This large public park, Tirana's "green lung", offers a peaceful escape from the city. You can relax on the grassy areas by the artificial lake, enjoy a jog along the scenic paths, or explore the beautiful flora at the Botanical Gardens of Tirana, where various plant species and flowers are showcased. It's an ideal spot to unwind and soak in nature within easy reach of the urban environment.

This beautiful example of Spanish colonial architecture contains a small museum dedicated to the Spanish Inquisition's brutal persecution of heretics once carried out in these very chambers. Visitors can still see some of the torture devices used to extract confessions of heresy and witchcraft, along with some of the questions used in "witch" interrogations, which are still displayed on the museum wall. Needless to say, no prisoner could hope to be acquitted of their purported crimes against the Catholic Church, and most met their tragic end at the very guillotine still on display in the courtyard.

The so-called Powder Tower, the last remnant of the 13th-century wall that once surrounded the heart of Riga, now hosts a war museum. The aim of the museum is to reveal to the public the complicated military history of Latvia, with a special emphasis on the 20th century, during which the Latvian people had to win their independence twice.

For an insight into Latvia's past and the activity of the Soviet Secret Service police in the country, take a guided tour around the former KGB headquarters building. It commemorates those who were unjustly convicted and murdered and those who suffered and died during the repressions and deportations.