Catherine Palace

Why go

Catherine Palace rewards attention to scale, orientation, and setting. The Catherine Palace (Екатерининский дворец) was the Rococo summer residence of the Russian tsars, located in the town of Tsarskoye Selo (Pushkin), 25 km south-east of Saint Petersburg, Russia. Before leaving, compare one close detail of Catherine Palace with its broadest public view.

What to look for

• Catherine Palace: Trace the building line before concentrating on individual details.
• Catherine Palace: Compare textures, color, and proportions at pedestrian level.
• Catherine Palace: Use the opposite side of the approach for a wider composition.

The full story

The Catherine Palace (Екатерининский дворец) was the Rococo summer residence of the Russian tsars, located in the town of Tsarskoye Selo (Pushkin), 25 km south-east of Saint Petersburg, Russia. Layout Although Stasov's and Cameron's Neoclassical interiors are superb manifestations of the late 18th-century and early 19th-century taste, the palace is best known for Rastrelli's grand suit of formal rooms known as the Golden Enfilade. It starts at the spacious airy ballroom, the ""Grand Hall"" or the ""Hall of Lights"", with a spectacular painted ceiling, and comprises numerous distinctively decorated smaller rooms, including the reproduced Amber Room. The hall was painted in two colors and covers an area of approximately 1,000 square meters. Occupying the entire width of the palace, the windows on the eastern side look out onto the park while the windows of the western side look out to the palace plaza. In the evening, 696 lamps are lit on 12-15 chandeliers located near the mirrors.

Useful to know

• Check the current admission calendar for Catherine Palace before building an interior visit around it.

Your next visit

Estimated · Declared scenario and planning estimates; no live opening, weather, queue or booking service.