Kadriorg Palace
Peter the Great's pink baroque summer palace, now home to Estonia's finest collection of foreign art in a formal French garden.
Peter the Great's baroque Kadriorg Palace with symmetrical gardens
What to expect at Kadriorg Palace
Kadriorg was built by Peter the Great for Catherine I starting in 1718, and the Italian architect Nicola Michetti designed it as a slice of St Petersburg baroque transplanted to the Baltic pine forest. The palace now houses the Kadriorg Art Museum — the foreign wing of the Art Museum of Estonia — with Dutch, Italian, German and Russian paintings from the 16th to 20th centuries. The great hall on the first floor, with its stucco ceiling and double-height windows, is the single most beautiful room in the country.
Come on a Wednesday evening when the museum stays open until 20:00 and the tour groups have left — you get the great hall practically alone. The formal flower garden behind the palace is free and open 24/7, and locals treat it as a picnic lawn in July. Combine with KUMU, the modern art museum a 5-minute walk away, on a single ticket ($15 combo) if you want a full day of Estonian art.
Questions about Kadriorg Palace
$10 for adults, $7 for students and seniors, free for under-8s. A combo with KUMU is $15.
The last Friday of every month is free, and entry is included in the Tallinn Card.
2-3 hours: 90 minutes for the palace interior, plus time for the gardens and the surrounding Kadriorg Park.
Closed every Monday year-round, plus 24-25 December and 1 January.
No — walk-in tickets are always available. Booking online at kadriorumuuseum.ekm.ee saves the queue on cruise days.
Tram 1 or 3 from Hobujaama to Kadriorg terminus (12 minutes), then 5 minutes through the park to the palace gate.
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