- Coming to St. Petersburg soon? Already planned your itinerary or still need some advice?
Apart from the “Classical sights” like the Hermitage, Catherine palace, Peterhof etc there are some sights not occupied by the herds of tourists even in the middle of high season. Pavlovsk palace is one of them.
- It is not very often mentioned in the guide books and I must admit it is not very often frequented by tourists from abroad. (It is mainly visited by Russians) Nevertheless. Pavlovsk palace is worthy of a visit.
It was built on the order of Catherine the Great for her only legitimate son – Paul the First. Paul is Pavel in Russian language. Hence the name of the residence – Pavlovsk. Pavlovsk was used by Paul and his wife Maria as their summer residence. Paul ruled Russia for a very short period –just 4 years, 4 months and 4 days. During his reign, Pavlovsk was an imperial residence.
- Interiors of the palace can surprise even a very experienced traveler: gorgeous Greek hall, Roman hall with original Roman statues of the I and II centuries A.D., a room of Piece and a room of War, Tapestry room, incredibly beautiful bedroom, Paul’s library and… a lot more!
Pavlovsk often reminds me of an antique shop. Paul was an art lover and a great collector. During his trips to Europe he used to acquire pieces of art for his collection. Today all the palace interiors are filled with amazing pieces of art from Paul’s former collections: clocks, paintings, statues, tapestries…what not?
- Located next to the world famous town of Pushkin(10 min driving)Pavlovsk can be visited together with Catherine palace on same day. Apart from visiting a palace, I recommend you to walk in the park.
Pavlovsk park is considered to be one of the largest parks in Europe. It occupies the territory of 600 hectares. It was planned as an English landscape Garden and was filled with picturesque pieces of architecture in the classical style.
- How to get to Pavlovsk?
If you like visiting places on your own just take a train from the first railway station in Russia –Vitebsky railway station to Pavlovsk. It will take You about half an hour to get there. (Russian suburban trains may not look very nice though)
- Another option is to take a guided tour to Pavlovsk.
I recommend to combine it with a visit to the town of Pushkin.
