Things to Do in Cesis

Cesis Medieval Castle tower climb

Inside the park, flashlight in hand, you climb the narrow tower staircase of the 13th-century castle, each worn stone step echoing underfoot. From the open platform the view spills over red-tiled rooftops to spruce forests that smell warm and peppery in sunshine. Costumed guides let you try a replica chain-mail shirt - cold, heavy iron that clinks with every move - before you descend to the dim dungeon where the air feels damp on your face.

Gauja National Park kayak paddle

Push off from the sandy banks just south of town and the river carries you gently between Devonian sandstone outcrops streaked rose and grey. Kingfishers zip past in electric-blue blurs, while the current gurgles against your plastic hull and the air smells of water mint. You'll beach at an abandoned river chapelery, its crumbling brick chimney now a heron perch, for a picnic of smoked sprats on dark bread.

Cesis Brewery underground cellars

The 1878 brewery sits two blocks behind the castle. Descend the cast-iron stairs and the temperature drops ten degrees, smelling of malted barley and oak. Guides pour unfiltered Cēsu Premium into chunky glass steever while explaining how artesian well water softens the brew's bitterness. Between sips you'll hear the slow drip of condensation echoing in brick corridors that once stored beer for the Imperial Russian army.

Old Town evening ghost walk

As street-lamps flicker on, the guide leads you through shadowy passages where medieval paving stones gleam after rain. Stories of plague doctors and sword-duels echo off pastel plaster, and you'll swear you smell beeswax candles that aren't there. The walk ends inside St. John's Church crypt where your flashlight catches the glint of real human femurs stacked centuries ago.

Ergļu Cliffs forest boardwalk

A twenty-minute drive north drops you into pine-scented hush where a wooden boardwalk snakes above the Gauja valley. From the lookout the cliffs drop amber layers 90 m to the river, and swifts wheel beneath your feet, calling in sharp squeaks. In late September rowan trees ignite red against grey rock and the breeze carries a sweet fungal note of fallen leaves.

Castle area - timber guesthouses facing the park where you'll wake to jackdaws on red-tiled roofs and the smell of fresh pine

Old Town core - apartments inside 18th-century warehouses with exposed beams, steps from candle-lit bars

Gauja riverside - wooden cabins and small spa hotels set among birch trees, popular with weekend cyclists

Saukums district - quiet residential lanes south of the center, good for families, ten-minute stroll to ice-cream colored playgrounds

Priekuļi countryside - farmstead B&Bs outside city limits, cheaper, with home-pressed apple juice and dark skies for star spotting

Vidzeme University quarter - budget-friendly dorms open to visitors in summer, basic but steps from craft-beer pubs