Dear Summer, you’ve arrived! In the warm season, Kaunas is dancing, singing, swimming, playing sports, and watching cinema - all in the open air. Here’s where to meet the nicest and most interesting people and spend the most kaunastic days and evenings this summer. Don’t forget your sunnies and your hat when heading outdoors.
The all-summer-long 28th Pažaislis Music Festival has already started, and it’s not just the classical and contemporary music programme that captivates the crowds but also the unique concert locations. The spectacular Baroque setting of Pažaislis Monastery is the largest but by no means the only stop of the festival.
You can still catch the contemporary circus festival Cirkuliacija, which started in Vilnius and will be held in Kaunas from 8 June.
Pažaislis music festival. Photo by J. Danielevičius
Nemunas Island, which emanates coziness, this year invites music lovers to the first-ever organized "Pakrantė" festival and offers memorable concerts, delicious food, various entertainment.
Pakrantė. Photo by organisers.
In 2022, Kaunas was the European Capital of Culture, and the title rewarded the city with several contemporary traditions that music and performing arts fans are particularly happy with.
The turn of June and July will be marked by the electronic music festival Audra, transforming old factories and city parks into dance floors. The festival also includes various artistic interventions in unexpected locations.
ConTempo is the name of yet another child of Kaunas 2022. The festival brings contemporary dance, circus and theatre experiences to the city and the residents of Kaunas district. The fourth edition of ConTempo will be held from 29 July to 6 August, bringing many wonders from Catalonia and various other acts.
Audra. Photo by L. Žemgulis
ConTempo. Photo by M. Plepys
Romuva open-air cinema. Photo by M. Plepys
Not quite a festival, but an integral part of summer in Kaunas, we are the outdoor cinema screenings hosted by the Romuva cinema. After a few years of wanderings, they have returned to the National Kaunas Drama Theatre courtyard, cosily surrounded by red brick walls. The most interesting, festival-awarded films will be screened here until autumn.
Now that we’ve mentioned open-air cinema, it’s time to look at more places in Kaunas where the action gets going in the summer. Firstly, in the same theatre’s backyard, a new cultural initiative called Kita Galerija, curated by the team of the nearby bar Godo, will present its first exhibition on 14 June.
Another new addition to the map is the courtyard on V. Putvinskio street, which this year will be known as Olimpas. The name suggests that sports lovers will flock to the big screens, and the stage guarantees there will be music too!
The latter and other nighttime adventures are promised almost daily by O kodėl ne?, a cultural venue on the railway tracks in Šančiai. Included: DJs, alternative bands, cinema and an Instagram-worthy environment.
Park Avenue. Photo by the company
The former location of O kodėl ne?, a wooden villa in Vytautas Park, has also been revived. It is now called Park Avenue and is more of a restaurant with a spectacular terrace reminding of the interwar era. Just a few hundred metres away, next to Ąžuolynas Park, Žaliakalnis residents and guests enjoy their second season in a corner space called Kiemas.
Vacationers based in Kaunas often visit the Panemunės šilas, which adorns the banks of the Nemunas River. The “best kept secret” of this place is the pizzeria Ipanema, which attracts not only with its delicious bakings but also with its stylish surroundings and hip parties.
Pažaislis and the Kaunas Yacht Club are just a short ride away now, so let’s go. Time melts away on the city beach, and the terrace of Marina Taste Gallery is perfect for delicious moments of relaxation. Music and even movies are on the menu too!
Marina Taste Gallery. Photo by E. Kniežauskas
Brasta Square. Photo by the company
14 stotelė. Photo by G. Jovaiša
Before returning to the centre, let’s visit the Vilijampolė neighbourhood, as even two refreshing stops are located there. The first is Brasta Square, where food trucks promise a great dinner overlooking Kaunas Castle. Next is a unique café, 14 Stotelė, situated in three trolleybuses.
If you’re up for a longer bike ride, follow the path starting in Marvelė and do not turn around when you reach Kačerginė. Further down the river, you’ll see a blossoming ship. This is not a mirage, but a boat called Nemuno7, which returned to Zapyškis for the second summer. The cultural ship has room for contemporary art, lush greenery and music. Concerts even take place on Saturday mornings!
Back in the heart of Kaunas, the pulse goes up in the heat of summer. OLDMAN Kaunas organises concerts of famous Lithuanian artists in a beautiful courtyard in Town Hall Square. For those who want more privacy and romance but at the same time want to hear the bustle of the city with one ear - the terrace of the boutique hotel Boheme House.
OLDMAN Kaunas. Photo by the company
Vingiu Dubingiu. Photo by Turiufotika
Laukas. Photo by V. Sidabras
The number of stops only increases as you approach Soboras. The aforementioned cultural bar Godo uses its terrace in the city garden. At the same time, lovers of craft drinks opt for the green courtyard of Vingiu Dubingiu, with the flawless bookstore Kolibris in the same building. If you want to see Soboras by day at night, your choice is Laukas, a terrace for friends, music and flavours on the porch of the M. Žilinskas Art Gallery. A stone’s throw away is Hogas, a community of smoke and guitar enthusiasts based in a former monastery, where music sounds can often be heard at dinner.
Whatever the reason for your trip to Kaunas, you can’t complete your experience without a visit to the Courtyard Gallery. A unique place surrounded by residential houses in the city centre, it’s a constantly updated street art exhibition started by a resident, Vytenis Jakas. It is open to every good-hearted human being.
Another kaunastic place for a stroll or an exciting evening is the Šilainiai Gardens in the Eight Fort. What’s that, you ask? Kaunas Fortress is a chain of forts that surround the city and have significantly influenced its urban landscape. The Eight Fort has recently become famous for being a mecca for urban gardening. On Tuesdays in the summer, the Nature in the City initiative hosts lectures on what surrounds even the most hardened city dwellers. By the way, you will also find an urban garden at the Kaunas Fortress Park Visitor Centre in Aukštoji Freda, and there is also an open-air exposition of military equipment in the Sixth Fort (it is a branch of the Vytautas the Great War Museum). A new outdoor exhibition will be open to the public from 16 June at the Kaunas Ninth Fort Museum.
Lithuania has a handful of botanical gardens, but the one in Kaunas is a must-see this year. The reason is festive - it is 100 years old! The VMU Kaunas Botanical Garden will host various events throughout the summer – from poetry readings and concerts to the famous Night of Scents.
Šilainių sodai. Photo by A. Čiukšys / Kaunas Full of Culture
VMU Botanical garden. Photo by the company
Courtyard Gallery. Photo by A. Aleksandravičius
For more information on the routes around Kaunas and the city’s most interesting cultural, natural, artistic, sporting and historical stops, visit www.kaunastika.lt and the Kaunas IN Tourist Information Centre at Laisvės al. 36.
