town', just beyond the semi-circle of parkland which were once the city battlements, is a nice area full of shops, housing and the usual city paraphenalia.

 The Bus and Train station is within easy reach of the old town, albeit over a four-lane motorway. Bus stops are also found in profusion on Brivibas Street (freedom street), and the tram and bus system is ridiculously easy to use - the 22/a goes from the airport to the old town and all services have a flat rate of 0.60 Lat.

Trams and busses are modern clean and efficient, but can get very full - and be ready with the right coinage when possible, can usually buy a ticket at the driver.

The Old and New towns are radically different in their layout, mainly due to their histories.

The Old Town.

Since 1201, when riga was founded, the old town was allowed to grow organically within the city defences, leading to, in the modern day, a tightly knit street system with (at times narrow) streets winding round at odd angles and opening up suddenly into wide boulevards near the new town or huge Squares containing churches or historical buildings. This is Riga's true charm!

Its the perfect place to wander and discover museums, bars or restaurants for yourself. I wandered for days at every time of day or night and felt very safe, but take the usual precautions -

• Keep all valuables safe and hidden when possible.
• Don't flaunt your valuables.
• At night keep your voices to a reasonable level - expecially if you are or are with a group of women. Loud, foreign, and possibly drunken voices attract attention, pehaps the wrong attention!
• Dress sensibly - flip flops, hawaiian t-shirts WILL mark you out as a tourist!
• Treat people with respect, learn a few words of latvian - Ja = yes, Ne = no, Lūdzu - please, you are welcome, or yes (to take the order),Paldies = thank you, Ne,paldies = no, thank you . If you do this, then people with reply in the same calm and friendly manner.
• Ensure you have a working mobile on you at all time and the numbers of people in your group or local services. Make sure someone in your group knows where everyone will be at any time.

A note on Taxi's.    There is a standard 5 lat fee for any taxi or car passing through the Old Town, there is an entrance fee at the taxi, usually written on the doors of taxi's.

The New Town.

The old town is the home of wide, sunny boulevards and contains most of Riga's modern ameineties, such as FC Skonto's Football Stadium (league winners ever year since 1991!). This area was laid out from the 18th century onwards, after the outdated city defences were torn down and building laws relaxed, allowing for stone and brick structures. This means long streets on a roughly grid-like pattern. In the New Town, you'll find the sunny parks and major bus routes, which you may need if living or moving around the New Town.

You tend to get more shops for local people here, such as electrical good stores and supermarkets as well as the newer hotels and rental apartments. There tend to be more bus stops in this area.

• Bus stops, be careful of valuables etc, near the train station and central bus station
• Main Roads - the wider roads and profusion of cars (or more specifically of Baltic drivers) mean that caution is advised when crossing roads. BE WARNED! Latvian drivers can appear a little, um, Insane, if you will cross not at the "zebra". ( road police usually fines those who cross the street at the red light or cross at the wrong place. it can cost you from 5-20 Lats.

I know i may appear a little alarmist, but after some problems in Prague, i think its useful to state even obvious things!

In conclusion Riga - both Old and New Towns - are clean, green, easily navigable and user friendly generally, and above all safe, as long as you are careful and don't take unneccesary risks.