At beginning of 2002 the population of Palanga town municipality was 17 700.

This small city is quiet in winter, but in summer it's transformed into Lithuania's premier seaside resort and accommodation is at a premium. It features a long, sandy beach backed by pine-covered dunes; a large botanical park with a rose garden; a hill thought to have been the site of a pagan shrine; and an excellent Amber Museum. Palanga hosts a grand opening of the summer season on the first Saturday in June; the closing of the season, on the last Saturday in August, is marked by a massive street carnival, market, song festival and pop concert. Palanga is 30km (18mi) north of Klaipeda and 18km (11mi) south of the Latvian border. Kretinga, the nearest train station, is served by daily trains from Klaipeda and Vilnius. Bus services abound. Motorists have to pay a small entrance fee to drive into Palanga.
The history of Palanga goes back a long time, as is evidenced by archaeological finds: not far from town Sventoji, archaeologists have come across a campground which suggested that the area was inhabited some 5000 years ago. In historical documents the name of Palanga was first mentioned in 1161 when the king of Denmark disembarked there with his army. In the 13th-15th centuries Palanga had to deal with the Order of the Crusaders in the south and the Knights of the Sword in the north. The enemies tried to unite, but the Lithuanian lowlanders were stubborn and didn’t give in. The enemies never reached their goal of seizing the Lithuanian seacoast from Klaipeda to Sventoji, and although Klaipeda stayed in the hands of German feudal lords according to the 1422 Treaty of Melne, Palanga and Sventoji remained until Lithuanian rule.
In 1842 Count Tiskevicius purchased Palanga. In order to revive the harbour Tiskevicius built a bridge to the sea to transport passengers and goods. However the harbour was soon buried with sand and since 1892 the bridge has been used purely for strolling.
Palanga only began to develop as a resort in the early 19th century. Then just as now the sun, the sea and the magnificent dunes attracted tourists.