Jurmala
Baltic Riviera since the 19th century. Third-largest Soviet resort after Sochi and Yalta (260,000 visitors, 1980). 33 km of white sand beach, 30-minute train from Riga.
Jūrmala means "seaside" in Latvian—and for 150 years, that's all it needed to be. The 33 km of white sand beach between Riga and the Gulf of Riga made this the Baltic Riviera from the moment Russian officers discovered it after the Napoleonic Wars.
The Riga-Tukums railway (1877) transformed weekend escapes into mass tourism. By 1980, Jūrmala ranked third among Soviet resort towns after Sochi and Yalta—260,000 visitors annually, about 30 sanatoriums, and 40 holiday homes. Brezhnev and Khrushchev vacationed here.
The Soviet sanatoriums haven't disappeared. Belorusija and Jaunķemeri still operate, treating joint, skin, and nervous system conditions. Jūrmala became a city in 1959 when a string of villages unified, creating the Baltic Sea's largest resort.
Today, Jūrmala sits 30 minutes by train from Riga—close enough to be suburban but distant enough to feel like escape. By 2026, the question is whether Soviet-era infrastructure becomes heritage architecture or liability.