In 1725, when Estonia was part of the Russian empire, Tsar Peter the Great built a summer palace in Tallinn for his wife Catherine. She didn't visit much, but the grand residence and surrounding gardens remain a favorite spot for nature-loving Estonians today. Kadriorg  (literal translation Catherine's Valley) is designed in the Petrine Baroque style, one of only two structures outside St. Petersburg exhibiting the particular type of architecture. From 1921 through the Soviet period the palace served as the main building of the Art Museum of Estonia, and today it displays the museum's extensive foreign art collection. Paintings by Ilya Repin and Jacob Jordaens as well as a few drawings by Albrecht Durer, Otto Dix, and George Grosz are some of the better-known pieces on display in a collection of about 2000 works of art from the 16th to the 20th century. Art buffs seeking big names will do better at the KUMU art museum (also reviewed on this site) but  for fans of architecture and landscaping (the gardens here are lovely), we'd say Kadriorg is worth a visit.

-Roxie Pell