Understand
LiepÄja, a wonderful city of about 90,000 residents, is a gemstone, located on Latvia's Baltic coast. It is Latvia's third largest city and arguably the next most important city after the capital Riga and the former capital of Latvia during World War I. It is important for tourists to know that Liepaja city consists of two main areas of interest - 1) the city center, and 2) Karosta, the northern part of the city, which used to be a secret soviet military town. Both the city center and Karosta have great beaches, and you will be surprised how unspoiled and beautiful the central beach is, and how white and soft the sand is! Karosta is essentially another city, because it really has a different history and look from the rest of Liepaja; Karosta is worth a separate visit. In Liepaja there is no place to be called `the old town`, but the center and surroundings are full of old, beautiful wooden buildings, little irregular streets, etc. The center also includes the Seaside Park Jurmalas parks area, which has a fantastic white, soft sand beach; the park itself is great, too, with many nice buildings.
