Oranienbaum—Glad I didn't miss appreciating your beauty!
Oranienbaum Park (Ораниенбаум), a park overlooked by many, is located further west of Peterhof Summer Palace. I discovered it by chance on the map, and it seems there is no detailed introduction or guide on Ctrip. Therefore, I wrote this guide, hoping it will be helpful to you.
Oranienbaum Park covers about 170 hectares and is one of the most beautiful parks near St. Petersburg. It includes several palaces, the largest being the Menshikov Palace, as well as the Chinese Palace, Chinese Kitchen, Peter III Palace, Skill Slide Pavilion (machine translation), Zoo, Cinema, Lower Garden, and 21 other attractions (there is a map at the entrance of the scenic area). A famous French traveler wrote in 1726: "Oranienbaum is a magnificent palace, unparalleled in splendor by any place I have experienced." The Grand Palace is a large building facing the Gulf of Finland, with a facade 210 meters long, built in 1710.
📍Address: Oranienbaum Palace
Oranienbaum State Museum Reserve
🚗Transportation: Take Metro Line 1 to Балтийская, buy a train ticket to Ораниенбаум 2, and walk 300 meters from the train station to the entrance of the scenic area. The train ride takes 45-60 minutes. For the return trip, board the train at Ораниенбаум station. You can buy tickets from the machine at the station. Don't worry about seats at the starting station, but many people will board along the way. Tickets cost 87-100 rubles.
👍️Must-visit attractions: Большой Меншиковский дворец Main Palace Park Check-in → Cinema → Chinese Palace → Skill Slide Pavilion (machine translation) → Peter III Palace, other attractions can be visited along the way.
🎟️Tickets: This is the park where I spent the most on tickets in all of St. Petersburg. Student tickets cost 450 rubles, and foreigner tickets cost 900 rubles. Each palace inside has separate tickets, ranging from 300 to 900 rubles. The prices are not very friendly to foreigners, but there's no choice; it's a matter of national and cultural confidence. However, compared to some domestic scenic spots, it's not too expensive, and the money is well spent as the quality of the attractions is very high.
💗Other tips:
1. You will hardly see any Chinese people in this park; it's mostly visited by locals. The crowd is not very large, making the experience quite pleasant. Visiting during non-holiday times allows for more leisurely enjoyment of the scenery.
2. Navigation issue: I recommend using the 2gis navigation app instead of maps because, in my comparison, I found that the 2gis app provides more detailed paths within this park.
3. Train station issue: Most people choose to get off at Ораниенбаум, but I chose the next stop, Ораниенбаум 2, as the walking distance is shorter. Very few people get off here (I seemed to be the only one on the entire train). After getting off, follow the navigation for a short walk, cross the street, and you'll reach the ticket office. Turn left after entering, and you'll reach the main palace.
4. Tour sequence issue: I finally understood why the scenic area doesn't sell package tickets for all palaces, only for two, because you can't finish visiting them all. I suggest checking in at the main palace first (the queue was too long for me, but the exhibition halls inside are very luxurious and worth visiting). Then, prioritize buying tickets for the Chinese Palace. For some reason, there was a long queue today (I heard someone complain about waiting for an hour and a half, which is rare in Russia, so I didn't visit it. I'll update this guide after my next visit). My suggested sequence is just a personal opinion, not absolute.
5. After visiting countless palaces in and around St. Petersburg, I feel this is the only one comparable to Pavlovsk Park. Both are forest-type palace parks with top-notch natural scenery, but this one has more palaces, scientifically distributed along the hills. The park focuses on beautiful scenery, with every lawn and flower bed meticulously designed by staff. Photos don't need any editing.
6. After entering, turn left to visit the palace, and be sure to visit the cinema near the entrance. I stumbled upon it by chance. Student tickets cost 300 rubles, and foreigner tickets cost 600 rubles. It's not large but has many exquisite oil paintings, especially many ancient Chinese craft collections. Be sure to watch a mechanical theater introduction performance (no human performance). The small theater's sound and stage effects are superb (I had the whole show to myself today, haha). I was deeply impressed by the Russians' mechanical design.
7. After visiting, exit this small courtyard, and there's a restaurant right opposite the door. The bacon, red bean rice, and chili burrito are particularly delicious, though I don't know their names, costing 650 rubles. The homemade green drink on the table is also very good, costing 410 rubles.
8. Regarding the season to visit: This is a park-type palace, so it's recommended to visit in summer or autumn, preferably on a sunny day, for better photos.
9. Skill Slide Pavilion: When buying tickets at the entrance, I translated it several times on the machine but didn't understand the meaning. After visiting this palace by chance, I realized it was the starting point of an old roller coaster. Russians are very creative in entertainment. I initially thought it was just a three-story building, not worth 400 rubles (800 rubles for foreigners). After a tour, I felt it was worth it. Each attraction has explanations (though I couldn't understand them), a golden domed hall, and higher vantage points for beautiful views.
10. Be sure to wear loose sports shoes and avoid carrying a heavy bag, as there are many paths to walk. Sitting by the lake in the cool breeze for a rest is very comfortable.
Beautiful scenery, wonderful encounters, a great day!
I will revisit and update this guide...