In Latvia, the capital Riga has got the attention of travellers since Ryanair launched it as a destination, but my favourite city is in fact the smaller port city of Ventspils on the north-west coast. It’s a bus ride from Riga or an Air Baltic flight away, or an easy place to include if you’re spending a few weeks travelling around the Baltic countries.

Ventspils has started marketing itself to tourists in the past few years, and they’ve done a lot of work to transform it from a bit of post-Soviet neglect into a really neat, modern city. One of the highlights there is the Castle of the Livonian Order (pictured), a building with history going back over 700 years which has been restored and is now a tourist attraction in its own right and also the host of various exhibitions or festivals.

Nearby there’s also an open air museum which demonstrates the importance of fishing over the years and also has a few very attractive windmills. There’s a clean Blue-Flag-awarded beach, too. And along the port foreshore, there are various sculptures and street art pieces that are all part of the effort to beautify the city. And it’s worked.