Guided tour of the Catherine palace

“Tsarskoye Selo” (or Tsar’s Village) is the most attended and memorable suburb of St. Petersburg that is unambiguously included in the “must visit list” of any traveler, regardless of their age and taste. And no wonder, for it is a splendid monument of the world architecture and landscape art of the Russian Empire.

Here an awesome constellation of the most famous architects, sculptors and painters brought to life the ideas of their royal clients. In its entirety, the variety of artistic styles is represented in Tsarskoye Selo. It was the official summer residence of the Emperors from Catherine I to Nicholas II, and all of them left their impress.

The dominant of the Museum is the Catherine Palace that is majestic and luxurious, elegant and grandiose – these words occur to us at its description. But the tourist are even more surprised by the fact that the palace had been rebuilt 6 times from scratch by the outstanding Italian architect Francesco Rastrelli for Her Majesty Elizabeth until she was satisfied with the final result.

A French diplomat of Elizabethan times called it a jewel, which lacks only the crystal box. When you get inside the palace, you are seized with an even greater sense of delight from the extraordinary beauty and luxury that is brought about by the Throne Room, the White Dining Room, the Arabesque study and the whole 200-meter gold endless royal suite of rooms. But the true masterpiece is the sensational, worldwide renowned Amber Room – you just get into a huge amber box.

What else is worthy of your attention in the Palace are the expositions devoted to the Romanov dynasty with the exhibits preserved in the stores for many years under the Soviet power.

Then you will have an opportunity to walk around the absolutely amazing Catherine Park. Its uniqueness is not in its romantic landscapes – they are unlikely to surprise refined elite, but in those charming pavilions and monuments that suddenly open up to our eyes – you will enjoy the Turkish bath, the Cameron Gallery, the Palladian Bridge, and even an Egyptian pyramid and each of them has its own story.

But what amazes one most of all is the awareness that all this magic landscape has really been created by human imagination. 

Duration of the excursion - 5 hours