Booking Guides and Tastings in Siauliai

Šiauliai has very little in the way of organised sightseeing. There are no coach companies, no hop-on hop-off service and no city tour with a fixed timetable. What exists is a handful of guided visits run by museums, a venue and the tourist office, and a few day tours sold from other cities. Because the options are limited, it helps to sort them by how far ahead you need to arrange them. Prices are in euros.

Same day, at the door

Walk-in visits are the simplest option. Each Aušra Museum branch sells a ticket at the desk: 8 EUR for adults and 4 EUR reduced. The branches are the Frenkel Villa (Vilniaus g. 74), the Bicycle Museum (Vilniaus g. 139) and the Photography Museum (Vilniaus g. 140), and admission is free to all of them on the last Sunday of the month and on occasional Sundays the museum announces. The self-guided stops on the boulevard and at Sundial Square cost nothing and are open at any hour.

A few days ahead

  • Museum guides. A guided tour at the Frenkel Villa, Bicycle Museum or Photography Museum is 30 EUR per tour, with no discounts, arranged through the museum. At the Frenkel Villa the main exhibition follows the Frenkel family and the Jewish community of Šiauliai up to the Holocaust, so a guide adds helpful context to a sombre visit.
  • Cathedral tower. The Cathedral of Saints Peter and Paul was built between about 1617 and 1626 in the Renaissance style with Mannerist touches. Its tower is roughly 70 m high and open only with a guide. Ask the city tourist office at Vilniaus g. 213-90 (+370 41 523 110) to arrange a climb.
  • Rūta chocolate tasting. Rūta’s museum, found at Tilžės g. 133, offers a two-hour guided visit with tasting for 20 EUR per person. The tasting takes parties of 6 to 20, a group pays at least 120 EUR, and reservations go through +370 610 41 050. Adults are the recommended audience, and plain entry without a guide costs about 5 to 6 EUR.

Event days only

The Gubernija brewery, which dates its founding to 1665, opens its doors for free tours during the Šiauliai Days city festival in September. It has no regular public tour schedule, so follow the brewery’s own channels to learn whether tours are running during your stay.

From another city

Day tours that include the Hill of Crosses are sold by third-party companies from Riga and Vilnius. The hill is about 12 km north of Šiauliai but around 220 km, or 2.5 to 3 hours, from Vilnius. The pilgrimage site is free to enter, so a tour fee covers transport and commentary. The pace is quiet by nature, because this is a place of prayer. Plan the day around that rather than around a checklist of photo stops.

What to do instead of a bus tour

The tourist office publishes three free routes you can follow alone: Top 10 Places, Top 10 Experiences and Šiauliai From Above, a 5 km route of about five hours. They cover the same ground a bus tour would, at your own pace. For other formats see bus tours in Siauliai and group activities .

Read more: day trips from Siauliai and sightseeing in Siauliai . For a wider plan, see the five day Lithuania itinerary .

Branch pages, hours and guide prices are at the Aušra Museum , and the three routes are described at Visit Šiauliai . To compare day tours from Riga or Vilnius, search GetYourGuide .