A group of palaces. Surrounded by large formal gardens.  Decorated by 144 fountains and more than 200 statues. UNESCO World Heritage Site. It’s the Russian Versailles. A day in Peterhof.

 

There is so much to see in St Petersburg, one could easily forget there is so much around ST Petersburg as well.  Two of the most obvious sight seeings are Catharina Palace – once the summer residence of the Russian tsars –  and Peterhof – build by orders of Peter the Great.

Since I was only for five days in St Petersburg, I wasn’t able to do both. Both contain a marvellous palace and choosing the best one, depends on your personal interests. But the great gardens of Peterhof made me choose for a one day trip to Peterhof.

You can travel by train, metro and bus to Peterhof from St Petersburg. But you can also take the hydrofoil. There are two companies who can take you to Peterhof by hydrofoil. For hours and prices you should check their website. It’s easy to find the companies. As soon as you cross the Palace Square and pass the Winter Palace, you’ll find recruiters from both companies trying to sell you a ticket.

I chose the hydrofoil since it gets you to Peterhof faster than the other transportations. And above that, you get a nice view from the water of St Petersburg. After around 30 minutes, you’ll arrive at the pier of Peterhof. Before you can enter you have to have to buy a ticket. There are different ticket options. Again it depends on your personal interests what ticket you should buy. I bought a ticket for the lower gardens only.

It’s not difficult to find your way. From the pier a river canal leads you straight to the Peterhof palace and its exterior. Once arrived, you get a spectacular outside view of the palace and you can walk all around the Grand Cascade – famous for its spectacular fountain and many statues. It’s nice to know that all the fountains in the gardens work without pumps. All the water is collected from natural springs and because of the height difference there’s enough pressure to run the water through the fountains.

Since it was a beautiful day the sight was quite impressive. A blue sky, fountains everywhere you look and golden statues that reflected the sun. There’s so much to see at once that you should take your time to watch the Cascade and all of its glory.

 

 

After that I only visited the lower gardens but don’t be mistaken. Since they are so large you can easily spend many hours in the gardens. I love walking around and since the sun wasn’t planning to leave, I loved exploring every garden. Every zone had something different and in every corner something new was to discover – a fountain, a statue, a flower park,…  You can even catch many birds and squirrels who found a home in the gardens.

I would definitely recommend Peterhof when you visit St Petersburg. Although I didn’t visit the palace, for me it still was worth it to go to Peterhof. I found it to be very nice to walk around gardens and spend a day in a park after seeing the last days nothing but the city of St Petersburg. And even when a city is beautiful to see, for me it’s always a relief to find some time to relax, go back to nature and live in the moment in a nature area in or close to the city I’m visiting.