Rezekne is a relatively large town in Latgale, it is often regarded as a cultural centre of this Latvian region. In 2013 it acquired a new concert hall, Latgolas Gors (The Spirit of Latgale). A cultural and social activity centre "Zeimuls" ("pencil" in Latgallian) stands out with a nice twist of post-modern architecture. There is not really much to see in the town but the region plenty of nice sights, it is hilly and dotted with many lakes.

Rezekne was a large industrial centre in Soviet era, but the collapse of manufacturing was much more complete than in other places and the following recovery quite weak.