Peterhof
One of St. Petersburg's most famous and popular visitor attractions, the palace and park at Peterhof, are often referred to as "the Russian Versailles", although many visitors conclude that the comparison does a disservice to the grandeur and scope of this majestic estate.
Versailles was however the inspiration for Peter the Great's desire to build an imperial palace in the suburbs of his new city and after an aborted attempt at Strelna, Peterhof - which means "Peter's Court" in German - became the site for the Tsar's Monplaisir Palace, and then of the original Grand Palace. The estate was equally popular with Peter's daughter, Empress Elizabeth, who ordered the expansion of the Grand Palace and greatly extended the park and the famous system of fountains including the truly spectacular Grand Cascade.
Improvements to the park continued throughout the 18th and 19th centuries. Peterhof once again became the official Imperial Residence in the reign of Nicholas I who ordered the building of the modest Cottage Palace in 1826.
The Tsarskoe Selo
If any proof is needed for the extravagance of Russia's Imperial rulers then it can be found in the fact that in less than two centuries the Romanov Tsars established not one but two suburban estates at Tsarskoe Selo that in terms of grandeur and excess outstrip even Versailles. What is more, at Tsarskoe Selo, the 18th century saw the construction of two vast and truly exceptional palaces, both surrounded by extensive landscaped gardens with diverse and fascinating decorative architecture. Built for Empress Elizabeth by Bartolomeo Rastrelli, the architect of St. Petersburg's Winter Palace, the Catherine Palace is undoubtedly Tsarskoe Selo's top attraction, particularly renowned for the extraordinary Amber Room. Less well known and currently much more dilapidated, the Alexander Palace is nonetheless a neoclassical masterpiece, and has a particularly poignant connection with the family of the last Tsar, Nicholas II. The town of Pushkin, which surrounds the Tsarskoe Selo estate, has numerous sights connected to Alexander Sergeevich, including a museum in the former Imperial Lycee where he was schooled.