Latvians love their shopping malls (a palpable marker of globalisation), but tourists will be pleased to find a wide assortment of local shops that specialise in all sorts of Latvian items – knits, crafts, spirits and fashion. You’ll find a wonderful assortment at Berga Bazārs, a maze of upmarket boutiques orbiting the five-star Hotel Bergs.

Street sellers peddle their wares – amber trinkets, paintings and Russian dolls – outside St Peter’s Church on Skārņu iela and along the southern end of Valņu iela. Rīga’s large crafts fair, the Gadatirgus, is held in Vērmanes dārzs on the first weekend in June. Keep an eye out for the beautiful Namēju rings worn by Latvians around the world as a way to recognise one another.