Things to see in Vilnius

A picturesque town gate and tower that has become one of the city's best-known sights. There were once 10 gates leading into the Old Town - this is the only one remaining, and today plays home to a chapel which is open to the public. Said to have miracle-working powers, people come from far and wide to pray to the painting of the Blessed Virgin Mary inside the chapel.

Previously known as the Museum of Genocide Victims, the dark days of the Soviet occupation come alive at this chilling museum. Housed in the former KGB headquarters, the actual building where anyone who had rankled the authorities was held, tortured and then either executed or condemned to the gulags. A must for anyone with an interest in the city's darker past.

Refurbished after being handed back to the Church (under the Soviets it was used as an art gallery), Vilnius's landmark cathedral is now back to its stunningly white best. There has been a religious building on the site since the 13th century, with today's incarnation largely the result of 18th-century work.

Outside the Cathedral, look for the Miracle tile with the words STEBUKLAS - this marked one end of the Baltic Way, a political demonstration where two million people joined their hands to form a human chain from Vilnius to Riga (Latvia) and Tallinn (Estonia) on 23 August 1989. It is said that once you locate the Miracle tile, you're supposed to make a wish and spin around clockwise three times.

Not far from the Miracle tile, near the freestanding bell tower, you will find a set of granite footprints commemorating the Baltic Way.

This unusual statue of the oddball American musician and alternative thinker is surely the only one of its kind in the world, revealing Vilnius's playful side. It was sculpted by a local artist, Konstantinas Bogdanas, in brass, and unveiled in 1995.