What's on in Vilnius
Vilnius's festival calendar month by month: the Light Festival, Kaziukas craft fair, Book Fair, Pink Soup Fest, Culture Night, Museum Night, Capital Days, the Marathon and the Christmas season.
Every date ahead
36 events
July 20264
Pažaislis Music Festival
A prestigious summer-long classical music festival centred on the baroque Pažaislis Monastery near Kaunas. The 31st edition runs June to August 2026 with symphonic, choral and chamber concerts in atmospheric historic venues.
Hot-Air Balloon Flights over Vilnius
Vilnius is one of the very few capitals where you can drift directly over the Old Town by balloon, and the calm-weather season runs from late spring through early autumn.
Christopher Summer Festival (Kristupo festivalis)
Lithuania's biggest summer music festival turns Vilnius into a two-month concert hall, mixing classical masterpieces with jazz, world music and experimental projects in churches, courtyards and gardens.
Klaipėda Sea Festival (Jūros šventė)
Klaipėda's annual Sea Festival returns to the port and Old Town with nearly 100 events, including maritime ceremonies, processions, exhibitions, concerts, street performances and a large summer fair. The 2026 theme is 'Kaip kine' (Like in Cinema).
August 20262
Riga City Festival (Rīgas svētki)
Riga marks its 825th anniversary with a month of neighbourhood and cultural events, peaking over 14–16 August with food, crafts, street performance, concerts and city-centre sport.
Assumption Day (Žolinė)
A Catholic public holiday and ancient harvest feast known as Žolinė, when Lithuanians bring bundles of herbs and flowers to be blessed in church. Marks the symbolic end of summer.
September 20264
Vilnius Days / Capital Days (Sostinės dienos)
The city's biggest street festival fills the centre for a first-September weekend of free concerts, art, crafts and sport, drawing crowds from across Lithuania.
Loftas Fest
The Baltics' only urban music festival takes over the Loftas arts factory with electronic and indie acts, street art, installations and food across two September days.
Swedbank Vilnius Marathon
Lithuania's biggest running event sends thousands of runners through the Old Town and along the Neris each September, with marathon, half and shorter distances.
Sirenos International Theatre Festival
Vilnius's leading international theatre festival brings cutting-edge Lithuanian and foreign productions to stages across the city for nearly three weeks each autumn.
October 20261
November 20265
All Saints' Day (Visų Šventųjų diena)
A solemn public holiday when Lithuanians visit cemeteries to light candles on family graves. Together with All Souls' Day it creates one of the most atmospheric times of the Lithuanian year.
All Souls' Day (Vėlinės)
A public holiday for remembering the dead, observed the day after All Saints' with continued candle-lighting and graveside visits. Vėlinės has deep roots in Lithuanian folk belief.
Date TBCLithuanian Gastronomy Week
Top Vilnius restaurants offer special tasting menus at friendly prices for one November week, making the city's best kitchens easy and affordable to sample.
Date TBCVilnius Mama Jazz
One of the Baltics' most respected jazz festivals nurtures Lithuanian jazz culture and brings major international artists to the capital each autumn.
Date TBCVilnius Christmas Market & Cathedral Square Tree
Cathedral Square fills with wooden chalets, mulled wine and crafts around one of Europe's most photographed Christmas trees, with a second market on the Town Hall square.
December 20262
Christmas (Kalėdos)
Lithuania's Christmas public holiday runs Dec 24–26, centred on the Kūčios family supper on Christmas Eve and two quiet feast days. The city empties as families gather, though the Cathedral Square market and tree glow throughout.
New Year's Eve in Cathedral Square
Vilnius rings in the new year fireworks-free, with a projection-mapping show on the Cathedral Bell Tower and a midnight laser display over the crowd.
January 20272
New Year's Day (Naujieji metai)
The first public holiday of the year, following Vilnius's lively New Year's Eve celebrations. A quiet recovery day across Lithuania.
Vilnius Light Festival (Šviesų festivalis)
To mark the city's birthday in deep winter, the Old Town's streets and squares are transformed with large-scale light installations and new-media art over three January evenings.
February 20274
Užgavėnės (Shrove Tuesday Carnival)
Lithuania's pancake-and-masks carnival chases winter away with grotesque masks, the burning of the effigy Morė and mountains of pancakes on the day before Lent.
Day of Restoration of the State of Lithuania (Vasario 16-oji)
Marks the 1918 Act of Independence that re-established the modern Lithuanian state. One of the country's two key independence holidays, with flags, ceremonies and concerts in Vilnius.
Date TBCLithuanian Coffee Festival (Vilnius)
A weekend of roasters, baristas and brewing workshops at the LITEXPO centre, with national barista championships and a fair of Lithuanian coffee makers.
Date TBCVilnius Book Fair (Vilniaus knygų mugė)
The Baltics' largest book fair packs the LITEXPO halls with publishers, author talks and hundreds of events over a late-February weekend, a beloved winter cultural ritual.
March 20274
Kaziuko mugė (St. Casimir's Fair)
Lithuania's largest folk-craft fair fills the Old Town streets for three early-March days with palm bundles, linen, amber, smoked treats and the scent of spring.
Day of Restoration of Independence (Kovo 11-oji)
Celebrates the 1990 Act re-establishing Lithuania's independence from the Soviet Union — the first Soviet republic to break away. Marked with flags, a relay run and festive events.
Date TBCKino Pavasaris (Vilnius International Film Festival)
Lithuania's biggest film festival fills Vilnius cinemas for two March weeks with festival hits, premieres and Q&As, the highlight of the city's film calendar.
Easter (Velykos)
Lithuania's most important Christian holiday, a two-day public holiday in 2027 celebrated with decorated margučiai eggs, egg-rolling games, morning resurrection mass and family feasts.
April 20271
May 20273
International Labour Day (Tarptautinė darbo diena)
May Day public holiday across Lithuania, marking the start of the warm season. A relaxed day for outings and the countryside.
Mother's Day (Motinos diena)
A public holiday in Lithuania observed on the first Sunday of May, when families honour mothers with flowers, cards and gatherings.
Date TBCStreet Music Day (Gatvės muzikos diena)
On one Saturday in May, musicians of every level take to the streets, squares, courtyards and even buses of Vilnius for a city-wide day of free, spontaneous music.
June 20274
Date TBCVilnius Festival (Classical Music)
The Lithuanian National Philharmonic's flagship summer festival brings world-class soloists, ensembles and orchestras to Vilnius across three weeks of June.
Father's Day (Tėvo diena)
A public holiday in Lithuania on the first Sunday of June, celebrating fathers with family time and outdoor activities.
Date TBCCulture Night (Kultūros naktis)
For one warm June night the whole city turns into a free open-air stage, with concerts, installations and pop-up performances in courtyards, churches and rooftops across Vilnius.
St John's Day / Midsummer (Joninės / Rasos)
Lithuania's public-holiday Midsummer, marking the summer solstice with bonfires, flower wreaths, the search for the mythical fern blossom and all-night festivities by lakes and rivers.