trakai historical national park

Summer is great for sitting around with a beer, enjoying the surrounding islands and marshland, while winter is awesome (in fact, way more awesome than summer) because of all the fun you can have out on the ice! It gets extremely thick in December/January and thus is very safe, and there are tons of people out on it, doing everything from ice skating to some sort of... kite skating type thing.

It is very nice but we visited it during September and the weather was extremely hot. There were a lot of wild mushrooms which were cute.

I found the pictures of Trakai on the Internet and we decided to visit it. You can reach the town by bus or train from the Vilnius stations. The ride takes about 40 minutes and costs 6 ltl. The castle itself is about 20-minute walk from the Trakai bus station. The place is absolutely charming, it has all in it - the view which takes your breath away, the peace of nature and some history. The history expositions inside the castle are quite untrusting - collections of coins, pipes and other markers of the époque. Thought the castle was restored from ruins, it doesn't diminish its charm. Also, we would recommend to have a boat ride on the lake - it adds up to the whole experience.

3 of us took the train from Vilnius to see this place. 33 Lita's return travel for 3 of us. Yet again another country putting the English transport to shame. Superb electric train taking about 40 minutes to get there and costing us the equivalent of less than 3 pounds each return. There are 2 routes once you get off the train. Around the lake to the castle or along the road through the town. The road way is half the distance of the lake at least. Plenty to do and see, no wonder this used to be the capital of Lithuania.take a camera with you, lake water is so clear. Boat trips available nearer to the castle.

Must visit place when you went to Trakai if you fond of history and like to see all ancient things. You can see lot of old things since they built.

The park was quite pleasing on the eye and perfect for a relaxing swim on a warm Lithuanian day. I would not call it a must see though.

We had doubts before we went there. After we reached there, we were sorry that we came for a daily trip. You should stay and spent more time. It is a piece of heaven in the summer time.

Trakai Historical Park, the only 'national historic park' in the EU, has two attractions beyond the Castle and the town - the astonishingly visual CXIXth Uzutrakis Palace (and the quirky CXXIst Hill of Angels).We were visiting Trakai Castle when we first saw this large white building standing on the rising eastern shore of Lake Galve.Uzutrakis Palace has undergone an extensive restoration programme (completed in September 2013), which has restored the ground floor using period furniture from the best Polish collections and turned the first floor residential spaces into exhibition galleries. Count Joseph Tyszkiewicz, a Polish magnate, had the White Palace built at the turn of the C19th. The Tyszkiewicz family owned the estate until the Soviet invasion of 1940.Our visit (May 2013) occurred before the completion of the restoration programme, which meant we could not see inside. There was NOT a fee for the park and gardens.Getting there: Instructions for car-drivers from Trakai Castle. Take Karaimu Road out of Trakai town. At the large roundabout take the KAUNAS/VIEVIS exit - 4.7km from Uzutrakis. Take the first turning on the right signposted towards RYKANTAI and also for Uzutrakis. This road the 4722 initially skirts round the north end of Lake Galve. Then take the second turning on the right (4750 route). This will eventually lead to the carpark of the White Palace, so long as you are not tempted by the first turning to the right that lead to the SLENIS camping site.If the restoration programme has been carried out as diligently as the remodelling of the gardens and park (and like the Latvians did at Rundale Palace), the interior of the White Palace must be well worth seeing.The location of palace's kitchens is interesting - some 50 metres from the palace. According to the National Historic Park's website the restoration programme is examining the feasibility of remodelling the kitchen block to meet CXXIst standards!I'm uploading the photographs of the parts of the park and formal gardens we saw, they are considerably more extensive.

This is a wonderful place to visit, at least in nice weather. The lake and castle are both quite beautiful. It is easy to get back to nature here. There are also lots of shops and restaurants for those so inclined. The old Tartar houses are worth seeing as well.

Lovely place to visit for the tourist and locals alike. Plenty to see, with the historic castle, and the lakes with it's water taxi's is well worth a trip. to view the sites from the numerous lakes. Old Tartar houses and little restaurants, a good day out all round.

Great place not far away from Vilnius where you can enjoy rather slow and peaceful atmosphere when Vilnius starts to feel crowded. Apart from the nature all around you there's the castle and cute little village around it which is also worth walking through. Overall nice, slow, peaceful, quiet and understated, it's a great find in Lithuania!

Easy to get to from Vilnius just go to the ticket desk at the bus station. Buses take about 45 minutes and it was the first stop on the bus we took. Trakai was a lot bigger than I expected. It takes about 15 minutes or so to walk to the castle from the bus station. We visited when it was -8 outside and the lakes were frozen. There were people walking on the lakes and I even saw one person lying on it. The castle was beautiful and the museum inside was really interesting. We were looking at the wrong timetable so missed our bus back but shared a little minibus back to Vilnius with a load of local people and it took a lot less time than the bus that brought us there.

Not too far from Vilnius. Great castle in island. Wonder all year, doesn't matter if it's is summer or winter, day or night. Also Trakai has many great places where you can sit and drink beer or eat 'kibinai' (google it). Or expensive, but very worthy restaurant "Apvalaus stalo klubas" with view to the castle.

We visited just before New Year's Eve and enjoyed our time there. The lake was frozen and the Christmas markets were still open. The castle is mostly rebuilt, but it is an easy walk from public transit and worth the admission fee.To visit from Vilnius use the Bus Station platforms 6/7/8/28/29. Buy your ticket on the bus.

Trakai is an exclusively unique place. It is an important historical site which crown jewel is beautiful medieval castle built on an island in the middle of the lake Galve. Eco-tourism fans would appreciate opportunity to rent a boat and discover interconnecting lakes surrounded by forests. The Island and Peninsula Castles which are nestled in lake land is a very romantic and absolutely overwhelming site. Trakai is only 25km away from Vilnius and can be easily reached by car, train or bus. After a hike and sightseeing I strongly recommend to try traditional Karaite meat pastries - "kibinai"!