piterviptour.ru

Construction works in Oranienbaum (Lomonosov) started at the very beginning of XVIII century. It was then that Peter I presented a plot of land on the southern coast of the Gulf of Finland to his associate and favorite Alexander Menshikov, who at that time served as Governor of St. Petersburg. Menshikov immediately started construction of his own Grand Palace, which even overshadowed by its splendor the Emperor’s palace, built in the nearby Peterhof. Surprisingly enough, the Oranienbaum palace has survived almost intact.

On the very top of the hill, near the Silver Lake, a monumental building surrounded by a deep moat proudly stands. The Gatchina Imperial Palace was built to imitate a castle — which makes it a unique structure in the suburbs of St. Petersburg. But, despite its likeness to a medieval castle, the palace represents the original work of Russian architecture, for several generations of outstanding architects and decorators worked on its construction.

Tsarskoe Selo is a magnificent historical and architectural monument, as well as a pearl of the landscape design art. Many outstanding architects, sculptors, painters worked here. The dominating architectural style is baroque — the Italian architect Bartolomeo Rastrelli designed the famous Catherine palace in his favorite ornate technique. Palaces and structures that were constructed on the territory of the park later were designed in various other styles.

During the 3-hours sightseeing tour around St. Petersburg you will see the city’s most beautiful and famous sights. The tour starts in Nevsky Prospekt, the city’s main thoroughfare, where the largest department stores — the Gostiny Dvor and the Passage — are located, as well as the House of Books — the city’s largest book store, a number of magnificent palaces, including the Stroganov Palace, and, of course, the Admiralty — the first shipyard to operate in St. Petersburg.