Blogs from Peterhof, Northwest, Russia, Europe
August 28th 2011
Unquestionably the number-one day trip from St. Petersburg, Peterhof lures visitors with its Versailles-inspired palace, which overlooks a cascade of fountains and gardens opening onto the Baltic Sea. Frommer's Moscow & St. Petersburg Peterhof (Peter's court) was founded in 1714 by Peter the Great. The magnificent ensemble includes several palaces and large manicured gardens. The Lower Garden (RUB 400) lies between the Grand Palace (RUB 520) and the sea and boasts dozens of beautiful fountains. The Upper Garden (free) is a more formal garden with five fountains including one depicting Neptune, the God of the Sea. Peterhof's fountain system was designed in the 18th century and does not require the use of any pumps to operate the fountains. The Grand Cascade, located in front of the Grand Palace, ... read more
June 12th 2011
Peterhof or Petrodvorets is a small town some 20km from Saint Petersburg where Peter the Great built his summer palace. The palace also known as the "Russian Versaille", which basically tells you everything: it's enormous, unbelievable and a must-see when in this part of Russia. We spent almost the entire day there, which was nice as it was a very hot day and all the fountains and ponds in the lower and upper gardens were very refreshing. Enjoy the photos ... or plan a visit, you won't be disappointed.... read more
Back in the Days. Parks and Palaces near St. Petersburg – Peterhof
Published: January 11th 2011Europe » Russia » Northwest » Peterhof
January 11th 2011
Peterhof is a place perhaps everyone has heard about, that’s why I will not dwell on it for a very long time. I know that tourists coming to Russia would first of all visit Moscow and St. Petersburg, and visiting St. Petersburg almost certainly involves a day trip to Peterhof. When one comes to St. Petersburg House of Book on Nevsky Prospect, there are several shelves filled with books devoted to St. Petersburg and all other nearby countries. So, I have always said, don’t expect any matter-of-fact information from me. I have been several times, five, in Peterhof and now I would like to briefly recollect the main emotions experienced there. The first time was perhaps the most emotional – in summer 2007. I am not sure whether I was there alone or with a friend ... read more
September 20th 2010
Today we traveled outside St. Petersburg to the town of Pushkin to see Catherine the Great's summer palace. From there we went onto Peterhof, Peter the Great's summer palace that is called the Versailles of Russia. Pushkin, Catherine's summer palace, actually dates back to Peter the Great when he gave it to his wife Catherine I. Their daughter, Elizabeth, ordered it expanded from 14 rooms to 300 rooms and each room, like the Hermitage (winter palace) was gilded in gold. This is the place of the famous Amber Room. The room is completely covered in various types of amber. Unfortunately, we were not allowed to take pictures in there. The original amber was given by the King of Prussia to prevent a war but during the removal of art in WWII the original amber was stolen ... read more
May 22nd 2010
St. Petersburg - Peterhof The two attractions that drew me to St. Petersburg, apart from the Winter Palace, were the Catherine’s Palace at Tsarkoye Selo , with its fabulous Amber Room and the fountains of Peterhof. However, since we were visiting St. Petersburg in the first week of May, I was resigned to the idea that the fountains may not be playing. Typically, the fountains play from mid-May till mid-October. Imagine my delight when the guide told us that this year, they had started the fountains on 1st May itself. There was a grand ‘Opening of Fountains’ ceremony on that day. (We have a DVD with 2008 Ceremony.) However, as I did not want to be disappointed too bitterly, I kept telling Avi NOT to expect the fountains while I kept my fingers crossed. Looks like ... read more
August 29th 2009
About 20 kilometers outside St Pete, Peterhof is a palace along the vein of Versailles in Palace and is renowned for its fountains. While you can get there by train or bus (or helicopter if you are in a hurry), the coolest way of getting there is by hydrofoil. Six of us had decided to go out to visit the palace and had never been on a hydrofoil, so that was the obvious, if expensive method of transport. Sitting down in the boat I visions that I was in a Bond movie: I was one of the guys running the bad guy secret base and the hydrofoil was about to turn into a submarine and take us down to the lair. Alas, we did not turn into a submarine and we were dropped off at the ... read more
Peterhof Gardens,a sight not to be missed
Published: May 28th 2009Europe » Russia » Northwest » Peterhof
May 26th 2009
Tuesday 26th May Peterhof Gardens, a sight not to be missed It has been a day of mixed fortunes and highs and lows.First the highs and the low at the end of this blog. One of the pleasures we have had on this trip is the ability to tune into Newstalk ZB via the laptop.It sure beats trying to understand the lingo on foreign TV channels.Of course you don’t get to listen to the usual talkback host you would at home at the local hour you are listening but that hasn’t worried us in St Petes because we wake up to Danny Watson the noon to 4pm host then pass onto Larry Williams and we go to bed with Mike Hosking the 6am to 8.30am host.The only one we haven’t heard so far is Leighton Smith ... read more
August 27th 2008
Olen nyt isantiemme koneella, jossa ei netti toimi, joten kirjoitan muistiolla ja yritan myohemmin liittaa taman blogiini. Mihin siis jainkaan? Niin, olimme siis seikkailemassa metrotunneleitten syovereissa. Yritimme paasta Nevski-pysakille. Monet ihmiset eivat varmaan ymmartaneet, mita kysyimme, silla he neuvoivat meidat harhaan. Eras liukuportaidenvartija osoitteli ylospain, joten minulla tuli mieleen, etta jospa olisimme jo Nevskin alapuolella.Saapuessamme jalleen maanpinnalle, huomasimme kuitenkin olevamme viela kaukana paamaarastamme. Huomasimme, etta olimme kavelleet yhden pysakinvalin tunneleissa! Samaan aikaan huomasimme, etta emme paasisi enaa metroon ostamatta uusia lippuja! Olimme siis kayttaneet yhdet liput ajamatta metriakaan metrolla! No, sitten vaan takaisin lippujonoon, uudet poletit kouraan ja sukellus porttien lapi taas kohti maanalaista runsaslukuisten kiireisten... read more
August 27th 2008
Sain vasta asken liitettya edellisen tekstin blogiini. Olen taas tassa isantiemme koneella, joten saa nahda mita tasta tulee. Tama ei ole kovin nopea eika luotettava netti, vaikka isannillamme on ainakin kolme lapparia, jolla kayttavat tata langatontayhteyttaan. Taman paivan suuri saavutus oli, etta paasimme Eremitaasiin ilmaiseksi! Ymmarsimme nayttaa opiskelija korttejamme ja tati loi sitten vain liput kouraamme. Selkea ero Suomeen, mita olen taalla nain aivan ensiksi huomannut, on asiakaspalvelun naennainen toykeys. Tuskin he erityisesti tarkoittavat olla toykeita, mutta taalla hymyt eivat vain kuulu asiaan. Suomessa kaikkia asiakaspalvelu tyontekijoita neuvotaan aina olemaan ystavallisia ihmisille. Joillakin se menee sitten jopa tekohymyn puolelle. Taalla sellaisesta ei ole pelkoa. Hyvin happaman ja tiukan nakoisena metroluukun- tai kaupankassa hoitaa tehtaviaan. Joskus heidan vii... read more
March 24th 2008
We took a metro and then bus out into the country for the day to go to Peterhof, it was really cool just looking out the windows on the way there, the country is so different than being down in the heart of the city. Peterhof is amazing, definitely called the russian versailles for a reason, even in march when the fountains werent even on. The palace was enormous and spectacular, there are huge gardens leading up to the palace as well as a large fountain with a statue of neptune. Going around back there is a giant fountain down a hill leading out the gulf of Finland. I loved being in Russia in March, I cant really imagine it without the constant light snowfall and there were no crowds of tourists, anywhere! which was absolutely ... read more
