St Petersburg
St Petersburg
THE CATHERINE PALACE
In 1710, Peter the Great presented his future wife Catherine with an estate on the outskirts of St Petersburg and when Peter's beloved daughter Elizabeth inherited the estate from her parents, she asked the architect Rastrelli to build a fabulous palace for her. The Catherine Palace has a unique charm and its stunning facades, the gold domes of the churches, the snow-white colonnades and multi-coloured architectural details are all dazzlingly beautiful, the luxurious Grand Hall, a long, gold, mirrored ballroom and of course houses the fabulous Amber Room.
Situated at Tsarskoye Selo (formerly known as Pushkin) on anImperial estate. Located just 25 kilometers south of the city. Open Wednesday to Monday, 10 am to 5 pm. Closed on Tuesdays and the last Monday of each month
THE WINTER PALACE AND HERMITAGE
The Winter Palace, built in the mid 1700's, was home to the last six Tsars and it is hard to decide which is the most impressive - the building itself or the unbelievable works of art it contains! The Hermitage of the Winter Palace houses more than two million exhibits ranging from prehistoric artifacts to classics of modern art, with no fewer than 141 rooms dedicated to priceless treasures of Western European masters.
Michelangelo's unfinished sculpture Young boy crouching . If you love French art, take time to enjoy masterpieces from the Picasso or Matisse collection. The Winter Palace itself is a destination, with its magnificent Pavillion Hall, complete with marble columns and gilded bronze balconies, and Peter the Greats Room with the throne of Peter the Great and walls lined with crimson velvet from Lyon.
Hermitage Museum
RUSSIAN MUSEUM
The Russian Museum collection contains circa 400.000 exhibits. The main complex of museum buildings - the Mikhailovsky Palace and Benois Wing - houses the permanent exhibition of the Russian Museum, tracing the entire history of Russian art from the tenth to the twentieth centuries. The museum collection embraces all forms, genres, schools and movements of art.
The State Russian Museum