Catherine Palace

An 18th Century Palace build somewhat away from the main city. It was being used as a summer retrieve palace for the Royal family. The palace has huge beautiful gardens surrounding the palace. Palace itself is built in light blue and white color. The palace building is quite wide giving a very impressive grand look. We had bought the tickets online hence we did not have to wait in line for tickets. It is a must to get a guide to visit the palace. Once inside the palace, it is so grand that you get mesmerized. Russian government has spent many years to renovate it completely. All floors, furniture, roof paintings and the elaborate gold decorations on the walls have been completely re-done to perfection. The amber room, re-done completely, is worth visiting. This is a not to miss attraction.

The entrance to Catherine Park + Palace entrance was surprisingly expensive at 2,500 rubles per person, with no discounted rates for seniors or teenagers. For a family of four, the total came to 10,000 rubles; significantly higher than the 1,000 to 1,500 rubles per person stated on various online sources. We were quite shocked by the difference, but having traveled an hour from the city center, we decided to proceed with the purchase to make the most of our visit. Catherine Park is an absolutely beautiful place to visit vast, serene, & filled with breathtaking scenery. The park grounds are incredibly wide, offering plenty of space to wander, relax, and enjoy the fresh air. You can easily spend 2 to 3 hours strolling through its gardens, lakes, and open spaces without feeling rushed. However, when it comes to food & coffee, the options inside are very limited. There are no luxurious cafés or high quality restaurants on site, & it’s difficult to find anything kosher or Muslim friendly. I would recommend bringing your own snacks or eating before you come. When you buy your ticket (it took us around 45 mns to buy the tickets on site) you’ll be assigned a time slot to enter Catherine Palace itself usually about two hours after your purchase. Even though we were lost in communication and didn’t understand much (we used sign language and translation from our side, we then thought is actually a good system, as it gives you enough time to explore the park & surrounding areas before your tour begins; but in our case we had another place scheduled to go after the palace, which put us on an edge where we had to shift things from our schedule in order to actually visit the palace itself. A key tip: there are two types of entry slots and two separate palace entrances. Make sure you know which entrance your ticket corresponds to, otherwise you might wait in the wrong line only to be redirected. The palace tour itself is relatively short,,, around 30–45 minutes & visitors are only shown part of the building, not the entire interior. So expect to spend much more of your day outdoors than indoors. All in all, Catherine Park is stunning & well worth a visit, especially if you enjoy beautiful landscapes and leisurely walks. Just plan ahead for food & be mindful of your palace entry details to make the most of your experience.

Amazing palace, gem of Russia! 2500 rub ticket for foreigners ( even foreign taxpayer in Russia like me) is very pricy, but worth paying as it took long decades to repair the palace damaged by German army during WW2. Their repairmen efforts must be rewarded. Ambar room is excellent! Need at least two hours to walk around the park.

We were on a cruise thru the Baltic Sea and one of the main stops was in St Petersburg. We had most of the day and had a great all day tour organized by the cruise ship. The two highlights of the day were visiting The Hermitage and Catherine Palace. The Palace, located in Pushkin, is a beautiful building outside and inside. Just unbelievably beautiful and oozing wealth. We got tickets in advance thru the cruise group. Very crowded. A must see on any visit to St Petersburg and Pushkin.

A beautiful blue white palace, the details are so stunning and well maintained. There are some areas reserved for special ticket. It is good that public transport can reach there, using Yandex app will give you the directions.

It was a unique place and worth seeing once, and definitely come on a non-rainy day.

Beautiful place worth to visit. We did wait a bit to buy tickets and enter. The waiting time is ok but there was a lot of people and we had to stand in the sun. I do recommend to buy tickets in advance in order to avoid that. Palace is beutiful inside and out. All the lawns are neat and perfectly maintained. Tour of the palace with a guide has time and you need to apply for specific tour. There is a lot of history behind this place and tour was interesting and lot of information. Definitely worth to visit.

Well worth a visit! The full tour takes 3 hours, a walk around the gardens and then the interior of the palace. Tour guide recommended.