Geographic location
Lithuania is located in North-Eastern Europe; it shares 588 km of borders with Latvia to the north, 273 kilometers with Russia, in the West (Kaliningrad) 103 km with Poland and 660 km south and east of the country with Belarus. It is bordered to the west by 99 km of coastline with access to the Baltic Sea.

Relief:
Sandy plains, hills covered with pine forests, numerous lakes and rivers.

Climate:
The climate is both maritime and continental with cold winters and pleasant summers. The average winter temperature is around – 5 ˚ C and 17 ˚ C in summer.
LANDSCAPE IN LITHUANIA

Lithuania has five national parks (Aukštaitija, Dzūkija, Žemaitija, Kuršiu Spit and Trakai), as well as 30 regional parks, which cover 12% of the national territory. Highlight: Juozapines Kalnas 292 m.

In many parks, especially in the south and east of the country, there are ancient villages, roads or fields that have kept their original structures and their Ethnographic Reserve status.
Lithuanian forests are home to elk, deer, wild boars, wolves and lynx. It is unwise to venture there without a guide. Lithuania also has more than 2,000 otters. The stork is the most familiar bird of Lithuanians. The four reserves in the country, all located within national parks, 35 protected wildlife species, 200 birds, twenty species of fish and over 600 species of flowers. They can only be visited if you are accompanied by a member of the reserve.
Area: By area (65,300 km2) Lithuania is larger than the Netherlands, Belgium, Denmark, Switzerland, Latvia and Estonia Country. It is much smaller than Austria, the Czech Republic and France and almost equivalent to Ireland.

Airlift
There are three international airports and flights between London, New York,  Canada (etc.) and Vilnius.

Road infrastructure
By road, the journey from Paris to Vilnius is about two days.
State highways is satisfactory. Poor condition of roads. Local and international transport is well developed. It is faster to travel by bus or train.

Rail network
Good general condition of a network mainly dedicated to freight goods.

ACCOMMODATION

Various types of accommodation are available in Lithuania between hotels and luxury apartments or hostels and cheap campsites.

Hotels and motels are classified in categories from 1 to 5 stars.
Hostels and guest houses – from 1 to 4 stars.

Many international hotel chains are located in Lithuania: “Radisson SAS”, “Scandic Hotels Hilton Group.” “Le Meridien”, “Best Western”, “Relais & Chateaux”, “Holiday Inn”, “Summit Hotels and Resorts”, “Crowne Plaza”, “Reval Hotel Group”, “Hotel”, “Cendant Hotel Group”, “Unique Stay Hotels “,” Boutique Hotels and Resorts International “,” Cendant Hotel Group “etc..
There are also some Lithuanian hotel chains “Centrum”, “Baltpark”, “Europa”. Most hotels have modern conference centers.

The number of festivals and traditions were celebrated already in pagan times before being Christianized, are related to the cycle of seasons and working in the land.

For Mardi Gras – adults and children dressed as animals roam the streets.

In the past, the midnight, an effigy of winter incarnate, called the More, is burned in the collective joy.

St. Casimir (Kaziukas) feast, on March 4, is greatly honored because of being the only saint of the country to be celebrated.
In Vilnius, a large craft fair takes place which provides all the verbos and fins made ​​of herbs, plants and dried corn husks that are released for the Palm Sunday procession.

At Easter (Velykos), where we swim in a river before dawn is a sign of purification prior to the spring cleaning. Sunday after Mass, eggs are painted and the children play in the garden.

In Lithuania, on July 6, is the commemoration feast of the State, one of the most interesting festivals. It takes place in Kernave – the first Lithuanian capital, burned by the Teutonic Knights in the Middle Ages.

In June, Lithuania celebrate the shortest night of the year, the feast of St John. It invokes high level of pagan magics: the fires, traditional songs, dances and ritual games. As in the other Baltic countries, the people of the town gathers to stay until the dawn by the great bonfire which is believed symbolically to burn the past troubles. Wreaths are weaved to float in the waves, and the mythical fern flower, once again, is searched.

CUISINE

The traditional cuisine mainly consists of  potato dishes, tomatoes, cucumbers, dairy products, mushrooms and pork. The most common dish,  a symbol of Lithuanian cuisine is the « cepelinai », potato rolls stuffed with meat and topped with bacon, whose form recalls the famous airship “Zeppelin”.

Other dishes of potatoes are highly appreciated: potato pancakes, the “kugelis” of chopped potatoes, sausage potatoes “vedarai” and etc..

Another traditional Lithuanian dish is “saltibarsciai” – the traditional cold beetroot soup with cucumber cut into pieces. Smoked or pickled fish and black bread are essential in Lithuanian cuisine. For desserts, the cakes, rolls and other pastries are very popular.