Oranienbaum with the Great Menshikov Palace and Park

Every palace around St Petersburg that you have heard of was wrecked in the Second World War and rebuilt from drawings and photographs, every one except Oranienbaum. The front line held nearby, German troops never reached the palaces, and the interiors you see here are genuinely eighteenth-century, not reconstructions.

The car collects you from your hotel or apartment for a drive of about an hour along the Gulf of Finland.

The route

The Great Menshikov Palace. Alexander Menshikov, the richest man in the empire after the tsar, had this U-shaped palace built between 1711 and 1727. It runs 210 metres along a natural rise facing the sea, and he fell from power before it was finished. You visit the state halls and private rooms, opened after restoration in 2011. Ask your guide about the facade colour, which the eighteenth century called “the thigh of a frightened nymph”.

The Lower Garden and the Upper Park. A formal garden running down to the sea canal, then a huge landscape park with ponds, bridges and views across the gulf.

Peterstadt. What remains of the toy fortress where the future Peter III drilled his soldiers: the Gate of Honour of 1757, Antonio Rinaldi’s first building in Russia, and Peter III’s small two-storey palace.

The Chinese Palace and the Sliding Hill Pavilion. Rinaldi’s Chinese Palace, built for Catherine II, is the only rococo building in Russia. It holds the Glass Bead Study, decorated with beads from Mikhail Lomonosov’s factory. Nearby, the 33-metre Sliding Hill Pavilion is all that survives of Catherine’s giant slide, the kind of “Russian mountain” that gave roller coasters their name in many languages.

Good to know

• The tour lasts about five hours, including the drive.
• The car and entry tickets to the Menshikov Palace and the park are included; meals are not.
• The Chinese Palace is seen from outside. Going inside costs extra and depends on the season, as it is closed in the cold months.
• The park is large, so expect a fair amount of walking.
• The ensemble is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The tour is private, for your party only.

Who it suits

Travellers who want to see authentic imperial interiors, return visitors who have already done Peterhof and Tsarskoye Selo, and anyone who enjoys long walks in quiet parkland by the sea.