Things to do in Vilnius in April

Have you decided to visit Vilnius in April?

Great choice! April is the right month to travel to Vilnius. The days get longer, sunnier and warmer, the flights and bus tickets are cheaper and the city is still less crowded.

Do you need more reasons for visiting Vilnius this month? Hope not, so pack your bags and keep on reading our article about the best things to do in Vilnius in April.

From 30th of March till the 1st of April: Easter

As most of Lithuanians are Catholics, the Easter is widely celebrated. People usually spend Easter days with family. It is the time of concentration and joy of the forthcoming spring.

If you chose Vilnius as your Easter holidays destination, I bet you would like to know more about Easter traditions in Lithuania.

The Second Day of Easter: “White Tablecloth Day”

One more special day created by residents of Uzupis. Like the citizens of Uzupis say, “this is the freest holiday of the Republic of Uzupis”. All the community gathers on the terrace near the river Vilnele, covers the tables with the white tablecloths, and brings the food that is left from the Easter table, musical instruments and wine are very welcome too. All the passers-by are invited to join the community, eat, play, drink and relax together.

1st of April: Fools’ day or Liars day in Lithuania

We Lithuanians, also celebrate the fools day (we call it all liars day) with naughty jokes and general silliness. Friends, colleagues, family members try to cheat on each other once in a year. Lithuanians believe that if you won’t trick anybody on the 1st of April, your year will be unsuccessful. If you get fooled, don’t get angry. Cheer up, it’s a fools’ day!

1st of April: Uzupis Independence day

The best way to spend a fools’ day in Vilnius is Uzupis! Uzupis is a bohemian, self-proclaimed republic next to the city center. Despite the fact that this “republic” is not recognized by any other state in the world, it still has its own prime minister, president, parliament, constitution and its celebrations.

The “republic” was established by ex-hippie community in 1997 on  the 1st of April.  The choice of date suggests that the whole thing is not that serious and the key values of the republic are humor and a good mood.

Each 1st of April is the day when all of the bridges become custom offices, everyone should pass border control before crossing the state. But don’t worry, it does not take that long! It is the only day in the year when the currency of Uzupis, called Uzis, circulates in local bars, restaurants and cafes. The main streets and art galleries will be  full of musicians and happy people celebrating. This year, a lot of events of the day will support Ukrainians in their fight against Russian aggression. For example, the “embassy” of Ukraine will be open in Republic of Uzupis, the exhibition of the drawings from the bombed basement “Birds of the war” will be opened in Malunu str. 6a. The credo of the celebration is also related to the war in Ukraine: Let’s support the fraternal nation! For freedom and independence! “

13th of April: FIDI (“The dinosaurs have become extinct, but physicists have survived!”)

After a couple of years of emigration to the fall due to pandemic, this festival returns to its traditional date in April! FIDI (pronounced “Phee-Dee”) is probably the most famous students’ celebration held on the first Saturday of April since 1969 or even earlier. The festivity consists of two parts.

The first one takes place in Sauletekis – part of Vilnius mainly inhabited by students. The surroundings of the faculty of physics transform to a self-made amusement park created by quick-witted students. Everyone is welcome to try these “special carousels” called Physland.

The second part goes into the city streets. According to the legend,  a few hundred years ago,  a frightening dragon swallowed the girl and now each year the physics go to philologists to redeem one’s fault. That is why the huge statue of Dinosaur travels a long way through the city (about 8 km) towards the Faculty of Philology in the city center to apologize philology students. You have to see it!

The culmination and the most relaxing part is the evening concert held in different places in the city each year. You can buy the tickets to this year’s concert here.

From 25th of April till 1st of May: Lithuanian Gastronomy Week

If you visit Vilnius this week, don’t miss an opportunity to taste Lithuanian Gastronomy Week dishes. The gastronomy week will take place in different restaurants of Vilnius that will offer a wide range of dishes dedicated to food gourmets and those who want to discover a higher food culture. The theme this year is “22 flavors of color” because it is the colors that wake up in the spring, so the dishes will radiate in colors too.

As usual, guests of the festival will be invited to visit a variety of restaurants that will prepare special tasting menus for 20, 30 or 40 Eur, depending on the seasonality of the products, but maintaining a unique style. Slightly before Gastronomy Week, food enthusiasts will be invited to choose the most intriguing restaurant from the list and reserve a table at it. All information about the festival, restaurant descriptions, and menus will be published on the Skonis.lt portal. Unfortunately, the website is not translated, thus in order to book a table, a translation tool should be used.

Last Tips about the Weather

If you visit Vilnius in April, be prepared for various types of weather. For example, in 2017 the beginning of the month was very hot, the temperatures reached 20 degrees, but the chilly weather did not stay long and in few weeks Vilnius was all covered with snow. So check the weather forecasts very carefully before your journey to Vilnius.

You can check the weather forecast here.

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If you still need more specific information about the things happening in Vilnius, don’t hesitate to write us at info(eta)vilniusfreetour.lt