Select your outward journey date
Select your return journey date

Tsarskoye Selo

 
 

Our expert Russia

Tsarskoye Selo

Tsarskoye Selo Tsarskoye Selo Imperial Palace It is well worth spending half a day exploring the palace and park, and you can get there by train or a bus from St. Petersburg. © Ludovic Maisant

Located 15 miles away from Saint Petersburg, Tsarskoye Selo is a small town of 100,000 inhabitants which grew around the imperial residence, built by the architect Braustein in 1710, then extended by Rastrelli for tsarina Elisabeth, who wished to possess a baroque palace as sumptuous as Versailles. In the park, in front of Catherine II's palace's main courtyard, stands the palace of her son Alexander, of a much more classical style. The city is also famous for its college, part of the same architectural grouping, where the poet Pushkin went to school from 1811 to 1817. In 1937, on the anniversary of his death, Tsarkoye Selo bore the name of Pushkin. Numerous Russian writers, such as Gorki or Tolstoy, liked to come and stay for a while. The visit to the palace and park definitely deserves a half-day trip, by train or bus from Saint Petersburg.

Excursions

Other reasons to go

  1.   Museums

  2.   Activities and leisure

  3.   Monuments and walks