🥾 All of Peterhof in a day: from west to east
Photo: Godot13, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
A big hike for those who love walking: from Sobstvennaya Dacha through the entire Lower Park, the Colonist Islands and the cathedral — to the Cottage Palace in Alexandria. Return by bus or taxi.
Stops
- Sobstvennaya Dacha (the Imperial Private Dacha) — An estate where 'no one was admitted without announcement'. Alexander II spent his honeymoon here.
- Marly Palace — Peter's modest 'little cube' between the ponds, where fish were called to feed by a bell.
- Hermitage Pavilion — A dining room for the select few: the table was raised from the kitchen straight up to the guests.
- Monplaisir — Peter's favourite little house right by the water — like a ship ready to set sail.
- Grand Cascade and Samson Fountain — A monument to the victory over Sweden. Works without a single pump.
- Upper Garden — Peter's former vegetable garden. The Neptune Fountain was bought in Nuremberg.
- Kolonist Park and Olga Pond — A former hunting swamp that became a pond with two island villas.
- Cathedral of Peter and Paul — A church whose site was personally chosen by Alexander III.
- Alexandria Park and the Gothic Chapel — The tsar's "dacha" of Nicholas I. Previously — "Dolgorukov's empty places".
- Cottage Palace — Nicholas I's cozy Gothic style on the site of Menshikov's ruins.