Šiauliai is a TOP destination for families in Lithuania. Šiauliai is a city full of attractions, interesting places, and activities for children. It offers unique locations, interactive and unusual museums, artistic objects, family-friendly active leisure areas, countless playgrounds, and many experiences worth your attention. We keep returning to Šiauliai again and again, and we want to show you that a weekend trip, a short holiday, or simple leisure in Šiauliai with kids can be very exciting and fun. So take a look, plan your visit, and discover the Sun City of Šiauliai.
Leisure in Šiauliai with kids – planning a trip to the Sun City
Leisure in Šiauliai with kids is our second prepared family guide and route for this city. You can read our impressions from the first visit in the article – Šiauliai with children: city guide. There you will find everything you need to know about the most interesting attractions, activities, fun experiences, and must-see places in Šiauliai. When planning your trip, you can easily dedicate two days to Šiauliai because there is plenty to do.
Most attractions and activities are located in the city centre. Therefore you can reach everything on foot. If you enjoy walking and collecting steps with your children, Šiauliai will suit you well. Also, the Šiauliai Tourism Information Centre offers bicycle rentals, so you can explore the city by bike.
In addition, Šiauliai is very easy to reach by LTG Link trains because the station is just a ten-minute walk from the city’s main attractions. Moreover, trains are convenient and affordable for families since weekends and public holidays offer a 50% discount for family tickets.
Also, when travelling to Šiauliai, take balance bikes or scooters for your kids. Šiauliai has an excellent skate park and a training bike track.
Unique places in Šiauliai
Leisure in Šiauliai with kids is truly exciting because the city offers many unique and authentic locations you will not find anywhere else in Lithuania. We highly recommend these three places for families.
The Cent Room
The Cent Room is a unique place in Lithuania and will be interesting for both children and adults. Many children no longer remember Lithuanian cents, so this will feel new to them.
Students, pupils, kindergarten children, institutions, organisations, library visitors, and people from all over Lithuania glued the coins. The room’s walls and ceiling are covered with 1, 2, and 5-cent coins, and mirrors expand the space. One wall features a map of Lithuania, where towns are marked with 50, 20, and 10-cent coins, while cities appear in litas coins. Another wall displays a giant litas model, and under it stands a throne covered with coins. Visitors can sit there and take photos.
The Cent Room is included in the Lithuanian Records Book as the object decorated with the highest number of coins (157 130 units). Their total value is 3463 litas 69 cents (€1003.15).
Next to the Cent Room is the exhibition Historical Development of Money in Lithuania, which introduces money used across different periods. You can visit this place free of charge.
The largest book in Lithuania “Aukuras Salduvei”
The largest Lithuanian book is displayed on the first-floor foyer of the Šiauliai Academy Information Centre. This book was created for the Millennium of Lithuania. Aukuras Salduvei. The Great Salduvė Book is 125 cm tall, 90 cm wide, 25 cm thick, weighs 113.6 kg, and has 184 pages. Its author and creator is ethnographer and industrial designer Vilius Puronas.
You can visit this book along with the Cent Room. The book is also free to see.
The second-highest observation deck in Lithuania
The Šiauliai Cathedral is one of the city’s main visitor attractions and an important religious site in Lithuania. However, did you know that its tower has an observation deck? After the Vilnius TV Tower, it is the second-highest publicly accessible observation platform in Lithuania.
From roughly 65 metres high, you can enjoy a view of Šiauliai’s panorama. While climbing, you can also see the cathedral’s roof structure and small exhibitions. We felt a bit scared climbing the stairs, yet it was very interesting. We would not recommend this for very small children because the stairs are steep. However, older kids will enjoy it. We left Paulė with grandma outside while we climbed the tower.
You can visit the Cathedral Tower only with a guide. Book a tour at the Šiauliai Tourism Information Centre.
What you must see in Šiauliai with kids
Vilnius University Šiauliai Botanical Garden
This is one of the places that truly surprised us in Šiauliai. We love parks and botanical gardens, especially those adapted for families. They offer walking paths, events, and educational activities. You can visit the Botanical Garden on weekdays all year round and from May to September also on weekends.
The garden is worth visiting if you enjoy plants and beauty. There is something interesting every season. In August, about 130 dahlia varieties bloom. Throughout summer, around 60 varieties of hostas and about 30 varieties of heucheras display their decorative leaves. The Šiauliai Botanical Garden covers 6.5 hectares. It impresses with its plant collections and offers celebrations and educational programs about nature and plants. We visited in June, and the rhododendrons were in full bloom. If we lived in Šiauliai, this would be a perfect place for photos.
Chaim Frenkel Villa-Museum
The Chaim Frenkel Villa-Museum with its park and fountain is a special place in Šiauliai. Chaim and Dora Frenkel built the two-storey villa in 1908 next to their successful leather factory. It is a unique early 20th-century modernist (Art Nouveau, Jugendstil) building. The façade combines different style elements, and the authentic interior charms visitors with wooden decor and decorative mouldings. The exhibitions present the culture of Lithuanian provincial manors, the interwar Šiauliai city, and Jewish heritage.
The villa hosts exhibitions, concerts, book presentations, film festivals, and other events. A modernist park surrounds the villa, where a thousand-rose garden was planted in 2018 for Lithuania’s independence centenary.
There is also an excellent restaurant with a beautiful courtyard terrace. The food is delicious. We highly recommend visiting.
Šiauliai Boulevard
Šiauliai Boulevard is the city’s main pedestrian street and a must-walk location. Here you will find important museums, the Šiauliai Tourism Information Centre, playgrounds, leisure areas, and fountains. However, the most fun part is the “different” zoo you discover along the boulevard. Šiauliai is full of animal drawings and sculptures — a chameleon on a tree, butterflies on walls, cats walking on rooftops, and snakes wrapped around posts.
As you walk through Aušros Avenue and the boulevard, look down — nine small hidden artworks lie under your feet. They resemble childhood “secret treasures.” Scan their QR codes to hear texts written by author Rimantas Kmita, connecting Šiauliai’s history with modern art.
Another must-see place on Šiauliai Boulevard is the Rooster Clock Square. The clock stands at the crossroads of two main city streets. During the Soviet era, the rooster flapped its wings every hour but later stopped working properly. Today, this Šiauliai symbol greets visitors again. It announces: “Welcome to Šiauliai!” in Lithuanian, English, German, French, Russian, Spanish, Swedish, Romani, and more languages at 12:00 and 18:00.
The Animal Garden
Wherever we travel — in Lithuania or abroad — visiting animal parks is a must for our family. Therefore we could not skip the Animal Garden inside the Vanda Kavaliauskienė Cat Museum. The Animal Garden is small but very interesting. Our favourite part was the talking parrot that repeats sounds it hears. Since the kids kept saying “mama, look,” the parrot kept saying “mama.” You will also find exotic animals. During educational sessions, children can pet cockroaches or hold a snake around their neck.
The Baltic Way Centre
The Baltic Way Centre, located next to the Šiauliai Tourism Information Centre, invites visitors to explore the paths of their ancestors and learn about Baltic culture. Visiting is free, so do not skip this place with your kids. The centre is modern and interactive. With the help of technology and games, you can enter the magical Baltic world, try a Baltic profession, create an artistic photo session, and test your knowledge about history and culture.
Leisure in Šiauliai with kids – active and outdoors
If you enjoy active time and outdoor fun, Šiauliai offers plenty of choices. Therefore always take scooters or small bikes for your kids.
Pump track in Dainai park
If you or your children enjoy riding scooters, bikes, rollerblades, or skateboards, we recommend the pump track opened in 2022. The location has two tracks. The smaller one is for younger or beginner riders — a 49-metre loop with low hills. The main track is 160 metres long with bigger hills and a more complex shape.
The “BTA Velomaster” educational track
The “BTA Velomaster” educational track is a special place where young cyclists can learn safely before riding in real traffic. It includes elements that imitate obstacles children meet in streets: curbs, steps, roadside edges, bumps, holes, and tracks.
The track helps develop coordination, balance, stability, and speed control. Kids can even practise small jumps. Unlike many tracks, this one is built on pavement instead of natural ground. Therefore children can also practise riding scooters.
You can find the “BTA Velomaster” track on the shore of Lake Talkša, next to the Iron Fox.
Lake Talkša shore
We love well-maintained outdoor areas. If you ask us what to visit in Šiauliai, Lake Talkša shore is definitely in the TOP 5. The place is perfect for families — you can walk or ride bikes. There are many rest zones, an energy labyrinth, outdoor gym equipment, water attractions, and most importantly, an impressive playground. We highly recommend visiting. Several cafés operate here, so you can enjoy ice cream or lunch. During the season, a wake park also operates.
By the way, one of Šiauliai’s symbols — the Iron Fox — stands right at Lake Talkša. It is not an ordinary sculpture. It holds the Lithuanian record as the largest animal sculpture in the country.
Another important symbol here is the Sun Clock Square. This sun-shaped square was built in 1986 for Šiauliai’s 750th anniversary. It features an 18-metre column topped with a gilded sculpture The Archer by Stanislovas Kuzma. Numbers marking the sun clock hours — 3, 6, and 12 — are embedded in the square’s pavement.
Šiauliai Young Naturalists’ Centre horse stable
The horse stable of the Šiauliai Young Naturalists’ Centre is located in the city centre, next to the Cat Museum. We recommend it to families who love animals. The stable offers horseback riding with friendly instructors. If you have long dreamed of riding with your kids or meeting horses up close, this place is ideal. The stable stands in a beautiful location. After riding, you can walk to the Salduvė Mound. That is exactly what we did — we rode horses and then walked to the mound, where we had lunch at S BAR, which has a lovely terrace overlooking the mound.
Drift&Go karting track
Our family loves karting, so we visit tracks everywhere we go. Šiauliai is no exception, especially since a new karting track opened recently. Drift&Go Karting is the new Šiauliai track that started operating in 2022. We really liked it — the track is impressive, very interesting, and full of turns. It is also long. The karts are brand new, so driving feels great.
The most interesting museums in Šiauliai with kids
Even if you usually do not enjoy museums, we truly encourage you to give Šiauliai museums a chance. They will likely change your opinion — and your children’s too. Šiauliai museums are unique, interactive, and very interesting. Some of them are the only ones of their kind in Lithuania. You can read an overview of all museums in our guide Šiauliai with kids: city guide. When travelling in Šiauliai, we recommend including these museums:
- “Rūta” Chocolate Museum
- Vanda Kavaliauskienė Cat Museum
- Radio and Television Museum
- Photography Museum
- Bicycle Museum
Where to eat well in Šiauliai
When travelling with children, we choose family-friendly cafés. Therefore we can recommend several places we tried and liked.
Bleu de Frenkel
Bleu de Frenkel is considered one of the best restaurants in Šiauliai. It is located in the Chaim Frenkel Villa. You can try gourmet dishes here, yet children also get special meals that help them explore new tastes. The restaurant offers tasting dinners too. If you come with kids, we recommend dining on the outdoor terrace. The place is wonderful, and the food is excellent.
Joker gastrobar
We chose this place because it is right across from the Šiauliai Tourism Information Centre. Locals recommended it as a cosy family-run café. The food was truly delicious. However, the main thing for us is whether there is something for kids to do. Right outside Joker gastrobar, next to the Tourism Information Centre, stands an interactive artwork called the “Sun Mirror.” When you touch the mirror, it lights up and plays cosmic sounds. Every child — and adult — can create their own music. Motiejus loved this so much that he played happily while we enjoyed dinner.
Sun City Terrace
Sun City Terrace is a paradise for families. Although the three cafés here — Soya, Manami, and Charlie Pizza — are standard choices, the location features a 500 sq. m playground. It includes climbing frames and swings. It is the largest free playground in Šiauliai. Therefore, if you want your kids to run and play while you enjoy a good coffee, this is the place to go.
