Alcoholic beverages can be bought in supermarkets, groceries, special stores, cafes, bars and other entertainment places. Purchase of alcohol is allowed only from the age of 18 and producing person attesting document. It has been stipulated by law that alcoholic beverages are not sold during the night from 10pm to 8am. Before buying alcohol, do check if it has the excise duty stamp. During your stay in Latvia we suggest you to try local beers. Latvians have a tradition of drinking beer and there are numerous popular local brands. Latvia’s most popular beers are Aldaris, Cēsu, Piebalgas and Uzavas. A great souvenir will be Latvian traditional “Black Balsam”, which was first brewed in mid-18th century. “Black Balsam” is still made using an ancient recipe that is kept secret and known only by a couple of people directly involved in producing the balsam. “Black Balsam” has already become one of Latvia’s trademarks due to its original taste, various purposes of use (also due to its medical qualities) and nice packaging – earthenware bottle. ATTENTION: According to the public behavior rules, it is prohibited to be on the street with opened alcohol bottle! If the bottle is opened, it must be wrapped properly so that not to reveal the label of the drink. Otherwise you can be fined for breaking the law.  Blood alcohol limit is 0.5 promiles. Unlike the driver, passengers are allowed to consume alcohol in the car.

Banks are mainly open from Monday to Friday from 9am to 5pm. Some bank branches located in shopping centres are also open on Saturdays and Sundays and their working hours are according to the working hours of the shopping mall. Currency exchange offices in the major cities are usually open also on weekends. If you are travelling to more distant regions of Latvia, we advise you to exchange foreign currency in advance and use cash if possible, as many places may not accept any bank cards.

There are more than twenty different car rental companies operating in Latvia, including major international car rental companies: Avis, Sixt, Europcar, Herzt. Cars are rented to persons who are at least 21 years old, have driving experience of two years or more and have internationally valid drivers license. Upon receiving the car, one has to sign a contract and present a photocopy of passport or drivers license. More information about transport rental providers in Latvia you can get in our section “Transport, car rent”.

In the most cities and towns in Latvia, on working days from 8am to 8pm, you have to pay for parking your car in the city centre. Cost for the car parking is required in advance, using special parking ticket machines. Parking ticket machines accept 0.05, 0.10, 0.20, 0.50, 1 and 2 lat coins. The ticket has to be placed behind the windshield, in a well visible place. If you wish to park you car in a guarded parking lot, you will have to pay for this service irrespective of the time of the day. For parking pay the parking lot guard and receive a check or a special ticket.