Visiting Šiauliai & Hill Of Crosses

The following recap of a daytrip to Šiauliai (from Vilnius) is courtesy of Paul A. from San Francisco, California, who visited in mid-May 2023.

As a tourist visiting Šiauliai and the Hill of Crosses, I traveled on foot and bus. Since I was coming from Vilnius, I took the train at the main station (Stotis). The first train left at 7:30am and it was a 2.5-hour ride. I decided to do the round trip from Vilnius and back. The last train from Siauliai to Vilnius is at 6:25pm and the total fare cost me 29,84€.

From Šiauliai to the Hill of Crosses

I arrived around 10:00am and asked for the information at the Šiauliai train station on how to go to Kryzius Kalnas/Hill of Crosses. I was told to go to the bus station (Autobusu Stotis) in Šiauliai, which is about 500 meters walk from the train station.

I took the bus, and the fare is a cheap 0,90€! It was about a 20-minute ride and about 12 kilometers away. The bus stop you’ll want to get off at is called Domantai. From there, it’s about two kilometers walk to the Hill of the Crosses.

More specific directions can be found on the local government page here.

Briefly exploring Šiauliai afterwards

I spent about one hour at the Hill of Crosses and walked back to Domantai station. From there, I took the bus to go to the city and got off at the Peter and Paul Cathedral on Tilzes Gatve/Street. I also walked behind the Cathedral, where I saw sundial square, the cemetery, and the Iron Wolf.

From there, I walked towards the Siauliai Sviecia and saw pictures on display of the city back in the early 1900s. A lot of the tourist attractions are in Vilniaus Gatve. Also on Vilniaus Gatve is a tourist information office. Inside, staff will provide me all the information you’ll need for sightseeing. It saved me a lot of time, and they gave me map of Šiauliai.

While Paul didn’t provide us with any photos of his trip, we have a recap video of a separate trip highlighting some of the main areas of Šiauliai.

Interested in getting from Vilnius to Kaunas? Check out our article on the topic, here!