Kaunas is located just 100 kilometers west of Vilnius and is Lithuania’s second most populous city. It was once actually the country’s temporary capital during WWI and WWII. Today, it also serves as an important educational and manufacturing center. Kaunas is known for its Art Deco architecture, street art and numerous churches and museum as well as its beautiful Old Town. This post covers how to spend one day in Kaunas as a day trip from Vilnius and includes all the best things to do in a day!
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Table of Contents
How to Get to Kaunas
If you are coming from Vilnius, you have a few options to choose from.
Self-drive – If you have a rental car, you can easily drive to Kaunas from Vilnius. The journey will take you around 70 minutes on the A1 without traffic.
Taxi/Bolt – You could also take a Bolt or taxi. This is the most expensive way to get to Kaunas from Vilnius.
Train – This is how I got to Kaunas from Vilnius and it was very straight forward. I took a train from the Vilnius central train station and got off at the Kaunas train station. Trains come every hour or so and the journey takes an hour to 80 minutes depending on the type of train. There is an option to get first class tickets and overall the journey was very easy and peaceful!
Bus – The bus takes around 90 minutes and comes every 30 minutes or so. Buses are operated by several companies including Kautra, TOKS, Lux Express, FlixBus, Ollex and Rocketbus. Just go to the Vilnius bus station and take the first bus out.
Getting Around Kaunas
Kaunas is bigger than I thought it would be (but it’s also Lithuania’s second populous city so of course it’s big!). The good news is that most of the things to do in the city with one day in Kaunas is mostly walkable.
Kaunas does have public buses and trolleybuses operated by Kauno viešasis transportas. However, waiting for public transport with only one day in Kaunas may not be the most efficient use of your time. If you do want to use the bus or trolleybus, download the Žiogas app. You can also buy tickets via this app (it’s cheaper than buying it from the driver of the bus). You can find timetables HERE.
If you need to get to a place that is too long to walk, then I recommend taking a Bolt taxi. They are relatively reasonable in Lithuania.
Is One Day in Kaunas Enough?
There is definitely more to do in Kaunas beyond a day, but if one day in Kaunas is all that you have, then I still think you can see quite a bit of the city before heading back to Vilnius.
Tips for One Day in Kaunas
- Get to Kaunas early if you can! This way you have time to take things slow but also take in as much of the sights and sounds of Kaunas
- Buy your train ticket early. I learned this lesson! I went to the train 20 minutes before the train arrived only to find that tickets for that train were sold out. I had to unfortunately wait for the next train.
- As I said above, Kaunas was a lot bigger than I had anticipated. Follow the “things to do with one day in Kaunas” section in order so that you don’t keep zig zagging through the city.
Best Things to Do with One Day in Kaunas
Church of St. Michael the Archangel
Make this church your first stop from the train or bus station. If you are coming by train it will take you 25 minute to walk. The bus brings you a little closer and will take you about 17 minutes to get to this church from the bus station.
The Church of St. Michael the Archangel was built in the Neo-Byzantine style in the late 1800s when Kaunas was part of the Russian Empire. It was mainly built for the use of the Russian Orthodox garrison of the Kaunas Fortress. It was converted into an art gallery during the Soviet Union and later a Catholic church when Lithuania gained independence.
Stroll Down Liberty Avenue
Liberty/Freedom Avenue is the long pedestrian road you will find when you step out of St. Michael’s church. This street is full of restaurants, shops, green space and all sorts of sculptures. The green space in the center reminded me a bit of La Rambla in Barcelona!
Side Step to Kiemo Galerija
From Liberty Avenue, side step to see Kiemo Galerija. This was a very artsy and quirky place. It’s an open air gallery where a Kaunas local artist named Vytenis Jakas and the residence of that neighborhood have used the walls, windows, doors and other spaces of this yard as a way to convey their story. It’s a really unique place and one of things you should do in Kaunas.
Visit the Presidential Palace
This pretty cake like structure was the presidential palace. This is where the president of Lithuania lived during the interwar years when Poland took over Vilnius and the capital was moved from there to Kaunas. Today, there is a small art museum inside that you can explore if you are interested. The garden has sculptures of the first presidents of Lithuania.
Walk Down Vilniaus gatvė
This pedestrian road will lead you to the colorful Old Town! Here you will find many restaurants, cafe’s and shops. It was a lot quieter than Freedom Avenue. I grabbed a pastry to eat at a cafe on this street and made my way down to the next stop.
Go Inside the Cathedral-Basilica of St. Peter and St. Paul
This Roman Catholic church looks simple from the outside but is quite impressive from the inside. It was established by Vytautus the Great and was first mentioned in written sources in 1413. Today, it’s a popular pilgrim stop for its 16th-century painting of Our Lady of Sorrows.
Visit the Kaunas Castle
This castle was established in the 14th century and then turned into a prison in the16th century. Today, it houses a small museum where you can learn more about Kaunas from the time the castle was established.
I think the visit to the museum of the castle is worth it, IF You are a history buff. If not, I would say save your money. You can still visit the castle grounds including the “the Soldier of Freedom” sculpture. However, I think just seeing the structure of the castle itself is a must when in Kaunas.
Check Out the Wise Old Man
The Wise Old Man is a popular street art mural, often referred to as “Meistras” (Master). This mural is a tribute to the influential Kaunas-born artist Jurgis Maciunas and shows him smoking a pipe.
It’s very close to the castle but I only saw it on my way somewhere else. This is what happens when you don’t map out an itinerary but luckily for you, this post is in order!
Lunch
I had lunch at Bernelių užeiga and it was the cutest restaurant. They have indoor and outdoor seating and serve traditional Lithuanian cuisine. The decor inside is very cozy and homely. Definitely a place to eat at, especially if you want to try traditional Lithuanian food like potato dumplings.
Walk Around the Old Town Sqaure
After lunch, walk around the old town square for a bit. Admiring the Town Hall and the Church of St. Francis.
Admire the House of Perkūnas
This gothic building, that a lot of people say reminds them of Harry Potter, was originally built in the 15th century by Hanseatic merchants. It was later sold to the Jesuits in the 16th century who then established a chapel at this site.
The house is named after the Baltic pagan god of thunder and the sky. A statue of this god fell from one of the building’s walls as it was being rennovated.
Visit Vytautus the Great Church
This church is also called the Church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary and is a Roman Catholic church and the oldest in the city. The earliest extant documentary reference to the church dates back to 1439. Vytautas the Great funded this church in 1400 as thanks to the blessed virgin Mary who he believed saved his life in a battle on the Vorskla River.
Check Out the View from Aleksotas Hill
From the bridge from the church above and head towards Aleksotas Hill. Here you can ride the Aleksotas Funicular for some really good views of Old Town. This funicular was opened in 1935! If you don’t want to ride the funicular, you can take a Bolt up to the hill itself. There are also stairs but I don’t recommend them to go up.
Sugihara House
Frm Aleksotas Hill catch a Bolt to Sugihara House. I think this was one of my favorite places that I visited on my one day in Kaunas. Sugihara was the Japanese ambassador to Lithuania during WWII. Sugihara House was the house where he and his family lived. During this time, he issues 2000 transit visas to Jewish people on his own accord. These visas were 1 per family so the number of people he actually saved were far greater. These were transit visas via Japan so that the Jews could escape to Dutch overseas territories. This was because the Dutch ambassador, also on his own accord issued visas to Dutch overseas territories. Both ambassadors were given the title Righteous Among the Nations for their brave acts.
The museum is open Wednesday to Friday 11 AM to 4 PM. But, if you have a group of 5 or more, they will arrange a visit on any of the other days if you make a reservation via email. See HERE for more details.
More Than One Day in Kaunas?
Ninth Fort
The Nineth Fort has a dark history but one that is important to know and learn about. It was first used as the Kaunas prison. Then, during the Soviet Occupation as a political prison for prisoners that were pending transfers to forced labor camps. After this, during the Nazi occupation, it was used to massacre 50,000 jews.
The museum hold many artifacts from both Soviet and Nazi occupation.
It’s about a 20 minute Bolt ride or an hours bus ride.
Pažaislis Monastery
This monastery is definitely a place you should explore if you have more time in Kaunas. Visit this monastery if you have a bit of time even on your one day in Kaunas. It is closed Sunday and Monday and closes at 3:30 PM on Saturdays (5 PM the rest of the days).
Pažaislis Monastery is the largest monastery complex in Lithuania, and one of the best example of Baroque architecture in the country. It was opened in 1664 and has an interesting history! It was originally built as a Roman Catholic church but was taken over by Russians and converted into an Orthodox church in 1832. However, it was converted back again to a Catholic church after World War I.
You can get here by bus but it takes about 45 minutes to do so. I recommend taking a Bolt if you can. The monastery is about 11.6 kilometers or 16 minutes away from Kaunas Old Town.
The fort and monastry are on opposite ends of Kaunas. You should visit both only if you have more than one day in Kaunas. If you are here on a day trip and have time to spare, you maybe able to see one of them but I don’t think you will have time for both with all the other things I have listed above.
Walking Tours With One Day in Kaunas?
There are some really well reviewed walking tours that you can do in Kaunas. Once you are done with the walking tour, you can easily visit some of the other places in this post that were not covered by the walking tour. Walking tours are always a great way to learn about a city or place!
See my detailed post on Vilnius HERE!
Want to explore other day trips from Vilnius? See HERE!
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