Peterhof Palace Gardens: The Playground of the Tsars

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Peterhof Palace Gardens: The Playground of the Tsars

(2 reviews)
Saint Petersburg audio tour: Peterhof Palace Gardens: The Playground of the Tsars
This is a 1.3mi walking tour
It takes an average of 60 mins to complete.
Saint Petersburg
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$9.99
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About the Tour

Journey through the pomp and splendour of Tsarist Russia on a walking tour of Peterhof Palace Gardens. Consisting of 32 museums, 414 hectares of parks and gardens and more than 150 fountains, the immensity of Peterhof has to be experienced to be believed.

On this tour, you'll discover the playful trick fountains that spray water at unsuspecting visitors, and hear about the impressive system of canals that brought water to Peterhof. You’ll travel back in time to the Tsar's lavish parties that entertained thousands of guests too.

Along the way, you'll get the answers to questions like:

  • Why did Peter the Great, the first Russian Emperor, create a second Versailles in the early 1700s?
  • Which foreign ambassadors have visited Peterhof?
  • Where were the future rulers of Russia baptized and crowned?
  • What became of Tsarist Russia and its monarchs?
  • How were priceless artefacts rescued from the clutches of the Nazis?

I’ll also share some interesting historical tidbits about the Russian state’s emperors’ ceremonial summer residence. To get the most out of this audio tour, give yourself a few hours to roam the gardens.

Please note: This tour does not include entrance into Peterhof.

Categories
Royal Heritage Museums Parks And Gardens

Tour Producer

avatar

Julia Ivanova

1 tour

Hello.
I am Yulia Ivanova a local tour guide and the owner of travel agency in St.Petersburg. I am Russian and was born in Leningrad city.
I like learning the history of my great country. I am proud of Russia it is a great, powerful and invincible power. I am proud of its glorious history, original multinational culture and its unique people who are talented scientists, writers and artists. Russia is the country that defeated fascism. Russia went into space first and it has the highest achievements in science, education and medicine.
I would be glad to share with you my knowledge, walking around parks and fountains. So, let’s get going and enjoy the tour!

Preview Location

Location 1

The Palace Square - Ticket offices

You are in Peterhof! Welcome to the capital of Russian fountains, known as northern Versailles! This is the summer residence of all Russian emperors!

You should be standing at the Palace square, close to the ticket offices. Are there lots of people around? Sometimes there's... Read More
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Major Landmarks

  • Lower park

  • Grand Palace

  • Grand cascade

  • Church Pavilion

  • Samson fountain

  • Coat-of-arms Pavilion

  • Catherine Block

  • Monplaisir Palace

  • Trick fountains

  • Gulf of Finland

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Getting There

Route Overview

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  1. Start location
    Pravlenskaya Ulitsa, Sankt-Peterburg, Russia, 198510
  2. Total distance
    2km
  3. Final location
    Petergof, St Petersburg, Russia, 198510
  4. Distance back to start location
    339.7m

Directions to Starting Point

There are different options for reaching Peterhof:

1. By Metro and mini-bus

- Tube: Avtovo metro station
Get off Avtovo metro station → go down the stairs and turn right, go straight about 20 metro → the underground passage→ goes down the stairs and turn left →reach the end and turn right → go up the stairs → go straight about 20 meters, on the right side you will see white mini-buses with the names: ФОНТАНЫ, ПЕТЕРГОФ (Fountains, Peterhof). Payment to a driver (about 100 rub one way). The driver usually announces the stop at fountains (FONTANIY – in the Russian language).
- The trip takes about 35 min.
- Now, you are nearby the main entrance of the Upper park in Peterhof.

2. By hydrofoil from St.Petersburg --->Peterhof
- The trip takes 45 min, speed 65 km/per hr.
- One way ticket is 750- 850 rub
https://www.boattrip.ru/excursion/from_peterhof_en/

- I recommend you to buy online park tickets to avoid queues
https://tickets.peterhofmuseum.ru/en/#id=82

NB! If you go by hydrofoil from St.Petersburg to Peterhof!
The area is divided into two parts – The Upper Garden which is free and the Low Park which is paid. The pier is located at the bottom of the lower Park but the tour starts at the very beginning of the Upper garden, you have to go out of the Lower Park BUT keep in mind to return back you have to pay for the ticket ones again! You can start your tour at the very beginning of the Lower Park as well – nothing to be missed!
I recommend that you take the hydrofoil on the way back.

This tour is wheelchair friendly.

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Tips

Places to stop along the way

The souvenir market is located in the Western part of the park (close to the Coat-of-Arms Pavilion). There are a lot of museums in the park which you can visit as well.
-The Grand Palace

  • Mon Plaisir Palace
  • Hermitage Pavilion
  • Marli Palace
  • Catherine Block
  • The Grottoes of the Grand Cascade

  • Banya (sauna) Block

  • Toilets are free of charge on the territory of the park.

  • Restaurant in the park Standard

  • Cafeteria Bolshaya Oranzhereinaya

Best time of day

Working hours: 10.00 - 21.00
Monday is the day off - museums are closed, the Lower and the Upper parks are opened.
The fountain opening ceremony starts at 11.00 am
The best time for visiting museums from 17.00 till 20.00 pm - there are no queues normally.

Precautions

Avoid crowds - keep an eye on your belongings. Don't buy ice-cream in the park!

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