Why this ride
A 149 km round trip from Petrodvorets - roughly 3 h 01 in the saddle. The stops in between: Peterhofskaya Road, The Palace and Park Ensemble of the Villag, The Otdelny Park and back through The Palace and Park Ensemble of the Villag.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Historical Centre of the Town of Peterhof and The Otdelny Park
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 149 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 3 h 01
- Journey
- Recorded itinerary
Distance and timing basis
Ordered leg totals agree within rounding. Stop distances are approximate sums of rounded legs. Stops, delays, approach and any separate return travel add time. Basis: producer-declared routed record.
Reading history stays on this device. My road watch requires a separate selection; opening it does not subscribe this ride.
Distance and riding time are measured on the routed road. Check local closures and conditions before you ride.
Scenic road chapters
Saint Petersburg Imperial Shore
For about 21 km this is Saint Petersburg Imperial Shore, a road with a name of its own and a reason for it — expect company on a summer weekend. Early is better than fast.
Chapter facts
- Length
- 21 km
- Named road
- Saint Petersburg Imperial Shore
Peterhofskaya Road → The Palace and Park Ensemble of the Villag
This part of the ride is 20 km of Peterhofskaya Road → The Palace and Park Ensemble of the Villag.
Chapter facts
- Length
- 20 km
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Historical Centre of the Town of Peterhof
Peter the Great wanted a palace by the sea that would rival Versailles, and he chose this stretch of the southern shore of the Gulf of Finland, about thirty kilometres west of Saint Petersburg. What became Peterhof is a town built around an imperial residence: the Grand Palace on a terrace above the sea, the Grand Cascade of gilded statues and fountains falling toward a canal that runs straight to the water, and parks full of pavilions, including Peter's own small Dutch style house, Monplaisir, right on the shore. The fountains run on gravity, fed by springs on the higher ground inland, a feat of eighteenth century engineering.
Read the complete Historical Centre of the Town of Peterhof write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Historical Centre of the Town of Peterhof is where the day begins. Next is Peterhofskaya Road.
2. Peterhofskaya Road
Peterhofskaya Road was once the grandest road out of St Petersburg. Running southwest from the city along the shore of the Gulf of Finland toward Strelna and Peterhof, it was lined in the eighteenth century with country estates, dachas and palaces built by the nobility, who wanted to be close to the imperial residences along the coast. Peter the Great started the trend, granting plots to courtiers along the road, and the result was a chain of estates with gardens, parks and ponds stretching for miles. Many of these estates survive in some form, and the road and its surroundings are part of the UNESCO listing of the historic centre of St Petersburg and related groups of monuments.
Read the complete Peterhofskaya Road write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Peterhofskaya Road comes up about 21 km into the recorded legs. Next is The Palace and Park Ensemble of the Villag.
3. The Palace and Park Ensemble of the Villag
The village of Taitsy, south of Saint Petersburg near Krasnoye Selo, is home to an estate built in the eighteenth century for the Demidov family, the industrial dynasty whose fortune came from iron and metalworks in the Urals. The classical manor house, attributed to the architect Ivan Starov, stands in a landscape park with ponds and springs, and those springs mattered far beyond the estate: the Taitsy water conduit, built in the eighteenth century, carried water from here to the palaces and fountains of Tsarskoye Selo.
Read the complete The Palace and Park Ensemble of the Villag write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 41 km into the recorded legs you reach The Palace and Park Ensemble of the Villag. Next is The Otdelny Park.
4. The Otdelny Park
Pavlovsk and Pushkin sit side by side on the plain south of Saint Petersburg, and both grew from the imperial taste for country palaces. Pushkin was once Tsarskoye Selo, the Tsar's Village, where Catherine the Great had a palace of blue and white with a facade that stretches for hundreds of metres, and where the Amber Room once stood. Pavlovsk was a smaller palace for her son Paul, set in one of the largest landscape parks in Europe. The name means separate or detached, and it points to a part of the landscape set apart from the main royal grounds.
Read the complete The Otdelny Park write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
The Otdelny Park, about halfway. Next is back through The Palace and Park Ensemble of the Villag.
5. back through The Palace and Park Ensemble of the Villag
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete The Palace and Park Ensemble of the Villag write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through The Palace and Park Ensemble of the Villag sits at 98 km, about halfway. Next is back through Peterhofskaya Road.
6. back through Peterhofskaya Road
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Peterhofskaya Road write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Peterhofskaya Road comes up about 128 km into the recorded legs. Next is Historical Centre of the Town of Peterhof.
7. Historical Centre of the Town of Peterhof
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Historical Centre of the Town of Peterhof write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Historical Centre of the Town of Peterhof closes the day.
Leg by leg
Historical Centre of the Town of Peterhof to Peterhofskaya Road
Historical Centre of the Town of Peterhof → Peterhofskaya Road is 21 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Peterhofskaya Road to The Palace and Park Ensemble of the Villag
Peterhofskaya Road → The Palace and Park Ensemble of the Villag is 20 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
The Palace and Park Ensemble of the Villag to The Otdelny Park
The Palace and Park Ensemble of the Villag → The Otdelny Park is 33 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
The Otdelny Park to back through The Palace and Park Ensemble of the Villag
The Otdelny Park → back through The Palace and Park Ensemble of the Villag is 34 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through The Palace and Park Ensemble of the Villag to back through Peterhofskaya Road
back through The Palace and Park Ensemble of the Villag → back through Peterhofskaya Road is 20 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Peterhofskaya Road to Historical Centre of the Town of Peterhof
back through Peterhofskaya Road → Historical Centre of the Town of Peterhof is 22 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.