Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Near Catherine Palace, the
Cameron Gallery
(adult/student R100/50; 10am-5pm
Thu-Tue)
has rotating exhibitions. Between the gallery and the palace, notice the south-
pointing ramp that Cameron added for the ageing empress to walk down into the park.
The park's outer section focuses on the
Great Pond
. In summer you can take a
ferry boat
(adult/child R200/100; 11am-6pm May-Sep)
to the little island to visit the
Chesme Column
. Beside the pond, the blue baroque
Grotto Pavilion
(admission
free; 10am-5pm Fri-Wed)
houses temporary exhibitions in summer. A walk around the
Great Pond will reveal other buildings that the royals built over the years, including
the very incongruous-looking Turkish Bath with its minaret-style tower, the wonder-
ful Marble Bridge, the Chinese Pavilion and a Concert Hall isolated on an island,
where
concerts
(incl ferry transport R350;
May-Sep)
take place every Saturday at
5pm from May to September.
PAALACCE, P
, PARK
ARK
ALEXANDER PALACE & PARK
A short distance north of the Catherine Palace, and surrounded by the overgrown and
tranquil
Alexander Park
(admission free)
is the classical
Alexander Palace
(Dvortsovaya ul 2; adult/student R100/50; 10am-5pm Wed-Mon, closed last Wed of the
month)
. It was built by Quarenghi between 1792 and 1796 for the future Alexander I,
but Nicholas II, the last Russian tsar, was its main tenant and made it his favourite res-
idence for much of his reign. Only three rooms are open to visitors, but they're im-
pressive, with a huge tiger skin carpet and an extremely ropey portrait of a young
Queen Victoria to boot. It's a poignant and forgotten place that doesn't get many tour-
ists and is a welcome contrast to the Catherine Palace.
PAALACCE
PAVLOVSK PALACE
dent R500/300; 10am-5pm)
Between 1781 and 1786, on orders from Catherine the
Great, architect Charles Cameron designed the Pavlovsk Palace in Pavlovsk. The
palace was designated for Catherine's son Paul (hence the name, Pavlovsk), and it
was his second wife, Maria Fyodorovna, who orchestrated the design of the interiors.
It served as a royal residence until 1917. Tragically, the original palace was burnt
down two weeks after liberation following WWII when a careless Soviet soldier's ci-
garette set off German mines (the Soviets blamed the Germans). As at Tsarskoe Selo,
its restoration is remarkable.
