Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
299
Tsarskoye Tselo is extravagant and baroque. Comparing the two is a key reason to com-
bine visits to them in a single day.
ESSENTIALS
This trip is often combined with a journey to Tsarskoye Tselo (see review above). If you
want to view it separately, you can try to arrange an individual tour through your hotel
or a travel agency. Otherwise, you can take a suburban train (elektrichka) from St. Peters-
burg's Vitebsk Station. The train takes about 50 minutes, and goes through Tsarskoye
Tselo first; Pavlovsk is the next stop. You must be able to read the name in Russian (see
chapter 19 for Cyrillic alphabet guide). The trip through town to the palace is about a
15-minute walk or ride on a local bus; it's not marked, but any resident can direct you.
WHAT TO SEE & DO
Here, as in Tsarskoye Tselo, the town's palace is the central attraction. More an imitation
of a Roman villa than a royal residence, the yellow-and-white Grand Palace at Pavlovsk
was built in 1782 on a bluff overlooking the Slavyanka River. The Nazis also occupied
this palace, but curators managed to save many of its masterpieces by hiding them in
niches behind false walls.
A who's-who of Russian imperial architects had a hand in the palace's interiors, including
Charles Cameron, Jacomo Quarengi, and Carlo Rossi. You'll notice the split personality
this produced in the contrast between the extravagant Throne Room and the simple,
dignified Corner Drawing Room, lined in lavender marble and Karelian birch furniture.
Note the table settings in the Dining Room, ready for imperial guests. Paul's Library
includes tall tapestries given to him by Louis XVI soon before the French Revolution.
Paul's wife Maria Fyodorovna lived here another 27 years after his death, and her
quarters constitute a separate little museum within the palace. The Dowager Empress
Rooms, as they're named, feel lived-in, unlike the rest of the palace, with its cold orna-
mentation. The rooms especially come alive after you look at palace portraits of Maria
and at her own artworks.
The 607-hectare (1,500-acre) park is a winding labyrinth of wooded lanes, shady
glades, and pavilions, but it's well planned enough that you never feel lost no matter how
far you wander. Highlights include the Circle of White Birches at the end of the Rose
Pavilion Alley, Centaur Bridge, and the partly crumbled Apollo Colonnade on the river-
banks on the palace side.
Admission to the Grand Palace (Veliky Dvorets), 20 Ulitsa Sadovaya ( & 812/452-
1536 ) and grounds is 370 rubles adults, 180 rubles students and children 8 and over; to
see the grounds alone costs 100 rubles for everyone. You'll pay an additional 100 rubles
to visit the Dowager Empress Rooms. The palace is open Saturday through Thursday
from 10am to 5pm (closed 1st Mon of each month).
WHERE TO DINE
The grounds here are so ideal for picnicking that the best dining suggestion is to stop in
the Great Column Hall (Bolshoi Kolonny Zal) restaurant and order food to go. (You
can even get a bottle of champagne—or technically, Russian sparkling wine.) Housed in
the former servants' quarters, the restaurant has a cafeteria-style section and a full-menu
section as well, in case the weather is dreary. The Russian dishes are more successful,
though you can order international favorites like Caesar salad. Another charming but
basic option in the park is Cafe Slavyanka, across Centaur Bridge from the palace and
to the left.
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