Independent trip to Tsarskoye Selo. Catherine Palace, Pushkin - “Tsarskoe Selo and the famous Catherine Palace. I’ll tell you what you’ll see if you go there on your own, without a tour.” Great Hall of the Palace
Catherine Palace... It seems that all the gold in the world is collected in this magnificent summer ceremonial residence of the Russian tsars in Tsarskoye Selo near St. Petersburg. Rastrelli's masterpiece, created more than two and a half centuries ago, amazes even our sophisticated contemporaries - be it Russian or foreign - all of whom it seems impossible to be surprised by anything. One can only imagine the impression he made on his contemporaries. A real national treasure.
It seems that everything is already known and everything has been written about the Catherine Palace, but just dig... The eternal mystery of the disappearance of the magnificent Amber Room alone is worth something! Now this relic, recreated just over ten years ago, attracts a huge number of tourists, and travel agencies in their programs write “Excursion to the Catherine Palace with a visit to the Amber Room.” What injustice! It’s as if the palace is worth absolutely nothing without this reconstructed, recognized masterpiece. Nonsense! It makes an indelible impression on all visitors, some even stronger than the Main Palace of Peterhof. I associate this luxurious baroque building with the dazzling radiance of the sun, gold, amber, lamps...
I had the opportunity to visit the Catherine Palace several times in the period from 2003 to 2009. So I had the honor to see the Amber Room. Like many, she made an indelible impression on me, and not only with her external, material beauty. As you know, amber is a healing and even magical stone. And I was able to experience its magical effect on myself...
It’s a pity that your stay here is limited to a few minutes, and you can’t stay longer and look at everything in detail. The next group is breathing in the back. There is no provision for free movement at all. Even those who come individually to the palace are put into groups.
By the way, there is one very convenient moment - all excursionists are given headphones at the entrance. So everyone can hear the guide well, even those standing at a distance.
Catherine's Palace is living history. Each Russian emperor, starting with Catherine I, contributed something of his own to its construction and development. But the main creators of the palace were ladies - three empresses - the already named Catherine I, as well as Elizaveta Petrovna and Catherine II. It was they who made the Catherine Palace and Park as delightful as we know them.
But today I will not delve into history, but will tell you about our visit to the Catherine Palace during the Christmas holidays in 2013.
On January 5, we arrived in Pushkin to visit two palaces - Catherine and Alexandrovsky. I talked about my successful visit to the Alexander Palace a long time ago (a year ago) in an article. We arrived in the city at 12 o'clock and went straight there - it was logical, because it was the first on the way. It seemed logical to us. But as practice has shown, we made a mistake. Lost time.
I have already written about this, but it would not be a sin to repeat myself: if you come to Pushkin one time, for 1 day, and want to see both palaces, then I recommend starting your acquaintance with the palaces with the Catherine Palace. You can enter the Alexander Palace at any time, without queues or any other difficulties.
With Ekaterininsky everything is more complicated. Individual tourists (i.e. those who arrived without group excursions) are allowed there only according to a strict schedule: from 12:00 to 14:00 and from 16:00 to 17:00. Crazy queues are added to the tight schedule.
Our trip to the Catherine Palace. Part 1. Ruthless irony of fate
So, at 13.52 we entered the magnificent Catherine Park cheerfully and carefree. We took a look at the turquoise fairy-tale palace and walked along it along the path cleared of snow.
There were quite a few people, despite the chilly, windy weather. Yes, it’s understandable - Christmas holidays...
The snow-covered park is incredibly beautiful! Looking at all this beauty, we walked forward in anticipation of a miracle.
And then we ran our noses into the queue. But even then we didn’t understand anything. We went around the queue and continued along the path. Look around, take a walk...
We reached the Cameron Gallery. We hung around at the souvenir shop. We went to the toilet (it’s next to the souvenir shop). And we returned to the queue.
We're standing in line... we're looking at the palace in detail... yeah, it's not hot...
To be honest, I couldn’t believe it. Tour groups, of course, bypassed us regularly, but not often. Significantly more, well, simply many times more, came out of the palace of those who had already been shot. Time passed and it was clear that the palace was no longer overcrowded. It's terribly cold outside. Someone from the staff constantly looked out and glanced at the accumulated crowd of people. People stood silently and resignedly. Many believed that they would start launching earlier. There were few people in front of us, we waited and did not lose heart...
But I decided not to waste time and take a walk in the park,
Along the Cold Bath, Agate Rooms, Cameron Gallery...
I kept looking at the palace. I was afraid of being late.
I admired the Mirror Pond under the snow and the Lower Bath,
patterned trees,
The beauty of the Cameron Gallery from all sides.
Grotto on the pond.
I was in no hurry. Voz was there too. The queue grew. No one was allowed in. Sonya sat on her dad's shoulders.
My child and I were not alone in the queue - a couple of dozen people from us stood parents with a little boy.
In general, the situation with the children in this museum shocked me. Neither more nor less. The man, who was constantly looking out for some reason, clearly saw the frozen baby sitting on the two-meter dad and did not even offer to go inside the building to warm up.
The second child either felt bad or something else, and one of his parents dared to knock on the door of the palace. They were allowed in, but not further than the threshold, judging by the telephone conversation with the parent who remained in line.
Briefly speaking. Sophie and I didn't wait 20 minutes in line. For more than an hour and a half, we were so numb that we couldn’t stand it and went into the car. There was further standing unbearable. I reasoned this way: I myself have been to the palace several times, and I’m sure I will again. The child is small. She still doesn't understand much. The only one left in the queue was our dad, who had never been to this palace, was less cold than us, and who, out of principle, would never leave this, excuse me, fucking queue.
They let people into the building second by second...
It’s interesting, but in these dramatic moments the sun gilded the palace with its light, the sky cleared... Like a slight mockery, irony - the only ones The rays of the sun during our entire Christmas trip to St. Petersburg appeared at the most unpleasant moment of the trip....
And my daughter and I stomped into the car. We didn't care anymore.
Our trip to the Catherine Palace. Part 2. In a blaze of splendor
The Catherine Palace is definitely worth visiting. Another question is that in order to organize your visit, you must try so that it does not cause excruciating pain. The rules here are strict, so be patient in queuing. There are, of course, options to avoid them.
- Come on weekdays (not weekends or holidays) in the off-season.
- Come here as part of an organized group.
There are no other options. Did you come to St. Petersburg on a weekend in the summer or on holidays in the winter? Congratulations! In this case, drive up to the palace at least around 10 o'clock (to be sure to get into it at 12 o'clock - individuals are not allowed in before anyway). And don’t forget - the museum is closed on Tuesdays, as well as on the last Monday of the month.
And now photos of my beloved. You are welcome to love and favor me.
This concludes our excursion. Of course, these are not all the halls of the palace, but the main ones. Please note that all we see in the Catherine Palace are the state rooms. Unfortunately, the living quarters of the kings were never restored.
The palace leaves a double impression especially on those who visited here a long time ago, two or three decades ago, and can compare it with the modern situation. The fact that the reception of tourists is streamlined and resembles a conveyor belt, the fact that it is impossible to calmly walk through the museum at a comfortable pace, the fact that the museum has become more like a mechanism, a machine, than a cultural object - all this is sad.
I hope that with my story I only fueled your desire to come and see everything in person. And rightly so. No article, no photographs will convey the splendor of the Catherine Palace and will not create your personal impression.
The Tsarskoye Selo Museum Reserve is probably one of the most famous attractions of St. Petersburg. I think almost every tourist who visited Northern capital, was here.
Tsarskoe Selo has beautiful parks, luxurious palaces- a huge territory permeated with the history of pre-revolutionary Russia.
Why I love Tsarskoe Selo
I've been here many times. It's a pleasure to visit this place again and again. Most of all I like to walk through Catherine Park. I talked about it in more detail in. It is divided into regular and landscape parks. For me, its last part is more interesting, but for beautiful photos Of course, Regular Park is also more popular among tourists. Its strict symmetry and abundance of all kinds of decorations produces the most vivid impression on the guests of Sela.
But Tsarskoye Selo is most famous for its palaces. Of course, first of all – the Catherine Palace. Its luxury and beauty are difficult to convey in words. This is a must see! The wealth and chic of that era is perfectly conveyed by the decoration and appearance palace
Of course, the Alexander Palace is less pompous. But it attracts guests in a completely different way. If the Catherine Palace is more formal, its halls and rooms do not give the impression that people once lived here (I talked about the Catherine Palace in more detail), then interior decoration Alexander Palace, preserved interior items make you believe and plunge into the home life of the imperial family.
I was lucky enough to visit the palace before it closed. The office of Nicholas II made the greatest impression on me.
A very cozy and truly homely atmosphere reigns in all rooms. It is easy to imagine that all the things that have survived to this day (and there are a lot of them) were used in everyday life by members of the Romanov family. Read separately about the palace.
Now let's plunge into history, I will tell you about how Tsarskoe Selo appeared. And then I will list all the most interesting places.
A little history
Tsarskoe Selo appeared thanks to Tsar Peter I. It was he who presented the lands of the Sarskaya Manor to his wife Ekaterina Alekseevna (the future Catherine I). The generous gift was greatly appreciated. The history of Tsarskoye Selo as a royal country residence began in 1710. Almost all subsequent Russian emperors loved this place. Ekaterina Alekseevna ordered the construction of a small two-story building on the territory of the Village summer palace, and also create a park around it.
Later, Tsarskoe Selo was given the status of a nature reserve. And since 1990, it received its modern name - the State Museum-Reserve "Tsarskoe Selo".
How to get there
The museum-reserve is located at: , Pushkin, st. Sadovaya, 7.
You can get there in the following ways:
WITH Vitebsky railway station There is an electric train from Pushkin to the Tsarskoe Selo station:
- Ticket price is 40 rubles.
- Travel time – 30 minutes.
- You can get from the station to the museum using minibuses No. 371, 377, 382, buses No. 371, 382, or walk.
- The journey on foot will take about 30 minutes.
From metro station "Moskovskaya" Minibuses go directly to the park:
- Taxi numbers 286, 287, 342, 347, 545.
- The stop is located behind the House of Soviets.
- Usually there are many minibuses with large signs “Tsarskoe Selo”, “Parks of Tsarskoe Selo”, “Palaces”.
- A minibus will take you there in 40 minutes, provided there are no traffic jams.
- The fare will be about 40 rubles.
You can get to Tsarskoe Selo from Moskovsky Prospekt:
- Bus number 187 stops opposite McDonald's.
- Here you can also catch minibuses from the ring from the House of Soviets.
- The bus is coming to the station (Pushkin).
- The fare is 30 rubles.
From metro station "Kupchino" can be reached by minibus:
- Taxi No. 545, 286, 287, bus No. 186.
- Travel time is 30 minutes if there are no traffic jams.
- The minibus ring is located on Vitebsky Prospekt on the metro side.
You can get to Tsarskoye Selo by taxi:
- The trip will cost approximately 500–600 rubles one way.
- Travel time is approximately 30 minutes if there are no traffic jams.
I like to get to Tsarskoye Selo by minibus from the Moskovskaya metro station. Due to the fact that there are always a lot of minibuses there, you can slowly approach and take a seat. seat and quickly and comfortably get directly to the museum. Along the way you can admire the city landscapes.
Opening hours and ticket prices
Catherine Park
Working hours:
- from September to April from 7:00 to 21:00;
- from May to July from 7:00 to 23:00;
- in August – from 7:00 to 22:00.
Ticket:
- from April 25 to October 20 – 120 rubles. At other times, admission is free.
Catherine Palace
This excursion is the most popular. The lines are the longest here. Therefore, when planning your day, first visit the palace. When purchasing a ticket, keep in mind that it is valid for an hour.
Working hours:
- from June to August – from 12:00 to 20:00;
- in May and September – from 12:00 to 19:00;
- Please remember that the ticket office closes an hour earlier.
- The day off is Tuesday, and from October to April - Tuesday and the last Monday of the month.
The museum offers two types of excursions:
- The route passes through: the Great Hall, the Dining Rooms, the Crimson and Green Pillar Rooms, the Picture and Portrait Rooms, the Amber Room, the Chinese Living Room, the Pantry, and the Waiter's Room.
Ticket prices:- adults – 580 rubles;
- pensioners – 290 rubles;
- cadets, members of artist unions, conscripts, members of Russian unions of architects and designers - 290 rubles;
- pupils over 16 years old and students – 290 rubles;
- visitors under 16 years of age – admission is free;
- The route passes through: the Great and Arabesque Halls, the Anti-Chambers, the Amber Room, the Picture Hall and the exhibition “The Romanovs in Tsarskoe Selo”.
Ticket prices:- adults – 400 rubles;
- pensioners – 200 rubles;
- cadets, members of the unions of artists, architects, designers of Russia, military personnel - 200 rubles;
- pupils over 16 years old and students – 200 rubles;
- Visitors under 16 years of age – admission is free.
Alexander Palace
IN this moment closed for reconstruction until 2018.
Museum-Lyceum of A. S. Pushkin
Located in the wing of the Catherine Palace. The entrance to the museum is separate.
Operating mode:
- from 10.30 to 18.00. The ticket office is open until 17.00.
Cost of tickets with excursion:
- adults – 200 rubles;
- pensioners – 100 rubles;
- students – 100 rubles;
- visitors under 16 years old – 80 rubles.
Ticket prices without excursion:
- adults – 120 rubles;
- pensioners – 40 rubles;
- students – 40 rubles;
- Visitors under 16 years of age are free.
What to see
A visit to Tsarskoye Selo will take you the whole day. There are so many places to go!
Catherine Palace
First of all, head to the Catherine Palace. Groups of 20 people are allowed into the palace every 20 minutes. Having purchased a ticket, you must remember that you need to visit the museum within an hour.
The palace is incredibly beautiful! I would advise you to take a walk without a tour, because the guide very quickly leads guests through the halls, and there is no opportunity or time to examine all the beauty more carefully and in detail, to admire and admire everything. For myself, I choose to go to museums like a “savage.” Moreover, you can always join the group and listen, and then continue to wander in your own way. There are many beautiful halls in the palace, each of them is magnificent in its own way. The most famous are the Great Hall and the Amber Room.
Big hall
He is simply amazing! The whole room is simply buried in gold! Every detail of the interior is thought out to the smallest detail, elegant and unique in its beauty. As you know, official receptions and luxurious balls were held here.
To do this, a huge number of candles were lit in the evening, and the walls began to burn, shimmering with gold! The hall made an indelible impression on all guests.
the Amber Room
Incredibly beautiful room. It is rightly called one of the wonders of the world. We must not forget that the original amber panels that decorated the room were irretrievably lost during the Great Patriotic War.
Museum-Lyceum of A. S. Pushkin
After visiting the Catherine Palace, you can walk to the A. S. Pushkin Lyceum Museum. It is located in the wing of the Catherine Palace, which is adjacent to the park fence.
Very interesting excursion in the place where the famous Russian poet studied. You will be shown classrooms and halls, as well as personal rooms of lyceum students. It's amazing how modest the conditions were!
Catherine and Alexandrovsky parks
And many more interesting things can be seen here.
At the moment, the Alexander Palace is closed for reconstruction until 2018, but you can just admire the building itself. It is truly very beautiful and majestic. There are also many interesting monuments and structures in Alexander Park that you can explore. Entrance to the park is free, so it is very popular among local residents. Here you can go hiking, skiing, or spend time with your family on a picnic.
- Big and Small whims unite Alexandrovsky and Catherine Parks. They are artificial bridges under which the road to the palaces passes. This photo clearly shows both the Big Caprice and the Small Caprice in the distance.
- The Great Chinese Bridge is located in front of the front parade ground of the Catherine Palace and leads to Alexander Park.
- The White Tower is a complex of buildings in medieval style. It was built specifically for the children of Emperor Nicholas I. Here the children studied military affairs, fencing and many other disciplines.
And that's far from all that can be seen here!
I hope my review was interesting.I wish you the most pleasant impressions from visiting Tsarskoe Selo!
We invite you to visit Pushkin ("Tsarskoye Selo") - an outstanding example of world architecture and landscape art, included in the UNESCO list.
Our excursion will begin with a visit to the monument to A.S. Pushkin and the Lyceum (externally), where the poet studied. Next, accompanied by an experienced guide, you will visit the pearl of Russian Baroque and the favorite summer residence of Catherine II - Grand Catherine Palace with his world famous Amber room(*the work of recreating the room after the war took 24 years), and you will also walk along the grand staircase made of white marble and through the main halls of the palace: the Great Hall, Anti-Chambers, Portrait and Picture Halls, the White Front and Cavalier Dining Rooms. You will see tiled stoves made according to Rastrelli's sketches. At the end of the tour, you will get acquainted with unique photographs of the palace during the Great Patriotic War, as well as the progress of its restoration after the war.
In the second part of the program you will complete Pwalk through one of the first landscape parks (~ 30 min.), where you will see garden sculpture, ponds, bridges, artificial canals, famous places, such as Cold Bath with Agate Rooms, " Hanging Garden", Cameron Gallery, Hermitage, Grotto, Concert hall, Admiralty, Lower and Upper baths, Granite terrace, Pyramid, Chinese gazebo, Turkish bath, statue of "Girl with a jug", Chesme column.
Why choose this excursion:
Our modern tourist buses They will delight you with their comfort, and large panoramic windows will allow you to see all the beauty of the city and its suburbs.
- Professional tour guide will give you the maximum interesting information. Our requirements for a guide include not only a license, but also a great love for St. Petersburg. The tour in the palace is accompanied by experienced museum guide (~1 hour 30 min.)
- Optimal route which will allow you to see the main attractions of Pushkin: palace, Amber room, park.
A great opportunity to take unforgettable photos while walking through the park.
All entrance fees are included included in the cost of the excursion.
Welcome aboard City Bus!
Your journey will take place on a comfortable, modern and safe tourist class bus with large panoramic windows, soft comfortable seats with seat belts. Availability of all necessary licenses.
Check out ourRecommendations for an excursion to Pushkin:
- Comfortable shoes and clothing appropriate for the weather. We also recommend taking an umbrella or raincoat with you. *You can buy a raincoat in Pushkin.
- There are no free or organized meal times on this excursion. We recommend bringing something with you or planning a lunch before/after your trip.
- There is a free toilet in the palace. Time will be allotted for his visit.
- Some rules of the museum that will be useful to you: - a backpack and a cane umbrella will need to be handed over to the museum cloakroom (*you can only bring a small folding umbrella and a small handbag with you into the palace); - in the palace you can take photographs in all halls (without flash), except for the Amber Room (any photographs are prohibited there); - You cannot bring water bottles into the palace.
“COMPARED TO TSROYA VILLAGE, EVERYTHING ELSE IS FLOWERS!”
The Amber Room is a tourist Mecca. With the beginning high season millions of guests flock to Tsarskoe Selo to see with their own eyes the miracle of restoration with a mysterious history. The originals of the precious panels disappeared without a trace after the Great Patriotic War, and since then have been shrouded in secrets and mysteries. But tourists are satisfied with the restored version.
Kilometer-long queues stand at the ticket office of the museum-reserve from morning until late evening. And travel agencies call the Catherine Palace their main headache.
Tsarskoe Selo entered into an agreement with a limited number of travel agencies for the passage of organized groups. Those who are not on the list of lucky winners are forced to repurchase tickets. At the same time, the price increases one and a half times: from 700 to 1,300 rubles at best,” says Olga, an employee of a city travel agency. – But that’s not so bad. If we have a group of one hundred people, no one can give so many tickets - we have to get them from different places. Literally collecting bit by bit!
When the long-awaited tickets are finally found, the second test period begins. It's called "waiting in line."
Queue at the Catherine Palace in Tsarskoe Selo! Queue
IN Lately in Tsarskoe Selo they do not allow you to queue in advance. They say: you have tickets for 15:00, so come at 15:00,” Olga sighs. - And our tourists have trains at six or seven in the evening. It turns out to be a comical situation: they stand in line for two hours in order to walk around the entire museum in twenty minutes and run to the station. Some refuse. They say they don't need beauty at that price. Compared to Tsarskoye Selo, everything else is just flowers.
QUOTAS ARE OUTLAW, BUT “SAVED THE SITUATION”
Back in April, Smolny admitted that the museum administration had established quotas outside the law. They do not have the right to restrict visits to cultural property. Vice-Governor Igor Albin instructed the Committee on State Control, Use and Protection of Monuments (KGIOP) to force the leadership to abandon such measures. But all summer, travel agencies continued to be divided into the “chosen few” who were lucky, and everyone else who had to organize a “rat race” for tickets to the Catherine Palace.
We have no right to give any warnings regarding the organization of tourist flows. We decide for ourselves how to receive tourists,” says Olga Taratynova, director of the Tsarskoye Selo State Museum.
According to her, quotas were “a good thing” and saved the situation in the face of a huge tourist flow, which the palace was simply unable to cope with.
Olga Taratynova about quotas in the Catherine Palace
Their goal was to somehow distribute the visit. Small travel agencies had small quotas, large ones – large ones,” Taratynova noted.
However, they promised to lift the restrictions starting next year. True, the management of Tsarskoe Selo predicts that this will only worsen the situation.
We will cancel the quota next year out of a sense of self-preservation. It is a reason for controversy and reproaches in our direction. We decided that it would be better to give tourism business self-regulate. But this will lead to severe speculation and the buying of our tickets,” the director warns.
“SORRY FOR GRANDMOTHER FROM SAMARA”
Now the Catherine Palace can only accommodate 900 people per hour - and this is the main problem, for which, alas, there is no solution. If even more guests are allowed in, it could be a tragedy for the exhibits.
We monitor the humidity in the rooms, and every year we note an increase. After the end of the high season, grease deposits appear on porcelain and furniture, and they have to be cleaned. Despite the double protection slippers, the floors suffer greatly. Not all rooms have ventilation, and in summer the temperature on the upper floors rises to +29 degrees, Taratynova lists.
In European museums, in such situations, electronic recording is introduced via the Internet, but in Russian reality, such a system will hit hard, first of all, on compatriot tourists who come not with companies, but on their own.
Imagine, a grandmother came to us from Samara. She didn’t know about electronic recording; she doesn’t even have the Internet. “I feel sorry for her,” the manager admits.
In general, whatever one may say, there are only two ways out of the situation: if you want to see the Amber Room, you will have to be patient. Or visit Tsarskoe Selo in late autumn, winter, or spring - when there are not so many tourists.
Our founders ask us to constantly increase attendance, and we will do this, but not at the expense of the Catherine Palace, Olga Taratynova is firmly convinced.
NUMBER
1.3 million tourists visited Tsarskoe Selo from May to October. This is 68 thousand more visitors than last year.