From Riga: Rundāle Palace, Bauska Castle & Ķemeri Bog Boardwalk

A ten-hour day excursion - Rastrelli's baroque palace, medieval Bauska Castle, the Great Ķemeri Bog boardwalk, food & drinks tasting in the van - women led tour with live commentary. The architectural highlight of the day is Rundāle Palace, designed by Francesco Rastrelli. It’s often called the Versailles of the Baltics. I accompany you through the palace myself and fill you in with the palace gossip from the 18th century, supported by a digital audio guide provided by the palace. Then Bauska Castle, a 15th-century Livonian Order fortress at the meeting of two rivers. The atmosphere is completely different from the palace — stone, wind, and a turbulent borderland history We make our way to the Great Ķemeri Bog, one of the largest and best-preserved raised bogs in the Baltics. rom the boards you’ll see soft sphagnum moss, dwarf pines that may be 200 or 300 years old, and dozens of small dark bog pools. I’ll point out the carnivorous round-leaved sundew right beside the boards.