Latvia
Riga in May
🌷 SpringPleasant and mostly dry.
🎒 Pack: warm jacket for evenings
Why May scores 9.4What goes into the score
How it works- Weather comfort9.2
- ✓Comfortable temperatures (18°C highs / 8°C lows)
- ✓Comfortable humidity (dew point 7.2°C)
- ✓Mostly dry (~48 mm rain)
- Air quality10.0
- ✓Good (within WHO guideline) (PM2.5 ~5 µg/m³)
- Seasonal hazards10.0
- ·No notable seasonal hazards
- Safety baseline8.0
- ·Normal precautions
| May | Jun | |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 9.4 Excellent | 9.5 Excellent |
| Season | 🌷 Spring | ☀️ Summer |
| High / low | 18° / 8° | 21° / 12° |
| Rain | 48 mm | 65 mm |
| Humidity | dew pt 7° | dew pt 13° |
| PM2.5 | 5 µg/m³ | 6 µg/m³ |
Typical-month data: NASA POWER (MERRA-2 reanalysis) 2015–2024 (modelled, not a forecast). Temperatures: Riga weather-station normals. Rainfall: Riga weather-station normals (national met service).
Holidays & crowdsMay 2027
No long holidaysNo long public-holiday weekends this month. School holidays aren't counted, so check those if you want to avoid family crowds.
Other public holidays: Constitutional Assembly Convocation Day; Labor Day (1 May) · Restoration of Independence Day (4 May) · Mother's Day (9 May) · Pentecost (16 May)
National holidays only; regional holidays and school breaks aren't included. Source: holidays (open-source public-holiday calendar).
Explore RigaEvents, sights, food & souvenirs
Check event dates locallyLatvia's capital on the Daugava River, known for its medieval Old Town, one of Europe's largest groups of Art Nouveau buildings and a huge Central Market.
No major events on our calendar for May.
Coming up later
Jāņi (Midsummer)Every year23–24 June every year
The biggest Latvian festival, with bonfires, wreaths, singing and staying up all night.
Why go: Many people leave the city; shops may close.
Where: Countryside and city parks
Proclamation DayEvery year18 November every year
The anniversary of Latvia's independence in 1918, with military parades and fireworks.
Why go: Public holiday; the Staro Rīga light festival is usually held around the same time.
Where: Citywide
Staro RīgaDate variesUsually mid-November
A festival of light installations across the city.
Why go: Evening event; dress warmly.
Where: Citywide
Old Town
UNESCO-listed medieval centre with the House of the Blackheads and St Peter's Church.
Art Nouveau District
Streets such as Alberta iela with richly decorated early 20th-century facades.
Riga Central Market
One of Europe's largest markets, housed in former zeppelin hangars.
Freedom Monument
A landmark monument to those killed in Latvia's War of Independence.
Latvian Ethnographic Open-Air Museum
Historic wooden buildings from rural Latvia set in a forest.
Jūrmala
A seaside resort town of wooden villas and sandy beaches, reachable by train.
Rye bread
Dark, dense rye bread eaten with most meals.
💡 Bakeries and markets
Grey peas with bacon
A traditional dish of peas fried with bacon and onions.
💡 Traditional restaurants
Smoked fish
Smoked herring, sprats and other Baltic fish.
💡 Central Market
Sklandrausis
A sweet rye tart filled with potato and carrot.
💡 Bakeries
Jāņu siers
A caraway-seed cheese traditionally eaten at Midsummer.
💡 Markets, especially in June
Riga Black Balsam
A herbal liqueur made in Riga since the 18th century.
💡 Supermarkets and liquor shops
Amber
Baltic amber jewellery.
💡 Jewellery shops; ask for a certificate
Linen
Natural linen textiles.
💡 Craft shops
Knitted mittens
Woollen mittens in traditional Latvian patterns.
💡 Craft markets