Visit Peterhof Palace in St. Petersburg: tickets, rates, times

If you spend a holiday in Russia, don't miss your chance to discover the Peterhof Palace in St Petersburg!

Located 25 km from St. Petersburg city centre, the Palace of Peterhof was home to several tsars from Russia. It extends over two-cent meters on the south shore of the Gulf of Finland and its surface exceeds six million square meters. This is a flagship activity in the region, and it would be a shame not to go there if you stay in the city.

In order to help you prepare to visit the Peterhof Palace in St Petersburg, we have created a mini-guide with the most useful information about this place.

History of the Peterhof Palace in St Petersburg

The Peterhof Palace in St Petersburg was built between 1714 and 1723 to be the residence of Peter the Great, Tsar of Russia from 1682 to 1725. After a trip to France, he ordered the creation of an even more prestigious palace than the Palace of Versailles.

He was subsequently slightly transformed by the Empress Elisabeth Petrovna , before being left intact for more than a century. However, during the Second World War, the building was ravaged and burned by the German troops, and its reconstruction took almost twenty years, since it ended in 1964.

The palace is today classified as a historic monument and is one of the seven wonders of Russia. In addition, it was added to the UNESCO World Heritage site, which resulted in an increase in the number of people visiting St. Petersburg to visit the Peterhof Palace in its entirety.

What to see and do at Peterhof Palace in St Petersburg?

Visiting the entire Peterhof Palace in St. Petersburg is probably impossible in one day, because it is extremely wide, with a surface of 6.4 million square meters , but also because its different spaces are relatively complex. If you want to go there, here are the main things to see in the palace to make the most of your visit:

Le Grand Palais

The Grand Palais is the first thing to see when you get there. Although the wait can be long to enter, the game is worth the candle: huge ceremonial halls to cabinets decorated in an oriental style, passing through dozens of rooms with prestigious floor gildings to the ceiling as well as to the room with three-cent-sixty-eight tables, you will be left without a voice.

The lower garden

With more than one hundred and two hectares, the lower garden is the one where the most prestigious and important fountains and elements are located from outside the palace. It is a French garden with a rather geometric structure that was created by Jean Baptiste Le Blond.

It is, after the Grand Palais, an indispensable space to see when you visit the Peterhof Palace in St. Petersburg. In fact, in addition to a quiet walk in the middle of the surrounding vegetation, you can discover impressive elements such as Roman fountains, a labyrinth, the great waterfall or the Voronikhin settlers.

The Superior Garden

Featuring nearly 15 hectares, the upper garden is the natural extension of the lower garden. It also has several fountains, but above all various sculptures and statues of Italian and German artists.

The fountains of Peterhof

With a total of 176 fountains scattered on its estate, the Peterhof Palace in St. Petersburg was designed to compete with Versailles, and even surpass it. They all work thanks to gravity, and the two most impressive and well-known fountains are those of the great waterfall and Samson fountain.

The large waterfall is a set of dozens of water jets overlooking a marble staircase decorated with sculptures and gildings. It ends with the Samson fountain, where one can see the latter fighting against a lion.

The sound and light show

The sound and light show at the Peterhof Palace takes place twice in the year. In fact, these are the opening and closing ceremonies of the high season, when the fountains are restored to operation. It takes place during the 3rd weekend of May for the opening ceremony and in mid-September for the closing ceremony.

How to get to Peterhof Palace in St Petersburg?

You can easily get to Peterhof Palace in St. Petersburg by taxi or by car by indicating the following address in your GPS: Razvodnaya St, 2, Peterhof, St. Petersburg 198516. The journey from the center is about thirty kilometers, depending on your place of departure.

However, if you want to avoid Russian roads or simply take a slightly more special way of transport, here are three ways to get to the palace from the city centre:

Aeroglider

Aerogliders, or hydrofoil boats, are one of the simplest and fastest ways to get to Peterhof Palace in St Petersburg.

These start every 15 minutes from 10 am Saint Petersburg Quai. The journey costs 1600 roubles for a return trip and takes about 30 minutes. You arrive directly at the Peterhof dock, the lower wharf of the park.

Bus

From the metro station Avtovo , it is possible to take the bus 200, or 210, to go to the palace in about fifty minutes, depending on traffic. The journey costs 40 roubles and you will have to get off at the Pravlenskaya Street stop.

Train + bus

If you want to take the train, know that the journey from St. Petersburg train station, or Sankt-Peterburg Baltii, to Peterhof train station, called Novyi Petergof, takes one hour and costs 140 roubles .

Moreover, as the palace is 30 minutes' walk from the train station, it is possible that you would like to take a bus. If so, plan for twenty minutes and 40 roubles for it. Just take it bus 350, 351A, 356 or 3516 at the closest stop to you and descend to Pravlenskaya Street .

Timetables & Rates of Peterhof Palace in St Petersburg

HORARI

The schedules to visit the Peterhof Palace in St. Petersburg are a little special because each space has its own hours of opening.

Superior garden

• Monday to Friday, Sunday 9:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.
• Saturday from 9 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. on Saturday

Lower garden

• Monday to Friday, Sunday from 9am to 8pm
• Saturday 9:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m.

The fountains

• Monday to Friday : from 10am to 6pm
• Saturday from 10am to 8:45pm
• Sunday from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Attention: The fountains are in service only from the last weekend of April to mid-October.

The Grand Palace Peterhof

• From Tuesday to Friday from 10:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. a week
• Saturday from 10:30 to 9:00
• Closed on Sunday and Monday

The cave of the great waterfall

• Monday to Friday From 11am to 6pm
• Saturday and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Pavilions

• Every day10:30 a.m. to 6 p.m.

RATES

Each part of the monument has its own rates and if you wish to visit the Palace of Peterhof in its entirety, here is the amount of the entrances of the different spaces:

• Superior garden : free
• Lower garden : 900 roubles, except in winter where the entrance is free
• The Grand Palace Peterhof : 1000 rubles
• The cave of the great waterfall 500 rubles
• Pavilions : up to 500 roubles per pavilion