Page 354 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - Estonia Latvia & Lithuania

352 TRA VELLERS ’ NEEDS

ENTERTAINMENT IN
LITHUANIA

Lithuania offers its visitors a wide variety of the summer solstice. Lively pop festivals
enter tainment, with something for everybody. sometimes brighten up summer resorts such
Most cities have a strong cultural tradi tion. as Palanga and Juodkrantė. Outside Vilnius the
Panevėžys has a popular drama theatre, while entertainment options tend to be limited,
the resi dents of Klaipėda are more inspired by although Klaipėda provides some atmospheric
music, embracing both improvised and venues for live music. Baroque and chamber
traditional jazz, blues and operetta. Trakai and music concerts are regularly performed
Kernavė provide scenic back drops to summer throughout the year in many of Lithuania’s
events, including medie val festivals of archery churches. For entertainment options in Vilnius
and swordfighting and mystical celebrations of see pages 354–5.

Information
The English-language In Your
Pocket guides, found in hotels,
at newsstands and online, cover
restaurants, hotels, shopping
and nightlife in most of
Lithuania’s livelier towns. The
official websites of Lithuanian
Tourism and Tourism Vilnius
are also useful resources.
Lithuania has a large number
of visitor information centres Imposing exterior of the Klaipėda State Drama Theatre in Klaipėda
with English-speaking staff and
English-language leaflets, book- theatre culture, although an classical music recitals that
lets and up-to-date local informa- equal passion for theatre exists often have no entry charges.
tion. All of Lithuania’s towns and outside the city. Zapyškis Church (see p265),
cities have their own dedicated The Klaipėda State Drama outside Kaunas, is a particularly
websites, which usually contain Theatre, which dates from atmospheric venue in
sche dules and information on 1819, is one of the oldest the countryside.
culture and events. functioning theatres in On the coast, the Klaipėda
Lithuania and the most famous State Music Theatre holds a
outside Vilnius. In Panevėžys, wide array of classical music
Booking and Prices
the Juozo Miltinio Drama concerts, opera and other
The booking service Bilietai Theatre is named after legen- performances. Panevėžys
LT has kiosks in most concert dary stage actor and director Civic Art Gallery (see p268)
venues and shopping centres Juozas Miltinis (1907–94), who and Kėdainiai’s Multicultural
in major cities, where tickets taught actors to reject Centre (see p265) also hold
can be bought with credit conservatism and to draw regular concerts.
cards or cash. Tickets can also on their own life experiences
be booked by telephone or while acting.
through a website and can be
collected from a sales office,
or delivered to any address in Classical Music
Lithuania. Prices usually vary Kaunas has several concert
anywhere between 10 and halls that feature music
50 euros per person. regularly. The Kaunas State
Musical Theatre and the Great
Hall of Vytauto Didžiojo
Theatre
University are among the
Lithuanian theatre developed pre ferred venues, but the
during the period of indepen- Kaunas City Symphony
dence between the world Orchestra and Kaunas State
wars, producing young and Choir also perform at less
talented playwrights such as formal venues including the
Balys Sruoga and Kazys Binkis. Mykolas Žilinskas Art Gallery Beautiful exterior of the Kaunas State
Vilnius has a particularly strong (see p264). Some churches host Musical Theatre