Sienna Art Café
(Photo by Richard Nahem)
Next, the guide took us to the Art Nouveau Center, also located on Alberta Street and the former home of Latvian architect Konstantīns Pēkšēn, who was responsible for the construction of many buildings from the period. The three-story apartment is an exemplary display of the furniture, art and objects of the period. The downstairs rooms had floral stencil moldings across the top of the walls, wood cabinets and hutches with inserts of stained glass, Eastern-inspired carpets, brocade and velvet drapes, porcelain fireplaces and an extraordinary, spiral staircase going to the upper floors.
After the tour, we went to the delightful Sienna Art Café. The opulent and sumptuous interior is a mélange of Art Nouveau and Art Deco furniture, lamps with fringed lampshades, brocade wallpaper, cabinets lined with rows of vintage, porcelain teapots, and stacks of vintage books and fashion magazines. Enjoying coffee served in a delicate white China cup trimmed in gold, we felt as though were immersed in a private salon from the turn of the century.
Nearby the café is the magnificent Nativity of Christ Cathedral, a Russian Orthodox cathedral opened 1884, with Czar Alexander II gifting 12 bells for the inauguration. Designed in the rich Neo-Byzantine style, one of the three exterior domes is covered in gold leaf paint, and the interior has three walls covered with icons and paintings done by some of the most important artists and craftsmen of the time.
Nativity of Christ Cathedral
(Photo by Richard Nahem)
The Art Museum Riga Bourse is housed in a former Venetian Renaissance palazzo from 1855 and specializes in foreign art collections from past centuries. Besides the impressive permanent collection, it also hosts temporary exhibitions. The current shows include one about the art of Japanese dolls, while the other comprises a collection of late Renaissance works from the Prado Museum in Madrid.
We found an excellent selection of restaurants in the Old Quarter, close to the hotel. Tēvocis Vaņa (Uncle Vanya) is a homey restaurant serving traditional Russian and eastern European cuisine. A large plate of potato pancakes served with a mound of smoked salmon and sour cream was heaven; this was followed by spinach pierogies stuffed with King crab meat and shrimp. Restaurant Domini Canes was a great lunch find, a modern restaurant amongst the medieval buildings in the Old Quarter, serving a contemporary menu. We had a soothing bowl of lentil soup, followed by a main course salad of goat cheese, cherry tomatoes, dried dates and sunflower seeds.
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Publish date : 2025-02-19 06:45:00
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