Pavlovsk is the least showy of the great palaces around St Petersburg, and for that reason the pleasantest. The estate lies a few kilometres from Pushkin, on the Slavyanka river, in a park that spreads over hundreds of hectares of woodland, meadow and winding water. Catherine the Great gave the land to her son Paul in 1777, and the Scottish architect Charles Cameron, later joined by Brenna and others, gave it its look, with pavilions, bridges and a colonnaded Temple of Friendship set among the trees.
Getting there from the city is straightforward but not scenic: you ride south out of St Petersburg on the Moskovskoye highway through suburbs, retail parks and the grey skirt of Pushkin, then turn off into Pavlovsk, where speed limits drop and the lanes narrow. Pavlovsk station is itself a piece of history, since the Tsarskoye Selo railway of 1837, the first in Russia, ran here and the station became a concert hall where Johann Strauss played summer seasons. Tyarlevo, three kilometres away, is a village and has little to offer beyond the usual shop.
The park rewards a slow walk after you park the bike near the entrance. The beech and lime avenues turn gold in late September, and the whole place feels like an English landscape garden done by someone with Russian space to play with. In the soft light of the white nights, May to July, you can stay until late. Winter transforms it into ski tracks, with locals gliding along the paths on cross-country skis.
Pavlovsk town has about sixteen thousand people, which is enough for fuel, a supermarket and cafes, though you will find larger choice in Pushkin just up the road. Be aware that the palace itself was burnt and looted during the war and restored over many years, so the interiors you see are largely a post-war act of devotion. Traffic into the city on the way back can be heavy on Friday and Sunday evenings, so leave early or very late.