Погода: Вильнюс, январь

Regulars are specific this counts as peak season here, flights running noticeably more expensive than the shoulder months, with hot days making the lake resorts ringing the capital a genuinely popular escape from the city itself. Our row backs that warm, genuinely wet read, 24.2C over 13.8C nights, with a substantial 114mm of rain across 13.5 days and humidity at 73 percent. Regulars are consistent the Old Town's outdoor bars and terraces stay lively well into the evening, nights cooling enough for comfortable sleeping even after a genuinely hot day. Booking accommodation ahead is the standard advice given how far in advance the peak-season squeeze on rooms starts. The record: 11.6 hours of sun, a 16.4 kph wind and AQI 42.

Regulars are unsentimental about March here: it is the month of melting snow and the dirt that appears from underneath it, and not the city at its prettiest. The range they give is wide - anywhere from below zero to 10 or 12C, milder towards the end - with snow early in the month turning to rain later, and the year it snowed into April as their standing warning that none of it is reliable. Our row sits at 6.8C by day, though only 3C to stand in, over nights at -1.9C that feel like -6C in an 18.9 kph wind, with 7.5cm still in the snow column. Warm clothes that also stay dry is their advice, and check the forecast a few days out rather than packing on averages. The record: humidity 75 percent, 6.9 hours of sun and AQI 41.

Regulars give August as 22 to 27C by day and 12 to 15C at night, which is our row almost exactly at 24C over 13.1C, and warn that it cools from the middle of the month - warm days, cooler evenings - with September cool enough that they push people towards early August instead. They are honest that a Lithuanian summer is a lottery: some are sunny throughout, some rain almost the whole way, and one day hot can be followed by one day wet. Our 84.8mm falls across 10.8 days. The unusual note is social - the city is full of working people in winter and empties in summer as residents leave on holiday. The record: humidity 74 percent, 10.7 hours of sun inside 14.9 of daylight and AQI 41.

Forum posters put December around freezing and call it a genuine coin flip whether you get snow, rain, or a run of chilly drizzle instead - dark by around 3pm either way. The Christmas market on Cathedral and Town Hall squares gets described as small but cozy rather than a huge production, with tree illuminations and festive decorations scattered through the old town. The standard advice for the season: don't plan to spend much time outdoors, lean on the city's many small, warm cafes between sights, and budget 2-3 days for Vilnius itself plus an extra day if a Trakai or Kaunas side trip is on the list. An umbrella and warm jackets are treated as non-negotiable.