GEDIMINO AVENUE (GEDIMINO PROSPEKTAS)

The main axis of the new town is Gedimino Avenue, also known as the "Champs-Elysées" of Vilnius. This artery (formerly Stalin Avenue, then Lenin Avenue) is the most commercial and lively in the entire Lithuanian capital. From the Cathedral Square, you can walk up Gedimino towards the Neris River (about 2 km). As you walk down to the river, you can see the modern facade of the Opera and Ballet Theatre. Still on Gedimino, at number 40, you come across the large Lukiškių square where, until a few years ago, the statue of Lenin stood, since removed.

Surrounded by administrative buildings, the square faces the corner of Gedimino and Tumo-Vaižganto, where, during the Nazi occupation, the premises of the KGB and Gestapo were located. Nowadays, it houses the Lithuanian Genocide Museum, also known as the KGB Museum, where you can visit the gaols and interrogation rooms. Continuing on Gedimino, just before the river Neris, the Parliament(Seimas) stands on the right. In January 1991, when the Soviet troops arrived, thousands of demonstrators erected barricades to defend the building. On the corner is the National Library. On the northern bank of the river, the modern districts built during the Soviet era (from Khrushchev onwards) stretch as far as the eye can see.