Dariaus and Girėno Sports Complex

In 1940 thousands of Jews from Poland and Lithuania were desperate to get out, but they needed visas. The Dutch issued many visas for Curaçao and their Caribbean colonies, but getting there became much more difficult when Italy joined the Nazis and closed the Med. The main escape route was then across the USSR to the Pacific. In Kaunas the Japanese vice-consul Chiune Sugihara (1900-86) issued hundreds of Japanese transit visas, blithely disregarding orders to conduct all sorts of checks. He may have saved thousands of lives, as a whole family could travel on one visa; from Japan they moved on to North America and elsewhere. His mission ended when the embassy closed, Germany crushed Lithuania, and anyone who hadn't got out was exterminated. Sugihara spent his later years in obscurity in Japan; his Kaunas residence is now this museum.

Dinky little whitewashed brick mosque and minaret built in 1930. The city's first Muslims were Tatars in the 15th century, and this patch was their graveyard, hence the street name Totoriu. It was their quarter of Ramybė Park, which elsewhere interred Catholics, Lutherans and Orthodox. Eventually a wooden mosque, imam's house and school appeared on the site.

The house was built in 1932 for soprano Adelė Nezabitauskaitė-Galaunienė (1895–1962) and art historian Paulius Galaunė (1890–1988). The architect was Arnas Funkas (1898–1957).

This beautiful domed building closes off the prospect down Laisvės Aleja. Opened in 1895, it was built in neo-Byzantine style for Russian soldiers based here, and to remind the townsfolk who was in charge. However the main reason to visit is the Catacombs (accessible M-F 10:00-14:00). You descend a spiral staircase into total darkness then feel your way through an underground obstacle course, eventually re-ascending a similar staircase into the light. It started out as an art installation but is now run by the Museum for the Blind, donations welcome. Not for the fainthearted, small children or anyone with difficulty moving around.

Within Ąžuolynas Park, this was renovated in 2023 and now offers a better experience for animals and visitors.

Grandiose chunk of interbellum architecture, built at huge cost in 1937. Part of the "Modernist Kaunas: Architecture of Optimism, 1919–1939" UNESCO World Heritage Site. The main façade is adorned by the granite sculpture Three Giants (Trys Milžinai) that became a symbol of the Club. The second floor is the piano nobile with the Grand Hall, Hall of Vytautas, Hall of Dukes and Hall of the President, festooned with chandeliers, paintings, frescoes, furniture, and stained glass. It's now an events venue.