Riga Bourse Art Museum

Riga Bourse Art Museum [Mākslas muzejs Rīgas Birža]

 The former Riga Stock Exchange has been successfully renovated and transformed into this wonderful museum, which is incredibly modern by Latvian standards. Inside you’ll find an excellent collection of 17th-century Chinese, Japanese and Delft Blue porcelain from the Netherlands, three centuries of silverware from the Baltics, Russia and Germany as well as some lesser-known, but no less impressive paintings by Dutch masters of the Golden Era. Although the lighting could be better in the main hall, you can find some real gems in the exhibit of paintings including a winter landscape by Monet and a bronze of lovers by Rodin. An Eastern gallery is also available, which includes everything from Egyptian mummies to priceless Southeast Asian artefacts. If you’re curious about the ugly brown hue of the building, it’s supposedly the original colour of the monumental Venetian Palazzo style edifice when it was unveiled in 1855.