For outsiders anyway, Vilnius is a hard city to pin down. It's not quite Eastern European, not quite Scandinavian, not Russian, and not German. It's not even quite Lithuanian. This ambiguity, the diversity of influences, actually gives the city its unique character and charm.
As many travel writers are prone to pointing out, Lithuania's capital has a certain earthiness that both Riga and Tallinn lack. For this and other reasons, many visitors to the region tend to fall madly in love with Vilnius, pegging it as their favorite Baltic city of them all. As London's Sunday Times recently commented: "Vilnius may be the most underrated capital in all of Eastern Europe."
Today, while the capital is seeing some of its fastest development, and as old town renovations pick up pace, it is thankfully not becoming too sanitized. Amid the winding cobblestone streets of the old city, you can still feel you've been transported back to the 12th or 18th century, depending on what street you happen to turn down.
Out of all its historical experiences, the Lithuanians like to emphasize the city's days in the early Middle Ages when it was the center of a mighty Lithuanian monarchy. Vilnius residents are conscious of this glorious past and tend to bring it up every chance they get; they tend to de-emphasize the city's days of heavy Polish dominance.
