This was perfect for us: close to the city, but outside the normal tourist run. We quickly found the secret of getting a five-day pass for Tram #5 for €9 - I think we each used it over 18 times including a very interesting tour to both extremities of the line: there we got out and could get lost in local living without getting lost. Also the little café across the street that Christine and Yanis had tried to warn us was full of gangsters, was a very okay place for a coffee or nibble -- we didn't try the panorama restaurant at the hotel just down the street, but we did rescue one rainy day by going to Joker Klubs the bathhouse that is not even listed if you Google 10 (of 43) best spas in Riga, but was close by, clean, professional, and well worth the €17 for an afternoon.