Recently, Vilnius has set out to become a startup-friendly city and attract new and diverse investments and ideas. With more and more companies choosing to open offices in Vilnius, many people are starting to work for new employers at the same time.
With this, we have noticed an increase in requests from companies (especially in the IT and banking sectors) asking for help with team-building activities for small and medium sized teams, as well as questions about what there is to do in Vilnius besides a traditional city tour with a guide.
Here are a few ideas we would like to suggest for team building in Vilnius.
GIVE YOUR TEAMS A UNIQUE EXPERIENCE.
Taste of Vilnius – Activities Related to Food
#1 Tasting and cooking dinner together with famous chefs
There is no better way to get to know a new culture than through its food. Learn the basics of traditional Lithuanian cuisine or participate in a cooking workshop with contemporary chefs to explore modern Lithuanian cuisine. See more →
#2 Traditional cepelinai cooking class
A nice mix of discovering Lithuanian cuisine in an informal and fun setting at the cozy local restaurant “Senoji Trobele”. The restaurant owner will teach you how to make the most popular Lithuanian dish “Cepelinai” in an ancient way. In order to make these cooking lessons more fun, we also offer a degustation of traditional Lithuanian drinks. See more →
#3 Lithuanian beer tasting
If you have a great passion for brewing or sampling beer, we invite you for one-hour beer tasting and brewery tour followed by a guided tasting of an exclusive selection of seven local beers. See more →
Soviet Experience
Many people visiting Lithuania see us first and foremost as a former Soviet country, and this is true. However, after 25 years of independence, we are ready to look back at our Soviet past with irony and have a little bit of fun with it.
#1 Big brother is watching you
Take a short trip 25 kilometres away from Vilnius, head five metres underground, and you will find yourself in the USSR. Here, you’ll become a citizen of a totalitarian state when you participate in an interactive show called, ‘Survival in a Soviet bunker’. Your personal belongings will be confiscated upon arrival at the bunker and you’ll be given a Soviet threadbare coat as you dive into life as a citizen of the USSR. Over the course of the three-hour programme, you’ll deal with guards and their dogs, and be interrogated by the KGB. Welcome to the tension and social peculiarities of the Soviet era!
#2 Soviet Vilnius tour with vintage cars
Ever wonder what a tour of Vilnius would have looked like 30 years ago? There are still a few spots left around the city that remind us of life back in those times. We will provide vintage transportation for this tour (Lada cars or a bus with 32 seats if needed), which will include a visit to the TV Tower where guests be treated to a vodka tasting in the restaurant while taking in the panoramic view.
Finally, we will invite you to have lunch at the legendary restaurant Neringa where you will taste the best Chicken Kiev in town in a hotel setting that’s been relatively untouched since Soviet times.
#3 Meeting in a legendary Soviet style building turned hipster Mecca
Looking for a different kind of meeting space? Come check out the legendary club Kablys – an epic Soviet heritage building turned modern performance space, bar, and hipster restaurant/cafe. They have eight meeting halls suitable for groups ranging from 20 to 300 people. The Restaurant itself has received rave reviews from famous Lithuanian food bloggers.
City games using a corporate team-building iPad app
We believe that high-tech solutions are the future of team-building. PlayVilnius is a big fan and official partner of Moove Team, a company that develops team-building apps for iPADs. With the help of Moove Team software, we can tailor a city game to fit your exact objectives and team dynamic, and can also cover a wide range of activities, like talking to local people, taking creative photos or videos, and tasting local food.
This is a very good example of how technology is encouraging live communication and problem solving.
The advantages of such high-tech solutions are:
- Real-time feedback on your answers;
- Live messages from your facilitator and status updates from other teams;
- A live scoreboard.
We design the challenges to suit the location you are in and what is available in the general area of activity. You’re sure to discover some great facts about where you are and gain interesting insights along the way.
PlayVilnius has developed a few games that are ready for implementation in Vilnius for groups ranging from 10 to 100 people:
iVilnius Game – A two-hour game to discover Vilnius in an unusual way, encourage teamwork, create emotional ties and above all, to have a lot of fun. It’s a very good alternative to traditional city tours with a guide.
Restaurants Hunt – A great choice if you want to combine food and team-building, all while discovering new spots in Vilnius. The idea behind the game is to have one dinner at three different restaurants and take an informal approach to learning something new about Vilnius, your colleagues and your company while walking from one place to another in Vilnius Old Town
Vilnius Lada Hunt – A game customised for active groups
We highly recommend city games for:
- Team-building trips
- Company meetings
- Conference break activities
- Training days
- Retreats
- Client entertainment
Activities to Get Your Adrenalin Pumping
If your team is into action and competition, we have few suggestions to help fulfil these desires while discovering the city and having fun.
#1 Vilnius Race
For active teams we recommend the Vilnius Race. It’s a great combination of sightseeing and taking part in activities like driving a Segway, kayaking in the bohemian district of Uzupis, and riding a bike around Vilnius Old town.
#2 Survival course involving tank driving and AK47 shooting
Be ready for any challenge life throws your way. Our experienced instructors will teach how to navigate in a forest with old school devices and pitch a proper tent, among many other survival musts. And yes, you will get a chance to drive a tank and fire real weapons.
