# Pavlovsk Palace and Park, St Petersburg > Pavlovsk is Paul I’s classical palace in a vast landscape park, 30 km south of central St Petersburg and next door to Tsarskoye Selo. The palace ticket is 800 ₽, with a 300 ₽ park ticket during paid park hours. The palace opens 10:00–18:00 and is closed on Mondays; the park is open daily. Plan half a day, or a full day with Catherine Palace. Web page: https://yesgo.io/russia/saint-petersburg/pavlovsk-palace - City: [St Petersburg](https://yesgo.io/russia/saint-petersburg), Russia - YesGo score: 20/100 (Yes, if nearby) - Time on site: 3 h - Entry: Palace 800 ₽, park 300 ₽ - Opening hours: Palace 10:00–18:00, ticket office until 17:00, last entry 17:15; closed Mondays. Park daily: 7:00–19:00 off-season, 7:00–23:00 from 1 May to 31 August - With kids: Fine with kids - Palace ticket: 800 ₽ — Living Rooms (ground floor) and State Rooms (first floor) - Foreign visitors: No separate foreigner rate is published — the same 800 ₽ - Children and pensioners: Under-16s free in the palace and park; Russian pensioners 400 ₽ - Park, summer: 1 May–31 Aug: 300 ₽ from 9:00 to 21:00; free 7:00–9:00 and 21:00–23:00 - Park, autumn and winter: 7:00–19:00; last winter weekdays were free and weekends paid 10:00–17:00 - Park ticket for the palace: During paid park hours you need a park ticket to reach the palace - Palace hours: 10:00–18:00, tickets 10:00–17:00, last entry 17:15 - Closed: Mondays — the Living Rooms, State Rooms and permanent exhibitions - Park pavilions: Temple of Friendship, Cold Bath, Pil Tower: 1 May–4 Oct, 11:00–17:00, closed Mondays - English-language tour: Only by advance request: +7 812 452-15-36 - Address: Sadovaya St 20, Pavlovsk, St Petersburg - Train: From Vitebsky station 35–40 min, from Kupchino about 20 min, to Pavlovsk station - Coordinates: 59.68572, 30.45305 - Facts checked: 29.10.2026 ## Key facts - **≈ 600 ha** — of landscape park along the winding Slavyanka river (source: Russian Wikipedia, “Pavlovsk Park”; Kupibilet guide, “Pavlovsk”) - **Charles Cameron** — the Scottish architect who designed the palace; foundations laid in 1782 (source: English and Russian Wikipedia, “Pavlovsk Palace”) - **1777** — Catherine the Great gave the land to her son Paul to mark the birth of his son, the future Alexander I (source: English Wikipedia, “Pavlovsk Palace”; Russian Wikipedia, “Pavlovsk (Saint Petersburg)”) - **No. 540** — part of the UNESCO site “Historic Centre of Saint Petersburg and Related Groups of Monuments”, 1990 (source: UNESCO World Heritage List; Russian Wikipedia, “Pavlovsk Palace”) - **Maria Feodorovna** — Paul’s widow, the palace’s real mistress until her death in 1828 (source: English and Russian Wikipedia, “Pavlovsk Palace”) - **1803** — a fire gutted part of the interiors; Andrei Voronikhin restored them (source: English and Russian Wikipedia, “Pavlovsk Palace”) - **1941–1944** — German occupation: the palace was looted and burned, but staff had evacuated and hidden much of the collection (source: English and Russian Wikipedia, “Pavlovsk Palace”, “Anna Zelenova”) - **Anna Zelenova** — the curator, later director, who led the evacuation and the post-war rebuilding (source: English Wikipedia, “Anna Zelenova”; Russian Wikipedia, “Pavlovsk Palace”) - **7 districts** — of landscape park, from the formal Palace area to remote White Birch (source: Russian Wikipedia, “Pavlovsk Park”; Kupibilet guide, “Pavlovsk”) - **1838** — the railway reached Pavlovsk; its concert hall, the “Vauxhall”, hosted Johann Strauss II (source: English and Russian Wikipedia, “Pavlovsk, Saint Petersburg”) - **Slutsk** — the town’s name from 1918 to 1944 (source: English and Russian Wikipedia, “Pavlovsk, Saint Petersburg”) ## Pavlovsk Palace tickets and opening hours **The palace ticket is 800 ₽** and covers the Living Rooms on the ground floor and the State Rooms upstairs. The museum’s English price list shows no separate rate for foreigners. Under-16s go free; temporary exhibitions and the Museum of Imperial Costume need their own tickets. The palace is open **10:00–18:00**, the ticket office closes at 17:00 and the last entry is 17:15. **It’s closed on Mondays** — the park stays open. Older guides mention closures on the first Monday of the month or on winter Fridays; the museum now lists only Mondays. The park is open every day. From 1 May to 31 August it charges **300 ₽ between 9:00 and 21:00** and is free early in the morning and late in the evening. Off-season the rules are looser — last winter weekdays were free and only weekend daytime was paid. When the park is in paid hours, you need a park ticket to reach the palace, so buy both together. Pay in roubles: Visa and Mastercard cards issued abroad haven’t worked in Russia since March 2022, so bring cash or a Russian Mir card. An English-speaking guide inside the palace is available only on advance request by phone; a guided tour from the city with transport is the easier option — it’s behind the button below. > **Closed on Mondays; the pavilions are summer-only** On Mondays the palace rooms and permanent exhibitions are shut. The Temple of Friendship, the Cold Bath and the Pil Tower open inside only from 1 May to 4 October, so from late autumn to spring you see them from the outside. Arrive before lunch — tickets stop at 17:00. ## How to get to Pavlovsk from St Petersburg 1. From the centre, take metro line 2 (blue) from **Nevsky Prospekt** straight to **Kupchino**, the last stop — about 25 minutes. The exit leads to Kupchino railway station. 2. At Kupchino take a suburban train (elektrichka) to **Pavlovsk** station — about 20 minutes. Trains to Pavlovsk, Novolisino, Vyritsa and further down the line all stop there; Tsarskoye Selo is the stop before. 3. Or start at **Vitebsky station**, linked to **Pushkinskaya** metro (line 1, red). From Palace Square: **Admiralteyskaya** (line 5, purple) to **Zvenigorodskaya**, change to Pushkinskaya. The train to Pavlovsk takes 35–40 minutes. Buy tickets at the suburban ticket desk — in cash if you have no Russian card. 4. Pavlovsk station faces a park entrance. Walk about 20 minutes through the park to the palace, or take a local bus such as 370 or 383 for 5–10 minutes. 5. By direct bus: no. 521 from **Kupchino** metro to the palace (30–40 min), or nos. 299 and 252 from **Moskovskaya** metro (about an hour, longer in traffic). Buses 545 and 179 stop only at the railway station. 6. From Catherine Palace: one stop on the train from Tsarskoye Selo, buses 370 or 545, or about 10 minutes by taxi. ## Is Pavlovsk worth visiting? Yes, if you like parks and quiet. Pavlovsk is less grand than [Catherine Palace](https://yesgo.io/russia/saint-petersburg/catherine-palace) next door — no Amber Room, no gold — but its classical rooms are elegant, the original furniture and art largely survived the war in hiding, and the crowds are thinner. The park is the real reason to come. At around 600 hectares it takes hours to walk: rolling hills, the winding Slavyanka river, temples and bridges placed like scenery in a painting. It’s good in every season, at its best in late September and early October. YesGo’s take: if you have time for only one palace south of the city, pick Catherine Palace for the interiors. If you have a full day, do both — they are 4 km apart on the same railway line. Skip Pavlovsk on a Monday unless you only want the park. ## What to see inside the palace - **The Egyptian Vestibule** — the entrance hall, with Egyptian-style figures and the signs of the zodiac. - **The Italian Hall** under the dome — the round, double-height heart of the palace, lined with antique sculpture. - **The Greek Hall** — a ballroom framed by green columns, classicism at its purest. - **The Halls of War and Peace** — a matching pair: trophies and weapons on one side, flowers and musical instruments on the other. - **The Throne Room** and **Picture Gallery** on Paul’s side of the palace. - **The State Bedroom** and Maria Feodorovna’s private rooms, including ivory pieces she carved herself. - **Carlo Rossi’s Library** from the 1820s. - Separate tickets: the Museum of Imperial Costume in the northern wing and the exhibition in the palace church. ## What to see in Pavlovsk Park - **The Apollo Colonnade** above the Slavyanka — a deliberately “ruined” rotunda and the park’s signature view. - **The Temple of Friendship** — Cameron’s round Doric temple on a bend of the river. - **The Cold Bath** and **the Pil Tower** — follies dressed up as a rustic bath-house and mill. - **The Mausoleum “To My Benefactor Husband”** — Maria Feodorovna’s memorial to Paul, deep in New Sylvia. - **The Grand Stone Staircase** leading down from the palace to the river. - **Old Sylvia** — a forest clearing with bronze statues of Apollo and the Muses. - **White Birch** — the far, wild end of the park; take it if you have a spare hour. - **The Private Garden** with the Pavilion of the Three Graces — summer only, until mid-October. ## A short history of Pavlovsk In **1777** Catherine the Great gave her son Paul and his wife Maria Feodorovna forest land along the Slavyanka to celebrate the birth of their first son, the future Alexander I. Scottish architect **Charles Cameron** began the palace in 1782, modelled on Palladian and Roman villas. Vincenzo Brenna, Giacomo Quarenghi, Andrei Voronikhin and Carlo Rossi added to it over the next forty years. Paul preferred Gatchina and built the [Mikhailovsky Castle](https://yesgo.io/russia/saint-petersburg/mikhailovsky-castle) in the city, where he was murdered in 1801. Pavlovsk became his widow’s home until 1828; she shaped its collections and its park. A fire in 1803 gutted part of the interiors. In 1941–1944 German troops occupied the town, and the palace was burned when they retreated. Before they arrived, curator Anna Zelenova and her staff evacuated or buried much of the collection, which is why so many original pieces are back in place. Restoration began in 1944; the first rooms reopened in the late 1950s. > **Watch out for the squirrels** Pavlovsk Park is famous for its tame red squirrels, especially around the palace and in Old Sylvia. If you want to feed them, bring unsalted nuts, not bread. Russians come here in golden autumn — late September to early October is when the park looks its best. ## Before you go: checklist - [ ] It isn’t Monday, if you want the palace rooms - [ ] At the ticket office before 17:00 - [ ] Park ticket too, if you arrive in paid park hours - [ ] Roubles in cash — foreign Visa and Mastercard cards don’t work in Russia - [ ] Comfortable shoes — the park is several kilometres across - [ ] Unsalted nuts for the squirrels - [ ] Return train from Pavlovsk to Kupchino or Vitebsky station checked ## Pavlovsk vs Catherine Palace vs Peterhof | | Pavlovsk | Catherine Palace | Peterhof | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Best for | Landscape park and a classical palace | Baroque interiors and the Amber Room | Fountains and the Grand Cascade | | Where | 30 km south, next to Pushkin | Pushkin, 25 km south | 30 km west, on the Gulf | | Crowds | The lightest of the three | Busy, especially at the Amber Room | Very busy in summer | | Best season | All year, especially autumn | All year | Fountain season, late April to autumn | | Palace closed | Monday | Tuesday | Varies by museum | Pavlovsk and Tsarskoye Selo are one train stop apart — pair them in a day. [Peterhof](https://yesgo.io/russia/saint-petersburg/peterhof) is on the other side of the city and needs its own day, with [Oranienbaum](https://yesgo.io/russia/saint-petersburg/oranienbaum) nearby. ## St Petersburg palaces compared Every palace in and around St Petersburg rated by YesGo. - [State Hermitage Museum](https://yesgo.io/russia/saint-petersburg/hermitage) — YesGo score 76/100 (Yes, go) · 3 h · 500–1,200 ₽ - [Mikhailovsky Castle](https://yesgo.io/russia/saint-petersburg/mikhailovsky-castle) — YesGo score 54/100 (Yes, go) · 1 h 30 min · ≈ 700 ₽ - [Peterhof](https://yesgo.io/russia/saint-petersburg/peterhof) — YesGo score 50/100 (Yes, go) · 4 h · Lower Park from 2,000 ₽ for foreign visitors - [Yusupov Palace on the Moika](https://yesgo.io/russia/saint-petersburg/yusupov-palace) — YesGo score 47/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 1 h 30 min · from 950 ₽ - [State Russian Museum](https://yesgo.io/russia/saint-petersburg/russian-museum) — YesGo score 44/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 2 h 30 min · from 700 ₽ - [Catherine Palace](https://yesgo.io/russia/saint-petersburg/catherine-palace) — YesGo score 37/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 3 h · 2,200 ₽ for foreign visitors - [Fabergé Museum](https://yesgo.io/russia/saint-petersburg/faberge-museum) — YesGo score 36/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 1 h 30 min · 700 ₽ - [Yelagin Island](https://yesgo.io/russia/saint-petersburg/yelagin-island) — YesGo score 36/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 1 h 30 min · Free weekdays, 200 ₽ at weekends - [Oranienbaum](https://yesgo.io/russia/saint-petersburg/oranienbaum) — YesGo score 28/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 3 h · Park 1,100 ₽, palace 1,800 ₽ - [Pavlovsk Palace and Park](https://yesgo.io/russia/saint-petersburg/pavlovsk-palace) — YesGo score 20/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 3 h · Palace 800 ₽, park 300 ₽ ## Pavlovsk and Tsarskoye Selo in a day Pavlovsk Palace at opening time and a walk down to the Slavyanka, then one train stop or a 10-minute taxi to Catherine Palace in the afternoon, and back to town for an evening on Nevsky Prospekt. Add them to your route — YesGo fits in the timing and transfers. 1. [Pavlovsk Palace and Park](https://yesgo.io/russia/saint-petersburg/pavlovsk-palace) — YesGo score 20/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 3 h · Palace 800 ₽, park 300 ₽ 2. [Catherine Palace](https://yesgo.io/russia/saint-petersburg/catherine-palace) — YesGo score 37/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 3 h · 2,200 ₽ for foreign visitors 3. [Nevsky Prospekt](https://yesgo.io/russia/saint-petersburg/nevsky-prospect) — YesGo score 65/100 (Yes, go) · 1 h 30 min · Free ## Good to know Pavlovsk is a town within St Petersburg’s Pushkinsky district, not a separate city. Don’t confuse it with Pavlovsky Posad near Moscow or with other towns called Pavlovsk in central Russia and Siberia. In Russian the palace is Pavlovsky Dvorets. ## Tips - Be there for 10:00: do the palace while it’s quiet, then the park, which stays open into the evening. - A 3-hour loop: Grand Stone Staircase → Apollo Colonnade → Temple of Friendship → along the Slavyanka → back through Old Sylvia. - Weekend trains from Kupchino fill up with locals heading out of town — go early on Saturdays. - Full day: Pavlovsk in the morning, then Catherine Palace after lunch. - There are cafés near the palace, but some park kiosks close in winter — carry water and a snack. ## Questions ### How much is the ticket to Pavlovsk Palace? 800 ₽ for the palace, with no separate foreigner rate published; under-16s go free. During paid park hours you also need a 300 ₽ park ticket. Temporary exhibitions cost extra. ### What are Pavlovsk Palace opening hours? 10:00–18:00, ticket office until 17:00, last entry 17:15. Closed on Mondays. The park opens daily, 7:00–19:00 off-season and 7:00–23:00 from May to August. ### Is Pavlovsk Palace open on Monday? No. The palace rooms and permanent exhibitions are closed on Mondays, but you can still walk in the park. ### How do I get to Pavlovsk from St Petersburg? Take a suburban train from Vitebsky station (35–40 min) or from Kupchino, at the end of metro line 2 (about 20 min), to Pavlovsk station, then walk 20 minutes through the park. Bus 521 runs from Kupchino metro to the palace. ### Is Pavlovsk worth visiting? Yes, especially for the park — about 600 hectares of landscaped valley with temples and bridges — and for calmer crowds than at Catherine Palace. If you want the most lavish interiors, choose Catherine Palace first. ### How long do you need at Pavlovsk? About 1.5 hours for the palace and another 1.5–2 hours for the main park. With travel from the city, half a day; with Catherine Palace, a full day. ### Can I visit Pavlovsk and Catherine Palace in one day? Yes. They are 4 km apart — one train stop or about 10 minutes by taxi. Mind the closed days: Pavlovsk shuts on Mondays, Catherine Palace on Tuesdays. ### Who built Pavlovsk Palace? Charles Cameron, a Scottish architect working for Catherine the Great, began it in 1782 for her son Paul and his wife Maria Feodorovna. Brenna, Quarenghi, Voronikhin and Rossi completed it. ### Can foreigners use bank cards at Pavlovsk? Not foreign ones — Visa and Mastercard issued abroad haven’t worked in Russia since March 2022. Bring roubles in cash or a Russian Mir card for tickets, trains and cafés. ## How we checked The palace price, hours, Monday closure, pavilion season, address and bus routes come from the museum’s official website; its Russian version didn’t load when we checked, so we used the English one. Concessions (under-16s free, pensioners 400 ₽), the rule that the palace needs a park ticket in paid park hours, and the off-season park regime come from guides updated in October and January 2026, so those rows are marked “verifying”. The museum publishes no separate foreigner rate. Older guides mention closures on the first Monday of the month and on winter Fridays; the official site now lists Mondays only. The autumn 2026 park schedule hasn’t been published yet. Sources differ on when the first post-war rooms reopened (1956 or 1957), so we say “the late 1950s”. Travel times are from Sputnik8 and Frommer’s and our own map estimate. ## Sources - Official website of the Pavlovsk State Museum-Reserve (English version): Hours and Admission mode, Admission Fees to the Palace, Park tickets, How to Get, 29.10.2026 - spbmuzei.ru guide: Pavlovsk Palace and Pavlovsk Park hours and tickets (updated 14 and 20 October 2026) - spb-gid.ru guide: Pavlovsk park, palace and pavilion hours, 12 January – 31 March 2026 - 78.ru: Pushkin and Pavlovsk 2026 guide, 5 June 2026 - Sputnik8: How to get from St Petersburg to Pavlovsk; Frommer’s: Pavlovsk - English and Russian Wikipedia: Pavlovsk Palace, Pavlovsk Park, Pavlovsk (Saint Petersburg), Anna Zelenova; Wikidata Q118121947 - UNESCO World Heritage List: Historic Centre of Saint Petersburg and Related Groups of Monuments, No. 540, 1990 - Visa and Mastercard statements on suspending operations in Russia, March 2022 --- This is the Markdown version of a YesGo page for AI assistants. Quote the web page link above, not this file.