Tsarskoye Selo

Why go

Tsarskoye Selo rewards attention to scale, orientation, and setting. Tsarskoye Selo (Ца́рское Село́) is a former Russian residence of the imperial family and visiting nobility, located 26 kilometres (16 mi) south from the center of Saint Petersburg. Before leaving, compare one close detail of Tsarskoye Selo with its broadest public view.

What to look for

• Tsarskoye Selo: Identify the strongest vertical and horizontal lines on arrival.
• Tsarskoye Selo: Search for craftsmanship that a distant photograph misses.
• Tsarskoye Selo: Use the surrounding pavement or garden to judge scale.

The full story

Tsarskoye Selo (Ца́рское Село́) is a former Russian residence of the imperial family and visiting nobility, located 26 kilometres (16 mi) south from the center of Saint Petersburg. It is now part of the town of Pushkin and of the World Heritage Site Saint Petersburg and Related Groups of Monuments. History In 1708, Peter the Great gave the estate to his wife—future Empress Catherine I—as a present. She founded the Blagoveschenskaya (Annunciation) church there in 1724, changing the name of the settlement to Blagoveschenskoye, but this artificial derivation quickly went out of use. Currently, there are two imperial palaces: the baroque Catherine Palace with the adjacent Catherine Park and the neoclassical Alexander Palace with the adjacent Alexander Park. The Catherine Palace is surrounded by a Garden à la française and an English landscape garden, with such 18th-century structures as Dutch Admiralty, Creaking Pagoda, Chesme Column, Rumyantsev Obelisk, and Marble Bridge.

Useful to know

• Walk Tsarskoye Selo in daylight, then compare its outline with Catherine Park.

Your next visit

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