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About 111 miles away
Hundreds of thousands of crosses on a small hill.
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Trakai Island Castle
A red-brick Gothic castle on an island in a lake, once a seat of Lithuania's grand dukes.
- Open
- Most days
- Price
- Paid
- Time Needed
- Half a day
- Address
- Trakai Island Castle, Lake Galvė, TrakaiDirections
- Getting There
- About 35 minutes by train or bus west of Vilnius, then a walk across the footbridge.
Why Go
Built in the 14th and 15th centuries, the castle was a stronghold of Grand Duke Vytautas, fell into ruin, and was rebuilt in the 20th century; it now holds a museum. The town of Trakai is home to the Karaim, a Turkic people settled here by Vytautas, whose painted wooden houses line the main street and whose kibinai, meat-filled pastries, are the local snack.
Go Next
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About 162 miles away
The world's greatest concentration of Art Nouveau buildings, and a huge market.
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