What to do on the weekend in Biršton? Places to visit and a festival that invites discussion

This year, for the fourth time, it will also be the home of the only debate festival in Lithuania, "Būtent!". Rūta Kapačinskaitė, director of the Birštona tourism information center, tells about what is worth seeing and experiencing in Biršton.
According to Rūta Kapačinskaitė, head of the Birštonas tourism information center, Birštonas offers many fun activities - both for those who are longing for peace and active entertainment, as well as for those who are looking for a place to spend the weekend with the family. There are also many festivals, sporting events and other initiatives taking place here.
"The infrastructure of the city of Birštonas is excellent, there are plenty of accommodation and catering facilities, wonderful nature, lots of greenery, water bodies. The city is located almost in the very center of Lithuania, so it is easy to reach from almost any part of the country, and once reached, convenient mobility is ensured. When organizing festivals, sports or cultural events here, short distances can be reached by foot, bicycle or electric scooter in just a few minutes", R. Kapačinskaitė shares the advantages of the city.

The city is the capital of the debate festival "Būtent!"
On September 2-3, the debate festival "Būtent!" will take place for the fourth time in Biršton - an open, non-political, free event whose goal is to unite public citizens, representatives of business, science, non-governmental organizations and politics to solve issues relevant to the state. The aim is for the event to become a place for creating a common vision of the state, which will provide inspiration for real business and political decisions.
"Būtent!" festival is a place that invites everyone who wants to express their opinion and listen to others to an open conversation, and finally - to reach a mutual consensus. One of the main goals of the festival is to show that decisions important to the state are inseparable from the diversity of viewpoints and the inclusion of different opinions in consideration, says Arnas Marcinkus, one of the organizers of the festival. - We believe that the festival will once again be a great place not only for a high-quality discussion, but also for a family weekend - the event will have dedicated spaces for children and even pets."
"It would be difficult to find a person from Biršton who has not once visited this discussion festival, which has already become a beautiful annual tradition - to meet in Vytautas Park in early autumn and participate in an intellectual discussion on topics of public interest and relevance. There are not many festivals of such quality and exclusive content in Lithuania, that is why we are proud that the festival "Būtent!" is taking place in Birštona, says R. Kapačinskaitė, head of the Birštona Tourism Information Center.
This year's festival features 9 spaces with more than 300 speakers and more than 80 discussions on issues relevant to the state and society, such as energy security, civil union, war in Ukraine, digital transformation, youth engagement, emotional health at work and others. Among the speakers is the Minister of National Defense dr. Arvydas Anušauskas, presenter of TV shows, contests and events Arūnas Valinskas, priest Julius Sasnauskas, cook Gian Luca Demarco, economist Nerijus Mačiulis, poet, prose writer, psychologist and philosopher Liutauras Degėsys, Speaker of the Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania Viktorija Čmilytė-Nielsen and others, as well as and guests from abroad.
For those looking for both peace and active entertainment
Visitors to the festival can also enrich their trip by visiting special places in Birštonas. According to R. Kapačinskaitė, almost the biggest highlight of the city of Birštonas is the Birštonas observation tower.
"This is the highest observation tower in Lithuania. After climbing the 300 steps of the tower, a special pearl of nature opens up for visitors - the loops of the largest Lithuanian river - the Nemunas. Nemunas can be seen from both sides, so it seems as if we are between two rivers", says R. Kapačinskaitė.
According to her, another great place is the Vytautas Jurgis Meška Park, which was established in a 25-hectare forest without cutting down a single tree. There are sports, sculpture, cycling and recreation trails here. The park can be easily reached by walking along the Birštonas Nemunas embankment. Another unique place is the historical Žvērinčius forest. More than 500 years ago, the rulers of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania used to hunt in it for fun. Today, the forest has a circular 12 km long asphalted pedestrian and bicycle path, recreation areas and training grounds. And this, says R. Kapačinskaitė, is only a small part of the sights in the city.