Private - Pavlovsk

Located on the outskirts of St. Petersburg this elegant neo-classical edifice was built in the late 18th and early 19th centuries on the banks of the Slavianka River. The 600 hectares of land were originally a gift from Catherine the Great to her son Paul on the birth of their son. The Scottish architect Cameron was given the job of designing the palace. He did so using a mock Palladian style but the original part was classed as being too small and simple by Tsar Paul and his wife so they enlisted Cameron's assistant, Vincenzo Brenna, with the task of extending the palace to create a grander, more regal building.

As we enter the building you are struck by the amount of decoration which contrasts with the rather plain exterior. Visit the Italian Hall and gaze up at the central dome, take in the ornate Grecian Hall and admire the Egyptian Vestibule. Wonder at the paradox of the Hall of War and the Hall of Peace then amble through the pretty library and other state rooms. And all the while revel in the exquisite furnishings and amazing collection of paintings, statues and other works of art that were in the main amassed by the family themselves on their incognito trips through Europe between 1781 and 1782.