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Lithuania is located at the western end of the East European Plain, on the shores of the Baltic Sea. It borders Latvia to the north (576-km border), Belarus to the East and South (660 km), and to the Southwest Poland (103 km) and the Russian Federation (Kaliningrad district - 273-km). Lithuania extends 373 kilometres from East to West and 276 from North to South, and is 65301 km, almost twice the size of the Netherlands. This makes Lithuania the biggest of the three Baltic States.

The geographical centre of Europe (54grad.51' north and 25grad.19' east) lies in Lithuania, 20 kilometres north of Vilnius.

Lithuania consists predominantly of gently rolling plains (55% of the total land area) and extensive forests (30.3% of the country). Lithuania is more forested than Great Britain, Sweden, Finland, Norway, Denmark, Latvia and Belarus. The average height above sea level is 99 meters, with the highest point being Juozapine Hill (293.6) in Southeast Lithuania. There are 758 rivers and streams longer than ten kilometres. The longest river is the Nemunas at 937 km in length (475 km through Lithuania). The country boasts more than 2800 lakes covering 1.5% of the country's area.

The most beautiful part of Lithuania is the famous Curonian spit, Lithuania's "tiny Sahara". Registered as a Unesco world heritage site in December 2000, the Curonian lagoon and spit were formed 5000 years ago by the churning waves of the restless Baltic Sea: the northern part of the lagoon belongs to Lithuania and the southern part to the Russian Federation (Kaliningrad district). The Curonian spit is a remarkable natural phenomenon. The 50 km-long portion of the peninsula is as narrow as 400 meters is some sections. Now a national park, the Curonian spit is an ecological treasure and serves as an important resting spot for approximately 15 million birds during their annual migrations. There are five natural reserves in Lithuania, 30 regional parks and about 750 protected landscape objects. These protected areas encompass 16.9% of the country's total forest area.

Lithuania consists of ten counties and four cultural regions, of which Zemaitija (the Lowland), Aukstaitija (the Highland), Sulvakija and Dzukija. Major cities include Vilnius (the capital has 578 000 inhabitants), Kaunas and Klaipeda; 68% of the population live in urban areas. Unesco declared Vilnius Old Town, dating from the 16th century, a World Heritage Site in 1994.

Lithuania has a modern highway system, several international airports and a major ice-free seaport at Klaipeda. The country is relatively poor in natural resources.

The Lithuanian language is among the oldest in Europe and belongs to the Baltic group of Indo-European languages. Lithuanian, among all the living Indo-European languages has been the most successful in preserving its ancient system of phonetics and most of its morphological features. The history of the written Lithuanian language starts in Lithuania Minor (East Prussia) in the middle of the 16th century. The very first book written in Lithuania was the Catechismus of Martinas Mazvydas, published in 1547. Also of great importance were the 1599 book Postile of Mikalojus Dauksa and Konstantinas Sirvydas' trilateral (Polish-Latin-Lithuanian) dictionary in approximately 1620. The first Lithuanian grammar was published in 1653.

An interesting Lithuanian folk-art tradition is the carving of large wooden crosses, suns, weathercocks or figures of saints on tall poles that are placed at crossroads, in cemeteries, village squares or at the sites of extraordinary events. In the Soviet period, such work was banned, but it survived to amazing effect at the Hill of Crosses near Siauliai.

Dairy products and potatoes are mainstays of the Lithuanian diet, and pancakes are particularly popular. A traditional (and unforgettable) meal is cepelinai, a zeppelin-shaped parcel of a glutinous substance (allegedly potato dough), with a wad of cheese, meat or mushrooms in the centre. It comes topped with a sauce made from onions, butter, sour cream and bacon bits. Sakotis is a tall, Christmas-tree shaped cake generally served at weddings, while dinner on Christmas Eve consists of 12 different vegetarian dishes. Utenos and Kalnapilis are the best local brands of beer, perhaps preferable to midus (mead), which can be as much as 60% proof. Those who prefer to make their own decision about when to lie down should look out for stakliskes, a honey liqueur.