What do you have in mind when you hear about Rundale Palace?
This is what I thought- what a hidden gem! I was blown away by the pictures I saw on the internet. The architecture looks amazing and people who had been there said it was like Versailles and Hermitage, except, less people.
You must have seen a review like this on TripAdvisor, right?
So I thought less people was a good idea. And I even thought skipping Hermitage during my time in Saint Petersburg when I was planning my trip to Europe. I really thought I was not going to see as much in Hermitage because of the crowd there, and I thought Rundale Palace would be my answer to an experience of Hermitage and Peterhof combined.
So I extended a day of my trip in Latvia for visiting Rundale Palace. I went in June, and I had been checking their prices since March till May. Actually right before I started my trip in June the price had always been 7.11 euros (combined ticket for long route and garden) for adult and 5.69 euros for student.
But before I went, I found out on their website that they increased their price! I didn’t think much, as I wanted to see Rundale Palace, and I thought it would be justified. So instead of 7.11 euros the price became 9 euros. But now I think they should stick to the price and change it every calendar year, or at least put a valid period of this price.
Anyways… so we got the short route and garden ticket as it is cheaper.
We went on June 15th, so we paid for the summer price. And I expected to see a beautiful garden with lots of flowers as I did in Peterhof.
Unfortunately, I was so wrong. The garden was small. So very small. Everything could be seen in 30 minutes. You shouldn’t be paying for visiting a garden in this size (I wouldn’t!). Many parks are bigger and better than this and it’s free. And there was no blooming of flowers. It’s just trees and branches. And occasionally you see some flowers (see above). But I came here for the garden! For the flowers!
This was what it looked like in June. It’s all green. No flowers. And the problem wasn’t because the season, because they are already charging the summer price. It means I should expect to see summer flowers in the summer time.
I brought my complaint to the staff, and they couldn’t care less. They felt it was my fault that I didn’t ask them if flowers were in bloom or not.
They were so rude that I was shock that this happened in ‘Europe’. Doesn’t matter if my complaint is right or wrong, I am a customer and we may have difference in understanding but they should at least listen, communicate and show respect.
So after this big disappointment, and after spending 7.5 euros for seeing nothing, I hope the interior of the palace would be worth it. (Had it was, I wouldn’t say it was a lowlight of my entire trip in the Baltics…)
There was this hall with fancier look. We took a picture here. But honestly, if my camera can capture almost the whole hall, it means the place is quite small in size…
Rooms! I finally found out that this huge ceramic decoration was heater… well, they had this heater in almost all the rooms.
And see, the heater again!
And the dining room,
Then the blue vases
Hmm.. so here comes the end to your short route. That’s it!
See, the place was restored. It was damaged and was used as a hospital before. So now it’s already remarkable that some glories were added back. But for me, as a tourist, I could have spent my limited time somewhere else.
A traveller left a review on this place, and I think it’s quite close to how I felt…
I had expectation, and I couldn’t help but to compare it with Hermitage (thanks to the reviewers who said Rundale was way better than the Hermitage), and I didn’t see flowers and they raised the price to 9 euros. And then they were rude to my unhappiness.
So, if you have to go, then go. Otherwise don’t extend a day for Rundale Palace. And well, if it has to be in your itinerary, do use the free toilets there in the basement.
Surprisingly some old artifacts are being displayed by the toilets! I have no idea why! There was no advertisement or whatsoever. It’s like a prize for those who use toilets…
And you can always check out the (latest) prices if you are thinking about going!
http://rundale.net/en/information/prices/
If you skip Rundale Palace, I think you can go to Kemeri National Park instead. It’s free and very special!
Traveling Mega
