Palace of the Grand Dukes of Lithuania: Tickets, Routes, Hours and Visiting Guide

💡 The Short Version: The Palace of the Grand Dukes of Lithuania (Valdovų rūmai) stands on Cathedral Square, a reconstruction of the residence of the Grand Dukes of Lithuania, with archaeological cellars and furnished state rooms. A ticket for all four routes is €17.00 for adults, with half price for students and seniors (National Museum Palace of the Grand Dukes); single routes cost €4 to €10. From September to May, the palace is closed on Mondays, open until 20:00 on Thursdays, and closes early at 16:00 on Sundays; it is open daily in summer (June–August). Last admission is strictly one hour before closing. Or book a tour: Vilnius: Old Town Walking Tour with Local Guide & Chocolatead (from €21, 4.9 stars from 26 reviews) is a 2.5-hour walk through the Old Town with a local guide, chocolate included, for the history of the streets around the palace.

⚠️ Closed Mondays in autumn and winter. Between 1 September and 31 May, the museum is closed every Monday. On Sundays in winter, the palace closes early at 16:00 (last entry 15:00). Thursday is the late evening, open until 20:00.

Ticket prices and route options

The museum has four self-guided routes, sold separately or as one ticket. Tickets are sold at the box office at Katedros a. 4; pay by card or cash.

Students and seniors pay half price on showing documents. Children under 7 and visitors with disabilities enter free (valdovurumai.lt). When you buy more than one route, each additional route is up to 50% cheaper.

With 90 minutes, buy Route I (the excavated cellars) and Route II (the ceremonial halls).

Audioguides cost €1.00 in Lithuanian, English, Russian (Routes I and II), Ukrainian and Polish (Route III) (valdovurumai.lt).

The palace’s archaeological foundations. Photo: Hayden Soloviev, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0.

Opening hours by season

Hours change on 1 June and 1 September (valdovurumai.lt):

Last entry is 60 minutes before closing. The museum closes an hour earlier before national holidays. In 2026 it is closed on 1 January, Easter Sunday and Monday, 1 May, 1 November and 24–26 December.

The four visitor routes explained

Route I: History, Archaeology and Architecture

This route goes through the archaeological excavations beneath the palace courtyards.

• Masonry: The reconstruction was built on steel pilings over the excavated ruins. You walk along raised steel gangways above 13th-century wooden settlements, 14th-century Gothic brick defensive walls, and Renaissance water drainage channels.
• Finds: Display cases hold over 300,000 artefacts recovered during the two-decade dig, including imported Italian glazed maiolica tiles, gold-leaf signet rings, coins minted by Grand Duke Vytautas, and ceramic stove tiles decorated with the Polish Eagle and Lithuanian Vytis.
• Virtual reality: For a €3.00 surcharge (bought with a Route I ticket), a VR headset shows a 3D reconstruction of the Lower Castle growing from a wooden redoubt in 1300 to a Renaissance royal residence in 1550.

Route II: Reconstructed Historical Interiors

Route II ascends to the upper levels of the palace, through the ceremonial state apartments of the Lithuanian Grand Dukes and Polish Kings.

• Late Gothic Hall: Brick rib vaulting, stained glass and medieval timber furniture from the court of Casimir IV Jagiellon.
• Renaissance State Apartments: Modelled on Wawel Castle in Kraków, from the reign of Sigismund I the Old and his Italian-born queen, Bona Sforza. The Great Renaissance Hall has coffered timber ceilings carved with gilded rosettes and heraldic shields.
• Jagiellonian Tapestries: The palace walls display Flemish wool and silk tapestries manufactured in Brussels between 1550 and 1560, commissioned during the reign of Sigismund II Augustus.
• Early Baroque Throne Room: Lined with Genoa cut-velvet wall coverings, Dutch marble fireplaces, and portraiture of the Vasa dynasty rulers.

The restored Renaissance staterooms in Route II. Photo: Pofka, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Route III: Weaponry, Daily Life and Music

This route focuses on court life, military defences, and the cultural achievements of the Grand Duchy.

• The Armoury and Weaponry: Displays functional plate armour, chainmail hauberks, halberds, cross-bows, and firearms used during the Livonian Wars and conflicts with Muscovy.
• Court Musical Culture: Commemorates the staging of the very first Italian opera in Vilnius in 1636—Il ratto d’Elena (The Abduction of Helen)—performed inside this palace just twenty-nine years after Monteverdi wrote L’Orfeo in Mantua.
• The Treasury: Exhibits ceremonial court gifts, diplomatic presents from Western European monarchs, and Lithuanian gold ducats.

Route IV: Museum Exhibition Centre

Route IV is the exhibition centre, which hosts rotating international loan exhibitions. Until 6 December 2026 these include From Enemy to Ally, on Lithuania, Poland and the Ottoman Empire in the 14th to 19th centuries (valdovurumai.lt). The ticket is €8.00.

Tours and guided walks

Vilnius: Old Town Walking Tour with Local Guide & Chocolate

From €21 · 4.9 stars from 26 reviews · 2.5 hours · local guide and chocolate tasting

Vilnius: Old Town Walking Tour with Local Guide & Chocolatead: a walk through the Old Town led by a local, covering the city’s history, everyday life and hidden corners, with chocolate as part of the tour.

Vilnius: Hidden Courtyards and Lost City Walking Tour

From €25 · 5.0 stars from 8 reviews · 2.5 hours · secret courtyards and passages

Vilnius: Hidden Courtyards and Lost City Walking Tourad: a guided route through the Old Town’s secret courtyards and passages, looking for traces of the lost city and hidden art.

Vilnius: Guided Baroque City Tour

From €30 · 5.0 stars from 5 reviews · 2 hours · St Theresa’s, Dominican Church and the cathedral

Vilnius: Guided Baroque City Tourad: a guided tour of Baroque Vilnius, visiting the Church of St Theresa, the Dominican Church and the cathedral.

Official ticket or tour: the prices side by side

The inner courtyard and Renaissance arcades of the Palace. Photo: Alma Pater, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0.

Practical visiting rules

• Cloakroom and lockers: Large rucksacks, umbrellas and winter coats go in the lockers or the staffed cloakroom on the basement ticket floor. The lockers take a €1 coin, refunded on opening.
• Accessibility: Lifts and step-free ramps connect all four floors, the underground excavations and the courtyard. Wheelchairs can be borrowed at reception.
• Photography: Handheld photography without flash or tripod is allowed in the permanent exhibitions. Route IV loan exhibitions may restrict it.
• Families: Baby-changing stations and rest areas are on the basement level. Small strollers fit the galleries and lifts.

What to see next

• Vilnius Cathedral and Bell Tower: across Cathedral Square from the palace.
• Gediminas Tower: the hill behind the palace, with the remains of the Upper Castle.
• Vilnius University and St John’s: the old university quarter, founded by King Stephen Báthory in 1579.
• Free Things to Do in Vilnius: viewpoints, gardens and architecture that cost nothing.
• Vilnius City Hub: the city overview, with getting there and getting around.