Birštonas
Birštonas is a town in Sūduva the southern region of Lithuania, on a loop in the River Nemunas. Since mid-19th century it's been a spa resort for its mineral waters. In 2023 it had a population of 3094, but it has hotels and other amenities out of proportion to its size.
Get in
[edit]
From Kaunas is 46 km, head south on A5 then R130 to Prienai to join A16 into town.
From Vilnius is 92 km, follow A16 west via Trakai. This highway continues to Marijampolė.
Buses run hourly from Kaunas and take 70 min via Prienai.for its minral waters.
From Vilnius they run every couple of hours, taking 1 hr 45 min via Trakai, and may continue to Prienai, Marijampolė, Vilkaviškis and Kaunas.
Kautra is the main bus line on these routes. For times, fares and online tickets see Autobusbilietai.
1 Autobusų Stotis the bus station is just a draughty pull-in. No shelter, and what looks like a station building is a florist.
Get around
[edit]The town is small enough to walk around.
Birštonas Ferry putters across the river May-Sept from the foot of Struogos g, with about five sailings daily. The ferry carries bicycles.
Bike hire is available from the shop at Birutės g 19A, open daily.
See
[edit]- 1 St Anthony of Padua Church (Šv Antano Paduviečio bažnyčia), Birutės g 14, ☏ +370 319 56250. Neo-gothic church built 1900-09. Free.
- Museum of Sacred Art[dead link] is behind the church, open Tu-F 10:00-18:00, Sa Su 11:00-16:00.
- 2 Birštonas Museum, Vytauto g 9, ☏ +370 319 65605. Tu-Sa 10:00-18:00, Su 10:00-16:00. Display of town history, such as the spa fashion here. Free.
- 3 Central Park is wooded and dotted with sculptures.
- Druskupis at the east edge of the park (corner of Algirdo and Kęstučio) is a sort-of art installation and naturopathic air-conditioning unit. In summer, mineral water trickles down through the structure and evaporates, creating "sea air" with all sorts of claimed benefits. (After all, no-one in Klaipėda or Palanga ever got sick.) It's best seen at dusk as it's lit in fancy colours.
- 4 Vytautas Hill is a 40 m hillock south edge of town with views, and a ski slope in winter. It was initially defensive then Vytautus the Great (1350-1430) had a hunting lodge here, but nothing remains of any of this. A sturdy statue of Vytautas on horseback stands at the foot of the hillock.
- 5 Observation Tower is 55 m tall with a viewing deck at 45 m, and 300 steps to climb. It's accessible free in daylight hours.
Do
[edit]
- Promenade: the riverside path is paved and suitable for walking or cycling.
- Boat trips: in summer pleasure boats potter along the river to nowhere in particular. The ferry boat is also available for group hire between shuttles.
- You can launch your own boat from the ramp north side of the village.
- Birutės Vila by the ferry pier is a free pavilion where you can lounge awhile listening to the fountains and watching the clouds chase over the glass roof. It's open all year daily 10:00-18:00.
- Kneipp Garden is at Sruogos 2B in front of St Antony's Church, and here you're supposed to practice "body hardening". Sebastian Kneipp (1821-97) was a Bavarian priest and early exponent of naturopathy, a mixture of commonsense, pagan ritual and hocus-pocus. You're supposed to sit in cold water then parade around the paved area in bare feet; the feeling of wellbeing when you quit is matched only by that from ceasing banging your head against a brick wall. Dogs are allowed in the garden but it's unclear if they're supposed to benefit from padding around barefoot.
- Spas and Sanatoria each have their own take on these belief systems. Those active in town nowadays are Eglė at Algirdo g 14, Tulpė at Sruogos g 4A, Versmė at Sruogos g 9, and Vytautas Mineral Spa (aka Ego Spa) at Barbaros 2.
- Jazz Festival is held in March / April in even-numbered years.
Buy
[edit]- Norfa is the main supermarket, at Sruogos g 25 and open M-Sa 08:00-22:00, Su 09:00-20:00.
Eat
[edit]
- Bir Bur Bar serves beer and burgers at S Dariaus ir S Girėno g 24 by the bus station, open M-Sa 11:00-23:00, Su 12:00-23:00.
- Kurhauzas, Sruogos g 2, ☏ +370 687 23801. F-Su 12:00–22:00. Smart place with good dining.
- Hotel Audenis serves non-residents, see Sleep.
- Old Town Grill is a cosy eatery at Birutės g 21, by St Antony's on riverside.
Drink
[edit]- Mineral water can be slurped free at town drinking fountains or bought in commercial bottled drinks. It's high in sodium, calcium, magnesium, chloride, sulphate and bicarbonate, to about 7 grams per litre. That's a fifth of the salt content of sea water so it's drinkable, but will finish off infants, small dogs and anyone with heart failure if consumed regularly. The bottling companies also sell lower-strength and carbonated / still varieties, which are almost as healthy as tap water.
Sleep
[edit]- 1 Audenis, Lelijų g 3, ☏ +370 319 61300, info@audenis.lt. Comfy central hotel and restaurant.
- 2 Ese Hotel (formerly Sonata), Algirdo g 34, ☏ +370 680 83285. Pleasant small hotel and spa in the forest 500 m from village centre. B&B double €90.
- 3 Sofijos Rezidencija, Jaunimo 6, ☏ +370 679 95381. Themed hotel, it's meant to evoke historic luxury but feels a bit kitsch.
- Central Apartments, Druskupio g 1, ☏ +370 650 77378, info@poilsisbirstone.lt. Self-catering apartments in village centre.
- 4 Royal Spa Residence, Pakalnės g 3, ☏ +370 319 62030, info@royal-spa.lt. Very mixed reviews for this old-style spa hotel. B&B double €80.
- 5 Nemuno Slėnis, Kampiškių 8, ☏ +370 660 13135. Smart peaceful spa across the river. B&B double €120.
Connect
[edit]As of April 2024, Birštonas and its approach highways have 4G from Tele2 and 5G from Bite, but only a patchy signal from Telia.
Go next
[edit]- Kaunas is mostly modern but with a rich heritage from its defensive role.
- Trakai was the country's medieval capital and has a castle perched on an island.
- Vilnius is a must-see for its baroque Old Town.