Elektrenai, Lithuania

Capital City

This town of about 11,000 people is a Soviet-era creation, built to house workers for the nearby power plant. While Elektrėnai may boast an ice hockey tradition, the reality is that most of the buildings are drab, concrete housing projects with little historical character. Bureaucracy is a persistent headache, and the climate can be bitterly cold. This is not the idyllic European town many foreigners dream of - Elektrėnai is a functional, if unremarkable, place to live. Those seeking quaint charm and vibrant culture would do better to look elsewhere in Lithuania.