Pavlovsk is among the largest landscape parks in Europe, and it began as a gift. In 1777 Catherine the Great gave the land to her son Paul, and he and his wife built a palace and a park here, which was designed by the Scottish architect Charles Cameron and then expanded over decades. The park covers more than five hundred hectares, and its mix of woods, meadows, rivers and pavilions is a model of the English landscape style adapted to the Russian plain.
The estate called Alexandrova Dacha belongs to the same world, one of the smaller properties that sprang up around the main palace as the imperial family grew. Pavlovsk's park is full of such corners, with winding paths, hidden temples, a pond with swans and avenues of old lime, birch and spruce. In autumn the colours are spectacular, and in winter the snow turns it into something close to a stage set.
Pavlovsk was also the end of Russia's first public railway, which opened in 1837 and ran from Saint Petersburg through Tsarskoye Selo to this spot. The station became a concert venue, and in the nineteenth century the Strauss family played here for crowds of holidaymakers who came out from the capital. That tradition of music in the park survives, with summer concerts held in and around the palace.
The ride south from the city is flat, but the roads of Pavlovsk and Tsarskoye Selo, lined with old trees, are pleasant. The main road from Saint Petersburg is busy, particularly on weekdays, and surfaces can be bumpy after winter, when frost heave breaks the tarmac. Quiet side roads near the park are lovely in the early morning, when the light is soft and the air smells of damp leaves.
Pavlovsk is a small town of sixteen thousand people with fuel, cafés and shops, and the park entrance is very close to the centre. Bring something warm, because even in summer the shade under the trees can be cool. Allow plenty of time, since the park is large and easy to get lost in.