Shopping in Lithuania
Shopping opportunities in Lithuania are compatible with those in the West and generally superior to those in the countries east of Lithuania.
Shopping mall is a key institution in every Lithuanian city. Hundreds of shops within each mall sell all types of goods while eating out and entertainment opportunities there are equally wide. It is common to spend an evening or entire Saturday at the malls; they are typically gazetted as "shopping and entertainment centers". Many malls are relatively centrally-located and usually larger than one would expect in a city of that size.
This "mall craze" began with Akropolis (Vilnius) in 2000, which by then was likely the largest mall in Eastern Europe. Now, each of the 4 main cities has its own Akropolis mall. The brand has since been joined by multiple competitors, among which Ozas (Vilnius) and Mega (Kaunas) are the largest.
Moreover, Lithuania has a wide network of quality supermarkets, the larger of which also sell nearly everything under a single roof, even if the variety of goods there is smaller than in the shopping malls.
Lithuanian shopping malls and supermarkets have very convenient opening times, working 7 days a week from early morning until some 22:00 or 23:00 in the evening. As such, there are few convenience stores in Lithuania. They are largely replaced by the gas stations stores which stay open 24/7 (on the main roads) and charge ~50% inflated prices on drinks and food and kiosks which close early but offer a quick shopping opportunity for newspapers, sweets, and drinks. Alcohol sales are forbidden at night and on September 1st.
The advance of shopping malls heavily hit the traditional city high streets, especially so in the smaller cities. Fewer shops and services are available there. Still, however, these high streets are far from "died out" despite what a small business lobbyist would tell you. As a tourist, it might be more interesting to stroll around a high street than a shopping center.
Archaic mostly outdoor bazaars remain another popular way to shop in Lithuania. Small-scale businessmen sell everything from berries and pirated CDs to wedding dresses and furniture there from their little shops, kiosks, or even car trunks. It can be cheap, but one can also get overcharged - you have to shop around and haggle. Joining the crowds of Lithuanians shopping in the enormous "Wild East" bazaars (such as Gariūnai or Rietavas) even during storms is an experience of its own.
The bazaars have now been joined by new Western-style marketplaces that are mostly aimed at people who prefer organic food. Prices in such markets might be higher than either in bazaars or supermarkets.
If you want to buy souvenirs, you can buy them both in the streets frequented by tourists (main cities and resorts) or in the supermarkets. Supermarkets mainly offer mass-produced Lithuania-themed Chinese-made T-shirts, cups, and fridge magnets. The street stalls additionally have a selection of traditional crafts, amber jewelry, and relatively cheap paintings. Haggle if you buy at the street stalls and be prepared to severely overpay if you buy in downtown shops established for tourists.
Fairs are another good option for souvenirs. Typically coinciding with local religious and secular holidays they draw in many salesmen from the surrounding cities and towns (including craftsmen) who transform the downtowns into large marketplaces for a weekend. The largest fairs attract even foreign salesmen from neighboring countries and beyond.
Haggling is possible only in bazaars, marketplaces, souvenir stands, and fairs. The price may be lowered by 10%-30% (even when the official price is written). Foreigners may, however, be quoted a much higher initial price than locals would, therefore check multiple salesmen before buying.
Shopping in Vilnius
The Vilnius's oldest and largest shopping mall is Akropolis (Šeškinė borough, over 100 000 sq. m), well known not only to the people all over Lithuania but also in Belarus. In weekends and Christmas period Akropolis may get heavily overcrowded which leads to a lack of parking.
Other large shopping malls are not far away. Ozas mall, with its extensive food court, suffers from having opened during the financial crisis of 2009 but is more spacious and convenient. Panorama mall near Žvėrynas is lagging behind Akropolis and Ozas, while the mid-sized Europa mall in Šnipiškės caters to the upscale market.
High streets of Vilnius emptied out to some extent with the advent of the shopping malls. However, there are still many upmarket shops in Gedimino Avenue (New Town), especially in its GO 9 shopping mall. Unfortunately, parking is expensive there (by Lithuanian standards).
If you want to shop the "old style" there are several bazaar-like open markets. In the suburban Gariūnai next to Vilnius many of today's businessmen started their business in the early 1990s. Just don't forget to negotiate. Kalvarijų market is a smaller marketplace close to the city center (in Šnipiškės), while the Halės marketplace is an even smaller historic one in the center itself. Today there are also a few modern markets mostly aimed at ecological food.
For groceries, supermarkets are the best option. They are located in every district of Vilnius.
The main supermarkets have working hours from ~08:00 until 22:00 or 23:00 and are open 7 days a week. Other shops may close down earlier. Marketplaces are only open in the first half of the day.
For souvenir shopping, there is the ordinary selection of t-shirts, cups, and magnets at the places most popular among tourists: Pilies street and Aušros Vartų street in the Old Town. A viable alternative is to buy your souvenirs at a supermarket - the larger ones among them have a dedicated shelf.
If you prefer regional souvenirs, there is amber (likely to be imported from Kaliningrad but turned into jewelry by the local artisans). In Pilies street you can also buy paintings by the local artists. Don't expect Michelangelo there, but the prices will be much lower than in the West (if you negotiate well enough).
Arts and crafts are also available there but if you want some real shopping, come during one of the fairs (St. Casimir, St. Baltrameaus). Many Old Town streets become large outdoor craft markets during these days.
Given the stories of miracles in Vilnius, you may want to buy yourself religious goods. Christian religious paintings, including replicas of the famous Divine Mercy painting and the Our Lady of Vilnius paiting, are sold on the southern side of the Gate of Dawn.
Shopping in Kaunas
Kaunas shopping scene is dominated by three large shopping centers. Each of them has shops of every kind, while the first two also have great entertainment and eating opportunities.
"Akropolis" mall (80 000 m2) is located in downtown. It doubles as an entertainment zone offering ice rink and cinema.
"Mega" mall (102 000 m2) is located on Vilnius-Kaunas-Klaipėda highway and thus is the easiest to access if you are just passing by Kaunas.
"Urmas" (70 000 m2) is a kind of shopping park with most shops accessible directly from outside. Developed from a marketplace, it has a distinctively different feel from the other two Kaunas malls as it is oriented mainly at shopping.
Beyond those, every district has smaller stores available. Big malls have effectively killed Kaunas high street (Laisvės alėja) however, with little shopping available there (after all, Akropolis is just 500 m away).
For grocery shopping as well as some souvenir shopping, supermarkets are a good option, available in every district. Moreover, various events are often held in Kaunas (mainly the downtown) which typically include fairs.
Lithuanian traditional crafts
Much of the Lithuanian ethnic crafts are useful products for day-to-day needs. These are woven textiles (blankets, tablecloths) of colorful geometric designs, wickerwork baskets and furniture, wooden crafts (such as spoons, plates and furniture decorated in cut-through patterns) and patterned metal crafts.
Today, however, all these have been largely outcompeted by manufactured goods, yet the original ethnic ones are still acquired for symbolic or art value during the many craftsmen fairs.
Lithuanian wooden religious art and crafts are arguably the most famous. They include elaborate UNESCO-inscribed crosses and chapel-posts (roofed religious sculptures on poles). Rūpintojėlis is a traditional sculpture of a sad Jesus. Such religious crafts are typically erected outdoors: at the roadsides, next to one's home or at particular locations known as "holysites" (šventvietės).
Lithuanian Jewelry has been traditionally made of metal, wood or amber. Amber jewelry is considered "the most Lithuanian one" due to Baltic amber being a local material that has few counterparts elsewhere. In fact, as early as 2000 years ago, amber was exported to the Roman Empire by the Baltic peoples.
Recently, however, the authentic Baltic metal jewelry designs have also regained popularity. They are often based on archeological finds and are more popular among the local women whereas amber is the preferred souvenir by foreigners.
Some of the unique Lithuanian crafts are reserved for particular holidays. These include
Verbos - bouquets of dried plants used on the Palm Sunday (the Sunday before Easter). They represent the palm branches that were laid in Christ's path when he triumphantly entered Jerusalem. Many Verbos are crafted and sold by vendors in streets that day and then sanctified in the churches. Verbos are the most artful in southeast Lithuania.
Equally famous are the masks crafted for Užgavėnės carnival. They are made of Papier Mâché and represent animals or stereotyped ethnic/social groups. Using those masks, people dress up as somebody else.
Margučiai are artfully dyed/decorated Easter eggs which are then used for various contests (e.g. "whose egg is stronger" or "whose egg goes further when pushed"). Many families still dye their eggs at home rather than buying them at a shop.
Among the unique crafts are the sodai ("gardens") that were usually reserved for weddings. These 3D contraptions of dried grass are extremely fragile and thus are not sold as souvenirs.
See also: Visual arts in Lithuania , Top 10 Lithuanian folk arts.
Money and Bank Cards in Lithuania
Lithuania uses Euro (Lithuanian: Euras (singular), Eurai (plural)), symbol €, as its currency. Euro is divided into 100 Eurocents (eurocents, eurocentai). There are banknotes of 5, 10, 20, 50, 100, 200, 500 and coins of 1, 2, 5, 10, 20, 50 Eurocents and 1, 2 Euro. Euro is used in many European countries and the banknotes are similar everywhere, lacking any Lithuanian details. Locally-minted coins have Lithuanian coat of arms (Vytis) on them, but the coins with details of other European countries also circulate within Lithuania. There are commemorative 2 Euro coins issued every year by Lithuania and the other countries that use the Euro.
The original Lithuanian currency Litas (plural forms: Litai, Litų), abbreviation Lt, is no longer accepted since 2015 but may be exchanged or added to the collection. It was subdivided into 100 Centas (Centai, Centų). Banknotes of 1, 2, 5, 10, 20, 50, 100, 200, and 500 Litas existed, with 100 being the most common and 500 the rarest. 1, 2 and 5 Litas banknotes had been replaced by coins in 2000s meaning that they are also scarce. Additionally, there were coins of 1, 2, 5, 10, 20, and 50 contain. There were many special editions of 1 Litas coins commemorating various historical events.
Other currencies are not used but are possible to exchange at many banks. Bank wards in the major shopping malls are open longer and do not close on Sundays. It is easy to exchange US Dollars and British Pounds. Currencies of neighboring countries (Polish Zloty, Russian, and Belarussian Roubles) are also exchanged. As for the rarer currencies, they often may be only exchanged at some particular currency exchange offices, and they command a bad rate.
Credit/debit cards are widely but not universally accepted in Lithuania. They are less popular in smaller towns and are never used in traditional marketplaces. Chain stores and restaurants are more likely to accept cards than independent alternatives. There are a few businesses operating on a card-only basis. ATM machines are readily available, especially near main supermarkets. Visa and Master Card are the most common cards; acceptance of American Express is more limited.