Vilnius

Vilnius is the capital and largest city of Lithuania. It lies in the valley of the confluence of Neris and Vilnia rivers and has 527,930 inhabitants (2013 statistics). Along with Linz, Austria, Vilnius was the European Capital of Culture in 2009.

The word Vilnius is a masculine form of the Vilnia river’s name (which is feminine) and refers to the river surge. Therefore the varieties of spelling in other languages (Vilna, Wilna, Vilno, Wilno) are, in fact, the same word adapted to the corresponding grammar. The area was inhabited since the Mesolithic era, however it became a capital city only since 1323 when Grand Duke Gediminas transferred the Seat from Trakai to Vilnius. A monument to Gediminas (author of the concept is a Lithuanian-American sculptor Vytautas Kašuba) stands in Cathedral Square near the site of the former pagan temple. The Grand Duke is depicted at the moment when he made a final decision, dismounted from his horse and blessed the land which will become the capital; its glory shall echo like an iron-wolf-like sound throughout the world. The howling Iron Wolf from the Grand Duke’s prophetic dream is depicted below. These two key names, Gediminas and the Iron Wolf (Geležinis vilkas), along with the motif of the howling iron wolf you can find quite a few everywhere in Vilnius, they are branched into the forms of daily life so naturally that are almost imperceptible, unless you’re purposely looking for them.

More information on Wikitravel

Vilnius International Airport (IATA: VNO) (Vilniaus oro uostas), Rodūnios Rd 10a (south of city, Kirtimai district), Information for passengers: +370 612 44442 (info@vno.lt, fax: +370 5 232-9122). Lost baggage information: +370 610 75212, lostfound@bgs.aero. It is the largest civil airport in Lithuania and is located 4.6km south of both bus and train stations, and 6.22km from city centre, as measured by the transport routes. The airport is very compact and consists of one dual building. Original part was constructed in 1944 in Socialist Classicism style, now it serves as an arrivals terminal and retains all flaky Soviet-style details, except for the gloomy mood. In 1993 the building was substantially expanded by constructing a new modern departure terminal in late High Tech Architecture style, best seen when viewed from the side of the runway. The city bus stop is immediately next to the main entrance, the taxis can be found just in front of the arrivals terminal. For the accommodation within the airport territory see Air Inn hotel in “Sleep” section below.

These airlines operate to and from Vilnius International Airport:

Air Lituanica (Amsterdam, Berlin, Billund, Brussels, Edinburgh, Gothenburg, London, Munich, Paris, Prague, Tallinn), Air Baltic (Copenhagen, Paris-Charles de Gaulle, Riga, Rome-Fiumicino, Tallinn, London-Gatwick (seasonal)), Aeroflot (Moscow-Sheremetyevo), Austrian Airlines (Vienna), BelAvia Belarusian Airlines (Minsk), Brussels Airlines (Brussels), El Al (Tel Aviv), Estonian Air (Tallinn), Finn Air (Helsinki), Grand Cru Airlines (a charter airline), LOT Polish Airlines (Warsaw), Lufthansa (Frankfurt), Norwegian Air Shuttle (Oslo-Gardermoen, Stockholm), Ryanair (Barcelona, Bremen, Brussels, Cork, Crete-Chania, Dublin, Liverpool, London-Stansted, Milan-Bergamo, Oslo, Paris-Beauvais, Rome-Ciampino), SAS Scandinavian Airlines (Copenhagen, Stockholm), Small Planet Airlines (a charter airline), Trans Aero (Moscow-Domodedovo), Turkish Airlines (Istambul), UIA Ukrainian International Airlines (Bangkok, Geneva, Istambul, New York, Kiev, Tashkent, Tbilisi), UTair Aviation (Moscow-Vnukovo), Wizz Air (Ålesund, Barcelona, Bergen, Doncaster-Sheffield, Dortmund, Eindhoven, Frankfurt, Kutaisi, Larnaca, Liverpool, London-Luton, Malmö, Madrid, Milan-Bergamo, Oslo, Paris, Rome-Fiumicino, Tel Aviv).

• By Bus
  The bus ride to the centre takes 15 minutes and buses depart from the airport every 10–15 minutes. Ticket is obtained by purchasing it from the driver for LTL3.50/€1. Only one piece of hand luggage to fit under a single seat is allowed. For larger luggage, extra tickets should be bought.
  • Bus #1 goes from the airport (Lithuanian: Oro uostas) to the central bus/train station (“Stotis”).
  • Bus #2 goes from the airport to the bus/train station , passing the football stadium at Liepkalnis street.
  • Bus #88 goes from the airport to the City Business Centre (Konstitucijos avenue, Europa square), riding through the Old Town first.
  • Bus #3G goes to the north through the centre (Lukiškės square), business centre (Konstitucijos avenue), continuing on to Fabijoniškės sleeping district in the north, near beginning of the A2 highway towards Riga (within city limits the highway is called Ukmergė street). The bus number’s trailing letter “G” on a green background stands for “Greitasis” which means “Express bus”. It stops at all relevant stops in the centre, while skipping some regular stops before and after the centre.
• By Train
  Lietuvos Geležinkeliai operates trains from the airport to the main train station for LTL2.50. The train ride takes 7 minutes, but trains depart every c. 45 minutes.
• By Taxi
  There are taxis waiting at the airport in front of the arrivals terminal. In order to avoid misunderstandings, know your destination because all average prices are for the distance from the airport to the bus station (c. LTL30) or the centre (c. LTL50), but if your hotel is somewhere further then the price can be double or triple. Prices per kilometre are not fixed for ever, they are highly dependent on fuel prices therefore all figures above should be interpreted as approximate. Specific info on taxi prices at the airport can be found at Vilnius airport website “Transportation” section.

Kaunas International Airport (KUN)

Kaunas International Airport (IATA: KUN), is the second busiest civil airport in Lithuania located ~100km west of Vilnius in a small town Karmėlava NE of Kaunas.

Airport Transfer

• There are direct scheduled Minibus rides from Kaunas Airport to Vilnius railway station after each arriving flight. The same buses go to Kaunas Airport from Panorama Hotel before each outgoing flight.
• Kaunas city Bus #29 goes regularly from the airport to Kaunas railway station in the centre where you can transfer to a train or intercity bus to Vilnius.