Kaunas is the second-largest city in Lithuania after Vilnius and an important centre of Lithuanian economic, academic, and cultural life. Kaunas was the biggest city and the centre of a county in the Duchy of Trakai of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and Trakai Palatinate since 1413. In the Russian Empire, it was the capital of the Kaunas Governorate from 1843 to 1915.

During the interwar period, it served as the temporary capital of Lithuania, when Vilnius was seized by Poland between 1920 and 1939. During that period Kaunas was celebrated for its rich cultural and academic life, fashion, construction of countless Art Deco and Lithuanian National Romanticism architectural-style buildings as well as popular furniture, the interior design of the time, and a widespread cafÉ culture. The city interwar architecture is regarded as among the finest examples of European Art Deco and has received the European Heritage Label. It contributed to Kaunas being named as the first city in Central and Eastern Europe to be designated as a UNESCO City of Design. Kaunas has been selected as the European Capital of Culture for 2022, together with Esch-sur-Alzette, Luxembourg.

The city is the capital of Kaunas County, and the seat of the Kaunas city municipality and the Kaunas District Municipality. It is also the seat of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Kaunas. Kaunas is located at the confluence of the two largest Lithuanian rivers, the Nemunas and the Neris, and is near the Kaunas Reservoir, the largest body of water in the whole of Lithuania.

As defined by Eurostat, the population of Kaunas functional urban area, that stretches beyond the city limits, is estimated at 383,764 (as of 2017), while according to statistics of Kaunas territorial health insurance fund, there are 437,283 permanent inhabitants (as of 2018) in Kaunas city and Kaunas district municipalities combined.

Kaunas city is a centered around culture. The Old Town of Kaunas is located at the confluence of the Nemunas and Neris Rivers where old architectural monuments and other historical buildings are located. Located to the East of the Old Town is the city's New Town, which started developing in 1847 and got its name when it became a distinct part of the city. Central Kaunas is defined by two pedestrian streets: the 2-km-long Laisves aleja (Liberty Avenue), a central street of the city, lined by linden trees and decorated with flower beds.

The Old Town is the historical center of Kaunas. The streets in Old Town have been turned to pedestrian sidewalks, so it is best to tour the place by foot. Prominent features of the Old Town include Kaunas Castle, the Town Hall, and the historical Presidential Palace. The Town Hall in Kaunas played an important role in the Medieval Times as a center for trade, festivals, and criminals were brought here for punishment. The Town Hall was originally built with wooden frames, however, after numerous fires in 1542 they began to construct buildings with stone. The stone buildings, however, also burned down so the Town Hall that stands today was constructed in a more advanced way, which took from 1771 to 1780. The Town Hall is still a center of culture today, it holds weddings and is the home of the Museum of Ceramics.

Other historical, cultural features of Kaunas include:

• Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, Eternal flame, and Statues of Lithuanian national renaissance figures are located in the Vienybes square in front of the War museum
• Kaunas Fortress, one of the largest defensive structures in Europe, occupying 65 km² (25 sq mi), a 19-20th century military fortress, which includes a Holocaust site of the Ninth Fort
• House of Perkunas
• Interbellum functionalism architecture complexes
• Two funiculars - Zaliakalnis Funicular Railway and the Aleksotas Funicular Railway
• Lithuanian open-air Ethnographic Museum displaying the heritage of Lithuanian rural life in a vast collection of authentic resurrected buildings is situated east of Kaunas on the bank of Kaunas Reservoir in a town of Rumšiškes
• Kaunas Cultural Centre of Various Nations