For starters, it’s the first biennial ever run by its St Petersburg-born founder, 32-year-old Agniya Mirgorodskaya. It comprises a youngish, entirely female curatorial cast, including chief curator Katerina Gregos. There are eight venues smattered across the small, green city: pre-war Art Nouveau buildings, relics of Soviet modernism, the train station at seaside resort town Jurmala. Each of the 104 artists and collectives is alive (refreshing), and has been remunerated (even more so). Among them: YBA star Michael Landy, scent scientist Sissel Tolaas, and Mark Dion, known for his taxonomic installations.

The biennial runs until October, and if you’ve planned a European sojourn over summer, it’s worth stopping by for a weekend to capitalize on the art buzz. Set on the Baltic Sea at the mouth of the River Daugava, the biggest of the Baltic capitals is a heady mishmash of architecture: the cobblestoned, medieval-era Old Town is World Heritage listed, and it’s thought to have the world’s highest concentration of Art Nouveau buildings. Like anywhere, there’s more to Riga than tourist tick-offs (though, admittedly, those are good too: think visits to white-sand beaches like Vecāķi and the pine-forest protected Garciems, smoked fish at the slow food market, and canal-side drinks at laidback Pagalms). Throughout RIBOCA1’s opening week, I gathered recommendations from locals—my cab driver’s beer of choice, for instance, is an amber lager by Bauskas alus—and when that didn’t work, I’d just follow the chicest artists perambulating around town.

Mr. Fox Dzirnavu 34a

Outfitted with low-hanging lights and jungly wallpaper, this vegetarian eatery proffers crowd-pleasing breakfasts, including sea trout on toast and buckwheat waffles with date caramel—but lunch is dining prime time. At around ten euros, their “Bahama Mama” is unbeatable: soft coconut rice, diced mango, and sweetly-grilled pineapple, dressed with succulent pink tiger prawns. (If you can’t get enough of fresh-caught seafood, causal-cool Japanese spot The Catch is close by too.) Mr. Fox is ideal for people watching: well-heeled locals stream through its doors in bright culottes and summery tailored suits.