Pushkin & Palace of Catherine the Great

After leaving St Petersburg we travel 25km to the town of Pushkin where we visit Catherine’s Palace. In 1708 Peter the 1st gave his wife Catherine Aleksejevna an estate on the outskirts of St. Petersburg. As the summer residence of Russian Czars for two centuries, Zarskoje Selo, later re-named Pushkin, was developed into one of the most magnificent and richest residences in Europe by the most famous architects and craftsmen of the time.

This former country residence of Catherine the Great is a fascinating monument to the world’s architectural and gardening arts of the XVIII-XIX centuries. Its three parks occupy an area of 600 ha, on which over 100 architectural constructions rise, the main one being Catherine’s Palace. This palace contains exquisite decorative objects, furniture, Russian and West-European paintings, unique collections of porcelain, amber, arms, decorative bronze and sculptures. In total there are about 20,000 items.