I only visited the park in which I had to spend 2-3 hours to have a tour by walking. Better come here during spring or summer, but it was still enjoyable to wander about the park. The whole complex consists of many pavilions, buildings, mosque, church and the palace itself. The palace itself looks amazing from the outside. Unfortunately, it was very expensive for foreign tourists to enter into the palace but the park was free. I havent seen such a discrimination in any attraction so far in my life. Totally unfair.
Absolutely magnificent masterpiece of highly cultural architecture you must see at least once. From our personal experience - winter will be perfect time of the year to visit and understand it. You can easily get there by train and bus. Staff is very polite, easygoing and friendly, able to answer almost any question you will get.
The Catherine (until 1910 Great Tsarskoye Selo) Palace is a historical and compositional center of the palace-and-park ensemble. It is a remarkable edifice in the Russian Baroque style, with richly decorated interiors including the world-famous Amber Room, which was restored by the Tercentenary of St. Petersburg in 2003
Mesmerizing, just jaw-dropping! The Amber Room is a must-see. It was pretty organised but busy because we were in a cruise group tour. We had enough time to enjoy the details of the interior decor, however, as expected, when you get to the popular rooms, it is too crowded. In most places you are allowed to take photos except the Amber Room. We were asked which is better ... Versailles in France or this. Each palace is unique, however, this wins for me.
Worth visiting. Wonderful piece of art and history. Amazing.
A MUST visit. I have no idea how people can stand in line for 2-3 hours to get in here. We hired a guide and had a private timed group entrance to get into the palace. This is the way to go and I recommend you do the same as it’s a long time to wait to get in the palace. Once you are in though, WOW, what a magnificent place. It’s one of the finest parlance’s I have visited and I loved our time here.
Visited here in Winter - it was snowing and gloomy, and way too cold to walk around the park, unfortunately. Nonetheless, the palace was extremely grand and opulent, with extremely intricate detail in the architecture.It is quite a distance away from the city centre though - if you only have a couple of days, the Hermitage has a similarly grand and beautifully embellished architecture. Though perhaps in summer time it will be nice to walk around the entire park complex!
Palace is a beautiful work of art and an important piece of history that has been well preserved. Get ready to take a lot of pictures. Pushkin itself is a town with its unique vibe.Palace is closed on Tuesdays but you can still walk the gardens.
Absolutely fantastic building and gardens where you could spend the whole day exploring the wonders of the Palace and garden. We only had a few hours but our guide made sure we saw what was most important. The Amber Room in the Palace is amazing but there are guards everywhere and you are not allowed to take photos. The gardens are beautifully landscaped with a small lake you can walk around. A visit we will never forget.
During the reign of Peter the Greats daughter, Empress Elizabeth, Mikhail Zemtsov designed a new palace and work began in 1744. In 1745, Zemtsovs pupil, Andrei Kvasov, working with Savva Chevakinsky, expanded the palace to be 300 m long. This included a Middle House, two side wings, a chapel, and the Conservatory Hall, all connected by four galleries with hanging gardens. Then in 1751, Bartolomeo Rastrelli undertook a major reconstruction effort, integrating several buildings, giving the palace its distinctive snow-white columns, sky-blue walls, with gilded stucco, chapel cupolas, and sculptures requiring almost 100 kg of gold. Rastrellis interiors were based on a Baroque style. Sculptor Johann Franz Dunker, master gilder Leprince, and interior painter Giuseppe Valeriani were some of the distinguished artists. Other notable rooms included the Chinese Room with its porcelain and Coromandel lacquer panels, the Portrait Hall, the Light Gallery, and the Amber Room with Andreas Schlüters amber panels, while 5 anterooms were connected to the Great Hall, which measured 860 square meters. Construction ended in 1756, when the palace included 40 state apartments, and more than 100 private and service rooms. A New Garden was added, while the Old Garden was improved with a deepening of the Big Pond, connected to springs 6 km away, the addition of a Toboggan Slide, plus the Hermitage, Grotto, Island, and Mon Bijou pavilions.Baroque architecture gave way to Neoclassical architecture in the 1770s, when Tsarskoye Selo became the summer residence of Catherine the Greats court. Yuri Velten redesigned the south facade of the palace, while the side wings were converted from one-storey into four-storey Zubov and Chapel Annexes. The Main Staircase was replaced by state and private rooms such as the Chinese Room, decorated with Charles Cameron designs, and a new staircase built in the center where the Chinese Room had stood. Camerons 1780s interior designs included the Arabesque Room with arabesque painted ceiling, walls, and doors, while Greek and Roman classical motifs were used on the wall vertical panels. Camerons Lyons Room used French golden-yellow silk on the walls, while the doors, stoves and panels used Lake Baikal lapis lazuli. The empress Bedroom used Wedgwood jasper bas-reliefs designed by John Flaxman and George Stubbs. The Blue Room, or Snuff-box, incorporated white and bright blue glass on the walls. Giacomo Quarenghi designed the Mirror and Silver Rooms in 1789, while Rastrellis hanging gardens were pulled down in 1773.
Its a beautiful palace but still under renovation.The Amber Room is open. It took a long time to get inside. We paid for the garden entrance and then lined up in the grounds to get into the palace. Around 1 hr. Inside you have to pay again.Although it is a short visit inside, the mirror grand hall and the Amber room is worth it. Just beautiful.I appreciate the history about the renovations at the end. Its really interesting.
Extravagant, luxurious
Although access to some areas under renovation is restricted, what is open is splendid and opulent as expected. No photographs allowed of the Amber room. Most impressed with the organisation of groups through the flow of rooms which meant that there was no crowding and noise. The photo display of the destruction during WW2 shows just how much care and attention to detail has been expended for restoration. Beautiful souvenirs in parade of shops inside. Also a small external market and a lovely lunch restaurant in an old converted building nearby with more shops.
Catherine Palace is the masterpiece of architecture of Russian baroque style of the middle of the 18th century. Now it is museum. You can see the famous Amber room in the palace.
WOW what a stunning palace make sure you take the time to absorb the beauty but once inside you are rushed through each room because the line is long so set your camera on automatic and hope for the best.The grounds are beautiful and worth taking the time to enjoy.
Amazing palace to visit, especially the Amber Room. I can imagine how grand it was before it was destroyed. What a great piece of history. A must visit for all.
By far my familys favorite palace in St. Petersburg. The palace itself houses the amazing and unforgettable amber room which is a must see. The grounds and lake around the palace are so wonderful to stroll around when the weather is nice. There are all sorts of interesting buildings that can be found on the grounds such as a small pyramid, Chinese styled building, a mosque as well as others. Dont forget to stop by the tower on the far side of the lake which is also a restaurant which has very tasty authentic Russian food. Surprisingly it is not too pricey either.
Very beautiful palace. Excursion is included in the price of tix. Lines are very long in the afternoon but there’s no people at all after five pm. So you can get in freely. We got in line at 2pm at around 4 we were inside. Definitely worth visiting. Amber room is being exposed now. Nice and beautiful room but didn’t impress us much.
Beautiful building and well maintained exhibition rooms. Entrance to the cash desks/ cloak rooms is every 15 minutes. Descriptions are only in Russian hence i would recommend to get an audio guide. Lots of group tours (sometimes you had to queue for rooms).We took the bus to Pushkin. 186 from Kupchino Metro Station- 50 Rubels per person. Drops you off right at the palace.
A very cool museum that was completely restored after WWII. The level of opulence that Catherines daughter Elisabeth created here is just amazing. And beyond the palace the gardens are magnificent. A must see.
Five stars are simply not enough to rate this extraordinary palace. What a beauty outside and so much gold inside! Incredible to think that its so extensively restored following near ruin by fire following WWII. So treasured are the highly polished floors that youll even have to wear slippers!
The Amber Room is a myth that fully lives up to its reputation. Its awesome! The Katharinenpalast was the most overcrowded attraction of the region during my visit. The waiting time for spontaneous visitors was four hours. Tip: Reserve the tickets on the internet in advance. That worked fine.
I was a big fan of Don Bluth animation, Anastasia and also its history in general. Love the architecture, Amber room and everything in it.
Stunning, Stunning, Stunning!!Hard to say more.Most of the time, your jaw is on the floor.Although premises like these are beautiful, the human cost is immense. The Tsars lived a privileged life, whilst the workers lived in poverty, subjected to harsh work environments.
Just a “must see”. Absolutely amazing as you walk around don’t miss looking down on the floors and up on the ceilings. The amber room and it’s story - amazing! Just be aware no photography in there. Mine is a photo of the Danish queen visiting
Very nice. Despite the fact that it was completely renovated after II WW, it gives great opportunity to see how leaders of Russian Empire were living. Very beautiful palace, rich decoration. Marble room is something really worth seeing.
I love this place. Its a very beautiful park would love to come here again
Beautiful rooms with a wonderful garden and many ancillary building make the visit to this structure a fantastic experience, expecially with a proper guide explaining the relation of the palace with the Royal family in a so crucial period for the Russian history. It is a mandatory stop when visiting Saint Petersburg even if it is not very close to the city. The amber room is not the only attraction of such marvelous building.
Beautiful place to get fresh air and enjoy park. Amazing history. Fascinating.
Absolutely gorgeous! What a wonderful time we had in Pushkin walking through the palace and the gardens.
Wonderful masterpiece of Russian Czars Palaces architecture. Taking into consideration the fact, that almost 95% of all buildings and its decorations were completly restored from the scratch (palaces were totally destroyed by German army during the second world war), it is an absolute gem in Russian history ... not even mentioning the gem of all gems - Amber chamber. Palace is just georgious, but short walk across the park is worth to try as well ...
Catherine palace was one of the former residency palaces of Empress Catherine. It is located at a beautiful park in the town of Pushkin, very close to Saint Petersburg. There are different types of tickets. Visitors can buy a ticket to enter the park or a combo ticket for both the park and the palace. Other types of tickets include tickets for tours and specific museums tickets. The park-only ticket is very cheap and has the shortest queuing line. Visitors who plan to enter the palace are advised to show up as early as possible to avoid the extremely long queuing lines. This is especially seen during weekends of tourism seasons. There are some good dining options close to the beautiful lake. There’s also a small cafe close to the entrance overlooking the palace. In addition, a few food kiosks are scattered throughout the park.
Chequered history and elegantly decorated palace. Huge effort made to restore the palace and interiors especially the Amber Room.Would’ve given 4+ stars but for huge inconvenience I didn’t find mentioned elsewhere:- need to queue for tickets to Catherine Park first and then queue again for palace tickets- tour groups queue in the same line as tourists, audio sets are at tour 1 area and not tour 2 area, need to give up your passport for audio set (that doesn’t make sense), minimal lockers and some cloakroom elsewhere, entire entrance experience is extremely disorganised and not streamlined to handle large crowds- 2 tours available, tour 1 allows 100 people in/hour while tour 2 allows 25 people in/15 min. Tour 2 was less popular and goes in reverse chronological order but allows full view of the main points of interest in the Amber Room- students were also arguing with ticket counter for student price tickets despite showing student ID which caused more delays
The gardens are beautiful!! The palace is superb. Make sure you but your tickets in advance because the line took us more than 2 hours, insane!!
It’s a beautiful palace. In there you can see the rich family’s lifestyle.
Amazing place inside and outside, reminds me of Italys art and architectures. Bright colors, big garden, extraordinary different and colorefull rooms, you can also see the original dresses of the family. Highly recommended if youre in St. Peterboroug
Can say so much things about there but if we need to say one word it should be palace the magnificent ✨⭐️🌟💫 super must visit place at st Petersburg trip 👏🏼
Wonderful palace !!! In Pushkin! Absolutely stunning. Everything has been fully restored to the origins of the palace. The amber room is quite special !
Hi everyone! When you go to Catherine Palace:1. Buy tickets to enter the Park, once you there if you would like to visit the Palace get in the line to enter.Attention!!! If you purchased tickets online to the Palace you dont need to stay in the line to buy tickets and enter there is another entrance for you.2. It takes about two hours to get through the line (August) once you inside you will need to buy tickets to the Palace (have your Park enter tickets with you).3. You can join the group with TourGuide and audio or you can go just by yourself and take a great photos remember Amber Room no photos or video permitted (dont get lost).4. After youve enjoyed the Palace you can explore the Park around and visit other places in the complex if you wish (and if you have time)5. Keep in mind exit from the Park is located faraway from the entrance (study the map first before you are happily heading to the exit)This information based on my personal experience and cannot be viewed as a guide line to the perfect life and life experience.
Opulent and grandiose are the two words that come to mind. Russian royalty sure spent a ton of money on gold guilded interiors and collecting art from everywhere. What amazed me is that this palace was heavily damaged during WW2, and it has been beautifully restored over many years. The garden here is also very beautiful. The only put off is the crowds, summer is just a crazy time in St. Petersburg!
Very good place.Its designare very attractive.After visiting this palace you will be able to understand easily about the living of CZAR.
One of the most beautiful pieces of heritage in St. Petersburg and it’s surroundings. Go for the architecture, the gardens, and the history. If you do not have a guide, get there as early as possible since the line can reach 2-3h waiting time on certain days.
Beautiful Palace.... Visited as part of an organised trip so we really benefitted from the expert knowledge of the tour guide. Excellent gardens to compliment the palace.
Its like in a fairy. All the luxury and glamour but with respect to the art.
If you want to visit the palace, recommend buying tickets ahead. We went at 4:30 hoping to beat crowds, how very mistaken we were.We couldnt buy tickets into the palace because it was too full, we didnt understand exactly how full until we went inside the garden, and saw the entry line literally snaking from the far side of the palace right to the entrance. No chance.we left around 6, the line was just as long. Apparently 25 people were let in every 15 minutes.Dont even know if it wouldve been worth lining up for.The gardens are nice, Peterhof is better, but apparently the palace is the one to see here.... guess Ill just google image instead
Must visit sight this. Even in winter snow covered gardens were awesome. But the highlight is the interior Ofcourse. They take you in groups and do a tour in Russian included in the entry fee. For English pay and get a audio guide and its worth it, leave a cash or ID deposit for it. Takes about an hour for the audio tour which can be phased and rooms enjoyed. The Amber room Ofcourse is amazing. But also get to learn about the different Romanov rulers and the way they lived. We took an Uber from SPB centre and did the same thing on the way back. Public transport is very doable too.
A great place to visit. I was with a tour group and we went right in, the line for people with out a group was very long. The history and art were superb and well maintained. This a place worth the time to visit.
This is a must see when staying in St Petersburg. A super example of the bling associated with the Romanov dynasty. The ques are humongous so I suggest joining a small group with a quide
Beautiful, breathtaking. Must to see!
Beautiful place that you need to go !It’s near the airport. You can take the bus K545 from Moskovskaya metro station (bus parked in front of Mcdonald) the bus will take you to near the Catherine Place (cost around 40 Rubble)!Don’t worry when you take a bus, a bus will u-turn on the roundabout before go to the street near the catherine place!I recommend to go here when you have flights in the evening. You can take K545 to Moskovskaya and take the airport bus to airport.
A magnificent Palace rich in history. Beautiful interiors plus the famous Amber room. Good cafe for light refreshments and a lovely woodland park which is free in the winter.
This is a must visit for Saint Petersburg tourists. Full collection of arts, paintings and other memories about Russian Tsar. You can also see a room decorated with full of ambers in the walls. This was the place for meeting of Mr Putin and Mr Trumps. This is exceptional museum in this city. Be prepared for long quee for entering the palace, in cloak room and toilets. The housekeeper was also hurrying you to move from one to the next rooms. Annoying though you will still enjoy this amazing museum.
OMG...lavish Baroque style palace used by Russian royal family as summer home. Stunning gold and amber rooms...long lines beware (when multiple cruise ships are in port)
Prilly the best palace I have visited in Russia. The intricate design was astounding. Not to mention its rich culture and history.
Beautiful palace. It locates in Sankt Petersburg.
Unmissable!Really beautiful palace, every room is decorated with different materials, including the famous Amber Room. I visited with the audioguide, which was very complete.
It is such an amazing property, from the architecture on the exterior to the wooden floors inside.We probably had 90 mins on our tour and it was the perfect amount.The Amber Room is very impressive.Definitely a must see if you are in St.Petersburg
To many people. I recommend to skip the place and have a nice walk in the park where no entrance fee is needed.
Beautiful palace both from the outside and inside. The decoration inside the palace is amazing, really rich and diversified from one room to another. The Amber room is definitely a must see!
Very beautiful palace, thinking king snd queens private life
A very huge park far away from the city centre of St Petersburg ( about 40 mins driving ) nice and quit
Tsarskoe Selo in Pushkin, its the south of Saint P. Didnt get inside the Catherine Palace (were not about losing time in long queues of Chinese tourists, who seemed to be the most visitors), even the park was a lot to see.
Wow just wow and did I mention WOW!If you want to see where Catherine the Great lived this place is it and I dont know if she had taste but she definitely knew what opulence was. The building is huge the gardens spectacular and thats before you even get chance to go inside.Every room is massive with stunning high ceilings and if it can be carved and covered in gold then it is. If youve been to Versailles or even if youve only heard about it this place tries to replicate the grandeur and youll leave impressed.This is a must do as youll probably never get chance to see something like this anywhere else. Its not like English palaces where they can be very formal and have that feeling of stuffy English aristocracy this place is just fun and OTT.Just be aware you cant take photos in some of the rooms and there is metal detectors to go through. Also you have to wear some not very flattering shoe coverings as you go round.
Great palace, very beautiful inside and outside. We had to queue like half and hour and was very cold but it was worth it
Lovely place. Must visit
One of place to be visited at st. Peterbroughs.Great park scenary and musseum.
Great place to visit. So much of history
Beautiful palace and garden.
Lovely place with romantic stories, love it such.
Spectacular. Amazing architecture, fantastic interiors, beautiful gardens.
Beautiful Palace and park around the palace. Definitely, every tourist must visit this place.
How beautiful it is! Quite crowned in the morning but good managing and arrangement , no people jam. We can take pictures almost every rooms except Amber room. Dont miss it.
The palace is beautiful, really something to see. A lot of history behind it. But - queue and amount of people is weary. You are taken around the palace with a guide, none of them speak english.. so you have to take the audio guide which not so easy to follow.. the tour guide is faster then the audio guide, but you must go with the flow.The park and the gardens are like from a fairy tail. The whole Tsarskoe selo is lovely.
Another amazing palace. You could spend al day here and still not see it all. Well worth the visit while on St Petersburg :)
Nice place and meausum
The most impressive and mesmerizing palace in Saint Petersburg. That is the real royal residence
The place was amazing! Every room has a very distinct decorations. The replica of the amber room is also a must see!
Main recommendation: go there on a guided and pre-booked trip - queues for individual visitors can be extremely long even up to several hours.The palace itself is a brilliant example of Russian baroque architecture. The park is worth a visit as well
It is a wonderful place but visiting the palace is almost impossible because of the long queues
Spectacular Awesome words cant describe!!!
Much too crowded in august. O waited in line for entrance more than 5 hours. That is way too much time waisted for a nice visit
Very interesting history. Really beautiful inside and out.
An amazing private UNESCO parterneship with Seabourn Crusie Line
Beautiful Palace. Gold leaf everywhere. The garden area was endless.
Summer palace of the Romanov empire. Very crowded here
The residence originated in 1717, when Catherine I, wife of Peter the Great, tasked German architect Johann-Friedrich Braunstein to construct a summer palace. In 1733 however, Empress Elizabeth found her mothers residence outdated and in 1752 asked her court architect Rastrelli to redesign Catherine Palace, Pushkin style.It is nearly one kilometre in circumference and took over 100 kg of gold to decorate the palace exterior.Bustling with many hundred tourists: the queue for entrance tickets quickly grows from early morning - expect a long wait. My advice is you jump this queue by booking a guided tour in advance. (Official tours have priority entrance, in advance of general public entry).
Amazing grandeur of the past. Topaz panelled room is gorgeous.
Catherines palace is great and worth watching....its so huge and gorgeous...all the halls of this palace are beautifully decorated with gold and paintings even in the ceiling...ball room...banquet hall...dining hall...all are beautifully designed and decorated with gold....marvellously made...its so elegant and stylish in look....
Nice garden and fabulous palace but the system of selling tickets still want much to improved.
This is an incredible beautiful palace and park. Strongly recommend to buy tickets online and collect it at green kiosk by the palace.(not the first one, but the one round the corner)