Accommodation   Sustenance   Sights  Transport  Business
The Klaipëda telephone code is 46

Despite being Lithuania's third city in terms of size and population, few would disagree that Klaipeda is in actual fact its second. More cosmopolitan than Kaunas thanks to a thriving port and dynamic, forward-looking local government, Klaipeda and its two satellite holiday destinations Nida and Palanga are currently redefining themselves as the new Baltic Riviera. With foreign companies leaping at the chance to invest in a city that remains, for the outsider at least, somewhat difficult to navigate, and with more and more people visiting the city each year, the following provides a short introduction to surviving your first trip and finding your way into both the local and expat communities.

Accommodation

Please note that during the Sea Festival weekend all of the following will be full. If you’re planning on visiting the city at this time, book a room well in advance. If you can’t get a room, do what everybody else does and base yourself 25km up the coast in Palanga. See www.palanga.lt for more information.

Aribe: Bangu 17a, tel. 490-940, hotel@aribe.lt. Good value, friendly hotel, with a hands-on cast, cable television and receptionists who’ll cook you a meal in the middle of the night if you ask nicely. Singles from around €40. 
Europa Royale Klaipeda: Zveju 21/1, tel. 404-444, palace@hoteleuropa.lt. Superb luxury in Old Town with a personal touch. Excellent location and really friendly staff. Singles from around €115. 
Klaipeda: Naujojo Sodo 1, tel. 404-372, hotel@klaipedahotel.lt. The city center Soviet-era behemoth, thankfully brought up to exceptional modern standards and now offering such attractive ad-ons as a fully equipped gym and a club where ladies take their clothes off. Singles from around €80. 
Litinterp: Puodziu 17, tel. 410-644, klaipeda@litinterp.lt. Superb value bed and breakfast in plain but agreeable rooms. A nice bunch of people who deliver your morning meal in a basket when you want it. Can also arrange accommodation in the popular resorts along the coast. Singles from around €25. 
Navalis: Manto 23, tel. 404-200, info@navalis.lt. Amicable staff, great décor, an art gallery, and lots of people in suits running around with laptops. Business class with a spirited difference. Singles from around €110. 
Radisson SAS: Siauliu 28, tel. 490-800, klaipeda@radissonsas.com. Exceedingly agreeable surroundings with all the usual Radisson trimmings, one of the best restaurants in town and a small bar often frequented by well-connected foreigners. Singles from around €100. 

Sustenance

Black Cat 2: Zveju 21/1, tel. 411-167. Open:11-24. A spacious bar close to the river, popular with expats and offering a decent international menu. Trivia buffs will be delighted to learn that Hitler ate here in 1939.
Cili Kaimas: Manto 11, tel. 310-953. Open:10-24, Fri, Sat 10-02. Traditional Lithuanian dishes inside a renovated Soviet cinema. Being Klaipeda, the theme is aquatic, from the full-on décor to an exceedingly fishy, separate seafood menu.
Cili Pica: (H-4) Taikos 28, tel. 222-222. Open:08-24. A huge choice of good pizza and pasta dishes courtesy of one of Lithuania's culinary success stories. Home delivery available.
Kurpiai: Kurpiu 1a, tel. 410-555. Open:12-24. A good bar in the middle of Old Town, famed for being the best jazz club in the country. 
Luxor: Taikos 12a, tel. 312-122. Open 09-01. Sat, Sun 09-03. International nosh on big plates, international sport on big screens, smashing cocktails and five lanes of bowling no less. 
Memelis: Zveju 4, tel. 403-040. Open:11-02, Mon 11-24, Thu 11-03, Fri, Sat 11-04, Sun 12-24. Vast microbrewery with a swanky club in the roof. 
Navalis Café: Manto 23 tel. 404-200. Open 08-24. Fabulous coffee and snacks. Great people-watching windows too.
Skandalas: Kanto 44, tel. 411-585. A bar much loved by locals and expats alike, not least because of the stunning interior. A good place to get your feet wet. 
Senoji Hansa: Manto 21. Open:10-20. Sun 10-18. Really good serve-yourself buffet food inside a modern shopping center.
XII: Naujoji Sodo 1, tel. 404-372. Open:12-03. At the top of the Klaipeda Hotel, and offering the best views of the city in town. Classy, but unfortunately feels the need to have a large, loud television behind the bar to keep the locals happy.

Sights

Clock Museum: Liepu 12, tel. 410-413. Open:12-17:30, Sun 12-16:30. Closed Mon. A rather blokey collection of historic timepieces. Quirky enough, but not recommended for those currently going through a mid-life crisis.
Sea Museum: Smiltynes 3, tel. 490-751. Opening hours vary. Check the website for precise details. Europe's largest collection of seashells, and the only place in the world you'll find dolphins singing Happy Birthday in Lithuanian. See the special box on this page for more information about the museum. www.juru.muziejus.lt 

Transport

Ferries
Local shipping company Lisco operate several good ferries between Klaipeda and ports in Sweden, Denmark, Germany and Poland.
Flights
The local airport at Palanga, approximately 25 kilometers north of Klaipeda, handles some 50,000 passengers annually and is a good option if visiting western Lithuania from abroad. SAS operate direct flights to and from Copenhagen, and the small but agreeable airport also handles flights to destinations as bizarre as Birmingham and Bangkok.
Taxis
Taxis (tel. 311-211) are cheap, but should be called in advance for minimum tariff and hassle.
Public Transport
The local bus service remains appalling, and Klaipeda's buses are notoriously riddled with pickpockets. Avoid, or be extremely careful.
Car Hire
Both Litinterp and Unirent offer friendly, good value car hire.
Trains
Two daily services and one night service operate between Klaipeda and Vilnius. A luxury class train ticket between the two cities will set you back around €15 for the five-hour trip. The early evening trip to Vilnius during the summer is a highly recommended experience. 
Cycling
For more about hiring bicycles, cycle maps (like the one that comes with this city guide, see below), repairs and everything else.

Business

The only ice-free port in the Baltics, Klaipeda is also the only city in Lithuania with a currently active Free Economic Zone. The 205-hectare site is located close to the center of the city and offers all the incentives normally associated with such projects. To set up here immediately, Baltic Real Estate Investments (tel. 300-164, offer a wide range of walk-in office and warehouse facilities. For on the ground assistance in the city and western Lithuania in general you may like to contact Mark Uribe (tel. +370-6 993 3210, mark@englishcentre.lt), Honorary British Consul and long-time Klaipeda resident, who offers a number of brokerage services to foreign companies and individuals looking to do business in the area.

The Klaipeda telephone code is 46 if dialing from with the country. To call from outside Lithuania, proceed the number with +370-46.

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