Private - Pushkin and Pavlovsk

Enjoy a double helping of tsarist splendour with this full day tour from St Petersburg to the monumental towns of Pushkin and Pavlovsk. Explore the lavishly decorated Catherine and Pavlovsk palaces and wander the extravagantly landscaped parks that surround both, and see first-hand the opulence on which an Emperor and Autocrat of All the Russias lived.

The picture-postcard town of Pushkin began life as a summer retreat for the Romanov dynasty which was then called Tsarskoye Selo (Tsar’s Village). Visit the magnificent Catherine Palace, a majestic rococo residence designed by Francesco Rastrelli. Despite extensive war damage, the palace today bears the turquoise, white and gilt colours so beloved by Rastrelli. The golden domes needed some 100kg of gold to gild them. Venture inside and behold the outlandish opulence. See the Great Hall’s gilded carvings and immense chandeliers. Admire the recreated Amber Room Palace, the imposing Picture Hall and the Green Dining Room among others. Then stroll through picturesque Alexander Park, which links the Catherine and Alexander palaces, and is dotted with pavilions, ponds, fanciful bridges, pergolas and sculptures.

Continue to Pavlovsk and visit the neo-classical palace built in the late 18th and early 19th centuries on the banks of the Slavianka River for Tsar Paul I. Displayed inside are exquisite furnishings and a priceless collection of paintings and statues. The palace’s English gardens constitute one of the largest landscaped parks in Europe. Idyllic copses, trickling streams and pretty follies such as the Temple of Friendship add to the sense of wonderment.