A Glamorous Day Trip to Rundale Palace, Latvia

Latvia is a country that certainly has a lot of vastly underrated destinations and attractions to its name. My travels there to less well-known towns and castles has definitely proved as much. And yet, it was one of Latvia’s more well-known destinations that I completely missed during my first visit. I’m talking, of course, about the glamorous Rundale Palace in Zemgale. Having learned just how popular this attraction was, I made sure to make a day trip to Rundale Palace when visiting nearby Bauska.

In Latvia, Rundale Palace is one of only two Baroque palaces of its kind. The other is the palace in Jelgava, and while that palace is fine, there’s little doubt that this palace is one of the most beautiful places in Latvia. With a visit here, you’ll have the opportunity to see the exquisite palace interior and the lovely rear gardens as well. Chances are, this may put Latvia in a whole new light for you, so don’t miss your chance to do this wonderful day trip and see Rundale Palace.

How to Get to Rundale Palace

People typically choose to visit Rundale Palace Museum as a day trip from Riga. However, I actually visited from Bauska and combined the two destinations for a two-day trip. The thing is that the public transport is the same regardless of which way you go.

To reach Rundale Palace from Riga, first take one of the hourly buses to Bauska (Bauskas AO). From there, it’s another 20-minute bus ride to the palace (Rundale Pils in Latvian). Travelling from Riga to Rundale Palace by public transport isn’t all that hard and will cost you less than 5€ each way.

If you’re not feeling too confident about that, there is another option. Transit tours running from Riga to Vilnius and back stop at Rundale Palace, Bauska Castle, and the Hill of Crosses on their way there. Alternatively, there are private tours from Riga for those looking for a regular day trip. It’s a novel way to get between the two capitals, while fitting in some sightseeing along the way.

History of the Palace

To understand why Rundale Palace is so worth visiting, it helps to understand a little about its history. That’s not just to appreciate the palace’s origins, but also how great it is that the palace looks as it does today. Because while the palace is in fantastic condition these days, that was not always the case.

Before the current palace, there was an older palace dating from the 15th century. When the Duke of Courland Ernst Johann von Biron purchased the property in 1735 he soon had that palace destroyed to make way for a new one. Constructed from 1736 to 1768, the new palace was built to the designs of Bartolomeo Rastrelli, an Italian architect famous for his work in Russia. Rastrelli also designed Jelgava Palace and the Winter Palace in St Petersburg, explaining their similar Baroque designs.

Over the following years, the palace would bounce between various dukes and princes, before coming into the possession of Count Andrey Shuvalov in 1822. The Count and his family rarely used the palace, beginning a cycle of neglect and renovation that continued unsuccessfully until 2014, when Rundale Palace was fully restored. Which means we’re really lucky to see it as polished as it is today, given the circumstances.

Tour of Rundale Palace Museum

The main part of visiting here is to take a tour of the palace interior, and let me tell you now, it’s well worth it. I’ve visited enough royal palaces and residences that my standards are quite high at this point, but Rundale delivers. As you go about the palace, you’ll be taken through the halls and royal apartments of the upper floors, as well as exhibits down in the basement.

One important thing worth noting is that you have a choice between the “short route” and the “long route” through the palace. The only difference between the two is that the “long route” includes the Duchess’s Apartments. Since I only took the “short route,” this article should allow you to decide whether it’s enough or not.

Speaking of what I saw, rather than go through every single room and exhibition here, I thought I’d focus on the highlights. Even though there were some unexpected exhibits like one on old-fashioned European board games and card games, the main halls are really why you come here.

I will say, though, that there’s plenty of information available on your palace tour thanks to information cards available in several languages. This way, you can absorb as much or as little information as you like during your visit.

White Hall, Gilt Hall and Rose Room

Touring the palace, the main rooms you’ll want to see are the White Hall, the Gilt Hall and the Rose Room. There are many, many more state rooms and apartments with rare book collections, countless portraits, antique ceramic stoves and even a reproduction of a Rembrandt in them. And yet it was those three rooms that most impressed me.

The White Hall, as you might have guessed, is the spacious and ornate hall you can see above. All across its ceiling and walls are finely crafted stucco decorations, including bas reliefs depicting the four seasons. Johann Michael Graff created these decorations and the shelf-like ones in the neighbouring Porcelain Room in 1768. The Porcelain Room it should be mentioned, showcases a display of 45 Chinese and Japanese vases from 17-19th centuries and is really quite something.

Next we have the Gilt Hall, whose name is kind of a dead giveaway. Seen above, the entire room is lined with elaborate golden ornamentation that frames a huge painting on the ceiling by Italian painters Carlo Zucchi and Francesco Martini. Finally, there’s the Rose Room which also relies on magnificent stucco decorations. This time though, painted stucco marble has been crafted to create flowers on the wall in quite a delicate way.

Rundale Palace Gardens

Finally, we come to what is often many people’s favourite part of this palace. There’s a reason why you typically see exterior photos of Rundale Palace from only one angle after all. It’s because the sight of the palace is greatly enhanced by the gorgeous formal gardens that lie out back. You can even buy tickets just to the gardens if that’s really just what you want to see here.

The palace gardens of Rundale consist of the French Garden and the Rose Garden. With its fountains and hedge rows, the French Garden occupies most of the palace gardens and are so large that getting lost isn’t hard. See if you can find the little cafe hidden down its hedge tunnels or the Green Theatre outdoor amphitheatre. Off to either side of the French Garden lie the two halves of the Rose Garden. With over 2000 rose varieties in use, it may be a highlight for those of you with a green thumb.

Have you heard of Rundale Palace before? If you were visiting Riga, would you consider making a day trip here? Please share your thoughts in the comments below.