Daugavpils
Daugavpils is Latvia’s second city, a Russian-speaking industrial town on the Daugava with a huge 19th-century fortress and a hill of four churches. It is not a resort. The fortress and the Rothko centre are the reasons to come.
What to see
Daugavpils Fortress
The fortress is a star-shaped brick citadel on the river, begun under the Russian Empire and large enough to hold a walk of an hour. Ramparts, a restored gate, and empty barracks set the tone. Mark Rothko’s museum occupies one of the buildings inside.
Nikolaja iela 1, Daugavpils
Photo: Alma Pater · CC BY-SA 3.0
Open in Google Maps , Daugavpils Fortress
Mark Rothko Art Centre
The Rothko centre, inside the fortress, is the serious art museum of the city, built for the painter who was born here when the town was still Dvinsk. The rooms are calm and contemporary. It is the one interior in Daugavpils worth timing your day around.
Mihaila iela 3, Daugavpils
Illustration: Pasaulis · CC0 1.0
Open in Google Maps , Mark Rothko Art Centre
Church Hill
Church Hill carries four houses of worship almost side by side: Lutheran, Catholic, Orthodox, and Old Believer. The cluster is the clearest picture of a city built by several congregations. You can see the skyline from the street; enter whichever door is open.
18. novembra iela, Daugavpils
Illustration: Pasaulis · CC0 1.0
Open in Google Maps , Church Hill
Local History and Art Museum
The museum on Rīgas iela keeps the regional collection: paintings, town history, and the domestic life of Latgale. It is a modest civic museum, useful before the fortress if you want the city explained in one building.
Rīgas iela 8, Daugavpils
Illustration: Pasaulis · CC0 1.0
Open in Google Maps , Local History and Art Museum
Shot Tower
The shot tower is a slim brick chimney in the centre, built to drop molten lead into shot. It is a landmark you notice from the main streets rather than a museum with a long visit. The street around it is ordinary working Daugavpils.
Smilšu iela, Daugavpils
Photo: Laima Gūtmane (simka) , cropped by Glossologist · CC BY-SA 3.0
Open in Google Maps , Shot TowerFood and restaurants
Restaurants and hotels change hands. These listings were last checked on 26 October 2026.
Artilērijas pagrabi
Artilērijas pagrabi is the restaurant in the fortress cellars, the meal that belongs to a visit rather than to a night in the new centre. The room is the point: brick vaults, a short menu. Check it is open on the day you walk the ramparts; fortress kitchens keep shorter weeks.
Daugavpils cietoksnis, Daugavpils
Illustration: Pasaulis · CC0 1.0
Open in Google Maps , Artilērijas pagrabi
Gubernators
Gubernators is a city-centre restaurant that has used this name on Rīgas iela for years, a straightforward Latvian and European room rather than a destination kitchen. It is the practical dinner when you are staying near the pedestrian streets. Confirm the door before you cross town.
Rīgas iela, Daugavpils
Illustration: Pasaulis · CC0 1.0
Open in Google Maps , Gubernators
Park Hotel Latgola restaurant
The restaurant of Park Hotel Latgola is the dependable hotel dining room of Daugavpils, open when smaller places have already closed. The cooking is a hotel kitchen. Use it on a Sunday evening or when you want one address that will still be serving.
Ģimnāzijas iela, Daugavpils
Illustration: Pasaulis · CC0 1.0
Open in Google Maps , Park Hotel Latgola restaurant
Centre cafés on Rīgas iela
The cafés on Rīgas iela are where the city actually sits down for coffee and cake, in a street that has kept its shopfronts through several decades of refits. Pick a room that is busy at four in the afternoon. Names on the signs change faster than the habit.
Rīgas iela, Daugavpils
Illustration: Pasaulis · CC0 1.0
Open in Google Maps , Centre cafés on Rīgas ielaWhere to stay
Restaurants and hotels change hands. These listings were last checked on 26 October 2026.
Park Hotel Latgola
Park Hotel Latgola on Ģimnāzijas iela is the main full-service hotel in the centre, with a park at its side and the church hill a short walk away. It is the sensible base if the fortress is the reason you came. Smaller guesthouses exist; this is the one with a reliable desk.
Ģimnāzijas iela 46, Daugavpils
Illustration: Pasaulis · CC0 1.0
Open in Google Maps , Park Hotel Latgola
Hotel Dinaburg
Hotel Dinaburg uses the old German name of the city and sits in the central grid, a smaller hotel than Latgola and enough for a night built around the fortress. Ask for a quiet room off the courtyard side. Check the current entrance when you book; central hotels here have been refitted more than once.
Dobeles iela 39, Daugavpils
Illustration: Pasaulis · CC0 1.0
Open in Google Maps , Hotel Dinaburg
Villa Ksenija
Villa Ksenija is a small hotel in a restored house, the alternative when you want fewer floors than the park hotel. It suits a couple more than a group. Confirm the street entrance; small houses in Daugavpils are easy to walk past.
Varšavas iela 17, Daugavpils
Illustration: Pasaulis · CC0 1.0
Open in Google Maps , Villa KsenijaShopping
Rīgas iela
Rīgas iela is the shopping street of the centre, a practical row of clothes, pharmacies, and cafés rather than a place for crafts. Walk it between the museum and Church Hill. The fortress is a separate trip, not a continuation of this pavement.
Rīgas iela, Daugavpils
Photo: Андрей Романенко · CC BY-SA 4.0
Open in Google Maps , Rīgas iela
Daugavpils market
The city market is the place for produce, flowers, and the ordinary trade of Latgale, busier in the morning and plain rather than picturesque. It tells you more about daily Daugavpils than the souvenir shelves near the fortress gate.
Cietokšņa iela, Daugavpils
Illustration: Pasaulis · CC0 1.0
Open in Google Maps , Daugavpils market
Ditton Nams
Ditton Nams is the large shopping centre locals use, on the way toward the fortress side of town. Go there for a pharmacy, a supermarket, or a dry afternoon, not for a local product. The market is the more characteristic shop.
Cietokšņa iela 60, Daugavpils
Illustration: Pasaulis · CC0 1.0
Open in Google Maps , Ditton NamsHow to get there
Daugavpils station
The station is the rail gate to Riga and to the eastern border towns, a practical Soviet-era hall rather than a landmark. Trains are the calmest way in from the capital. The fortress is not next door; allow a taxi or a bus across the river flats.
Stacijas iela 1, Daugavpils
Photo: Paju · CC BY-SA 3.0
Open in Google Maps , Daugavpils station
Daugavpils bus station
The bus station handles coaches to Riga, Rēzekne, and the small Latgale towns the train skips. It sits near the railway, so a change of mode is short. Buy tickets at the window if your phone does not like the regional apps.
Viestura iela, Daugavpils
Photo: Paju · CC BY-SA 3.0
Open in Google Maps , Daugavpils bus station
Via Riga Airport
Daugavpils has an airfield, but it is not a normal passenger airport. International arrivals use Riga, then a train of about three and a half hours or a coach. Plan the land leg before you book a late flight; the last connection is not generous.
Lidosta „Rīga”, Mārupes novads
Photo: MOs810 · CC BY-SA 4.0
Open in Google Maps , Via Riga AirportA travel company can place a labeled partner route here. Advertise with us