Vilnius

Vilnius is the capital of the Republic of Lithuania with population of around 600 000. The city was founded in 1323 and throughout the ages remained an important gateway between the Western and North-Eastern Europe. As a result of this, the city was always renowned as a melting pot of different nations and cultures, which can be witnessed today in diverse architectural and other monuments and traces of Lithuanian, Polish, Russian, Jewish, German, French and other cultures. The well preserved Old Town, beautiful as well as cosy, crowned by the hill-top Gediminas Castle, is listed among UNESCO World Heritage sites.

At the end of April when the conference will be held, we anticipate nice spring weather with average day temperatures of around +15...+20C.

The Lithuanian currency is Litas (Lt, LTL), which is pegged to Euro at: 1 Euro = 3.4528 Lt.

To get a feel of local pricing level:

• McDonald's: cheeseburger 4.35 Lt;
• Restaurants/bars: main dish typical range 15-25 Lt (30-50 Lt in upmarket establishments), local beer 5-7 Lt;
• Street kiosk: ice cream bar 1-3 Lt, bottle of water - 0.5-2 Lt.

For more information on Vilnius, please visit the following tourist sites:

• Vilnius in Your Pocket, a popular independent city guide: http://www.inyourpocket.com/lithuania/vilnius
• Vilnius events and info: http://www.rechargeinvilnius.com/
• Vilnius Tourism Information Agency: http://www.vilnius-tourism.lt/index.php?lang=EN
• Vilnius city municipality info page: http://www.vilnius.lt/