Peter the Great's favourite residence, Peterhof, is a vast complex of palaces and parkland designed to rival the splendour of Versailles. Vast tracts of landscaped gardens are interspersed with statues, water features, pavilions and sumptuous mansions - the most famous being Mon Plaisir, overlooking the Gulf of Finland. Of course Peterhof is best known for it's 120 fountains (switched on from May to mid-October), some of which are deliberately designed to soak the unsuspecting visitor! You can reach Peterhof by train from Baltiysky Station, alighting at Novy Peterhof, or why not jet over on a hydrofoil from beside the Hermitage Museum? The complex is closed on Mondays and on the last Tuesday of every month.
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