In these halls you will feel the spirit of Empress Elizabeth’s and Catherine the Great’s ages. You will admire the luxury and variety of interior trims and unique furnishings. You will see the Great Hall and Golden Enfilade, the brilliant embodiments of the unmatched talent of the architect Bartolomeo Francesco Rastrelli.
The jewel of the palace is the Amber Room, rightly called a wonder of the world. Covered in amber panels that replicate the originals looted by the Nazis in World War II and subsequently lost, this spectacular room is a vision of shimmering amber work, gold leaf and mirrors. The original room was dubbed the ‘Eighth Wonder of the World’, and today’s replica was made using 13,000 pounds (6,000 kilograms) of amber.
Several classical interiors of an exquisite delicacy were created by the architect Charles Cameron for Empress Catherine II, her heir Grand Duke Paul and his spouse Maria. The State Study of Alexander I by the architect Vasily Stasov is one of the best Empire-style halls in Russian architecture.
More than a hundred historical monuments are scattered across the Catherine and Alexander Parks that have a joint area of 300 hectares: there are grand palaces and intimate pavilions, bridges and marble monuments, and also exotic structures imitating Gothic, Turkish and Chinese architecture that invest little corners of the parks with a romantic atmosphere.
The working hours of the Palace
Open: Wed to Mon
Tickets & Entry hours:
Jun to Aug:
Mon, Wed: 12.00–19.45
Thu to Sun: 12.00–18.45
Oct: 10.00–19.00
Oct to Apr 28: 10.00–16.45
Apr 29,30, May & Sep: 12.00–17.45
The working hours of the Park
Open daily
May & June: 7.00–23.00
July & August: 7.00–22.00