rundale palace museum (rundales pils)

Rundale Palace is about a 1 hour drive from Riga and is well worth visiting. The palace has been extensively renovated and has wonderful rooms and exhibitions with explanation cards in English.We were there in winter so could not enjoy the gardens but they are extensive and must be magnificent from late spring onwards. It seems that the BBC have just finished filming some period drama there. As so often in Latvia, the parking is free and the entrance price very reasonable.A top tip, the castle at Bauska is close by and looks impressive and also worth a visit, but time beat us so I am unable to review.

Lovely gardens and the palace itself looks really good after it was refurbished. Full of historical exhibitions. A nice place to spend a day out.

Late spring and summer is the best time for visiting Rundale Palace as for it`s magnificent garden. Romantic alleys of trees, creepers and bushes, flower queens roses and other beauties. In the middle of it you can have coffee, tea, glass of vine in the small cafeteria or just take a seat on one of the garden benches to feed your soul :)

This palace is full of cultural exhibits.If you are interested in history of the Duchy of Courland and Semigallia it worth coming.Even if you are not cultural person it worth stroling in its beatiful park and admiring the beauty of the nature.Make sure to spend whole day to be able to see both palace and garden thoroughly.The garden was closed when I was there(november 29).

Palace - museum with beautiful garden. Palace is renovated, so everything is perfect in there. Feels like in movie about musketieres.

We visit Rundale Palace & its spectular gardens while in Latvia. It was designed by the same architect of St Petersburg's Winter Palace. It has been restored after the trials of war. If I remember correctly we had to put covers on our shoes when we were shown through. It was not crowded, so easy to see rooms clearly. The gardens were on a grand French scale. Wedding are held there regularly, so not unusual to see one. People dressed in period costumes all add to the ambulance.

I visited Rundale 12 years ago, on my previous trip to Latvia and went back again Sept 2014. Many more rooms restored with great care to details and furnishings, and outside there are now fantastic gardens representative of the castle gardens in its' heyday. On the day we visited there were even folks walking around in period costumes! Inside the palace are placards in different languages explaining details of the restoration and period furniture, for those who are interested.

While Versailles is huge and crowded Rundale Palace is much smaller but with a similar elegance, and really beautiful gardens, immaculately maintained. The Palace was built by Baron Ernst Johann Biron between 1736 and 1740. The house is heated by 80 porcelain stoves ( six genuine).The rooms have different colour schemes, lovely ceilings, and beautiful stucco work and marquetry work and floors. Designed by Italian architect Rastrelli (architect of the Winter Palace in St.Petersburg)We were fortunate to see a lovely wedding , with staff dressed in period costume.

Take the bus to Bauska and then a second bus to the palace. Times are available from the Tourist Info offices in Riga. You can take a long or a short walk. We took the long one (€7), which allowed us to see the Duchess' rooms and the gardens (although the view of the formal gardens is pretty good from the palace windows). A significant number of the rooms have been restored although many others remain unopened. The pictures are unremarkable but the decor and the furniture are well worth some attention. Going in mid-September, we encountered relatively few others and had plenty of room to study individual rooms in detail.

We had planned to visit from Riga but realised it was only a short diversion on drive up from Vilnius..or it should have been !! Satnav took us well past and along gravel tracks. After quick reprogramming got back to where we had turned off to find road to this stunning Palace was not signposted from first junction albeit it was from a second one. Anyway, once there we found that the garden cafe was closed whilst the restaurant offered only full fancy meals. We subsequently found a small cafe near the coach park that none of the unhappy staff had mentioned and that satisfied our immediate hunger. The palace itself is quite stunning and almost an anachronism in this part of Latvia. Thankfully the curators have concentrated on the appearance of the rooms rather than clogging them with unnecessary paraphernalia and one could appreciate how the Dukes of Courland used to live...... Very interesting.

This took a bit of a journey, using local buses, but was worth the effort! We took the bus to Bauska, then another short bus ride to Pils Rundale. Do check bus times as they are not that frequent. Rundale Castle is not signposted or visible, even from the bus stop, so ask and check! It is stunningly beautiful when you find it. Allow about 6 hours for the round trip from Riga.

Nice palace worth a half a day visit. Possibility to see the garden and several room of the palace.If you go during the weekend several weddings may take place so you may need to wait to visit some rooms. Possibility to eat in several places nearby.Parking possibilities limited especially when weddings take place.

This was my favorit palace. It has a lot to see and admire. This is a small Versailles, but with no crowds. The gardens are beautiful, well preserved. We walked and then took a train around the gardens. It was a very nice trip until it started to rain, but we enjoyed it! The driver was nice enough to take us to the close by restaurant.

I didn't really enjoy my last trip to Versailles - too big, too busy, too empty. This is a smaller version but a much more personal experience, without the crowds. A large stately home with pleasant garden in the middle of the countryside about an hour south of Riga. Several cafes on site to provide suitable nourishment. Well worth a visit.

Palace that is in amazing condition and was not at all busy. Rarely can you find an amazing place like this that is not overrun with tourists. Gardens are also extremely nice.I bit hard to find, but worth the mission.