Walking from the Catherine Palace to the Alexander Palace

[lilianna]

It seems to me - 6 window from a corner of a palace since in all photos it is possible to see 2 more columns of a balcony behind a screen.
The ladder in a garden was at a corner of a balcony from the Angular drawing room of Empress.

[terrygib]

Hi,

I have the same question about walking over to the AP from the Catherine Palace. I'm going on a norwegian cruise tour and the most I could find out was that there may not be enough time for me to walk over to the AP. I'm not sure if there is any free time allowed to roam around the park. It's hard to get info from ncl about their limited choice of shore excursions.  I noticed one reply (Raegan, I think) said she was on a tour and just walked over to the AP with no prob.  I wonder if she was on a group tour that had a group visa for its members or if she had an individual visa. Does anyone know if you can walk the park on your own if you're with a tour grp that has a grp visa ??  Thanks, Terry. 

[Raegan]

Hi,

I have the same question about walking over to the AP from the Catherine Palace. I'm going on a norwegian cruise tour and the most I could find out was that there may not be enough time for me to walk over to the AP. I'm not sure if there is any free time allowed to roam around the park. It's hard to get info from ncl about their limited choice of shore excursions.  I noticed one reply (Raegan, I think) said she was on a tour and just walked over to the AP with no prob.  I wonder if she was on a group tour that had a group visa for its members or if she had an individual visa. Does anyone know if you can walk the park on your own if you're with a tour grp that has a grp visa ??  Thanks, Terry. 

Hi Terry! I went to the Catherine Palace and Alexander Palace with a friend. We took a tour bus from St. Petersburg to Puskin. We were in a "group," but not in the sense you are thinking of. We just rode on the bus together and could go off and do our own thing. After we toured the Catherine Palace, we still had time to walk around the grounds before the bus was scheduled to take us back to St. Petersburg. My friend and I used that time to walk over and visit the Alexander Palace. Hope that helps.

[helenazar]

Does anyone know if you can walk the park on your own if you're with a tour grp that has a grp visa ??. 

It depends on how much time you have... You will need at least 40-45 minutes to walk there and back and have only a few minutes to look around the train station ruins. If I remember correctly, it will take you about 20 minutes to walk there and another 20 to get back. You wont be able to spend a lot of time looking around unless you have at least an hour...

[mek]

I was surprised how close the palace is to the street and thought the rooms were small. There is absolutely no trace of the elevator. When I was there in 2004 a fence prevented us from going along the side where the balcony was located and it wasn't possible to go around to the back and see the semi-circular hall.  It still was fascinating to be in the same rooms where so much history happened.

[Michael HR]

I just cannot wait to visit and plan in th enext few months. All the posts have helped so much to plan this to ensure I do not miss a thing.

[Mary Breheny]

I was wondering if someone might help me.  In August I will make my third trip to Russia and, of course, am very excited.  While my husband and I are in St. Petersburg, our group will go on a tour that includes the Catherine Palace in Pushkin as well as Pavlovsk.  Since I have already been in the Catherine Palace, I would like to walk over to the Alexander Palace while the tour group is inside the Catherine Palace.  It appears that the two palaces aren't very far apart, although maps can be misleading.  Would I have time to do this?  Also, will I be able to tour the Alexander Palace on my own?  The last time I was at the Alexander Palace a Russian guide took us.  This time I would be alone since my husband wants to tour the Catherine Palace.  Does this sound "doable"?

My August trip to Russia -and the Alexander Palace - has been  postponed until mid-October.  (I only hope the situation with Russia and Georgia won't affect our plans in any way.)  In any case, my question now concerns what to expect, weatherwise, in St. Petersburg and Moscow from the middle October until the end of the month. Obviously, we will do lots of layering of clothes -- fleece, sweatshirts, raincoats, etc. But do Iwe really need to bring heavy coats?  Will raincoats with heavy liners do the trick?  Thanks for any input.

Sorry I have been offline for several months.  I am now catching up on what I missed at the Alexander Palace since May.

[Robert_Hall]

I was there in Oct. 2006 and found it quite mild.  I would say you do need a heavy winter coat. Jumpers and a   light coat were  fine. It was lovely Autumn weather.  Of course now, what with global warming afoot, weather is hard to predict, is it not? But that was my experience. I have also been there is  January and springtime.

[Mary Breheny]

I was there in Oct. 2006 and found it quite mild.  I would say you do need a heavy winter coat. Jumpers and a   light coat were  fine. It was lovely Autumn weather.  Of course now, what with global warming afoot, weather is hard to predict, is it not? But that was my experience. I have also been there is  January and springtime.

Robert:
Thank you for your input on October weather in Russia.   I assume that the word "not" was left out of the sentence "I would say you do need a heavy winter coat."  Please correct me if I am wrong.  We definitely are looking forward to seeing Russia's lovely Autumn weather.

[Robert_Hall]

Yes, Mary,  "not" was an oversight.  That should have read  "you do NOT need", etc. I am sure you will greatly enjoy your visit, no matter what time of year you go. The autumn colours are beautiful.  I think it is Petersburgers favourite time, the summer tourists are gone and winter is ahead.  Try and get to Peterhof before they turn the fountains off and drain them for winter.  Speaking of winter,  when I arrived on my first  visit in January, I was dressed for Siberia, only to notice upon landing that  the ground crew  at Polkovo airport were in shirtsleeves!  My driver collected me in a tee-shirt. I felt a  bit "over-dressed" but it  came in handy at the end of my stay. That was in January, you should be fine in October.

[Mary Breheny]

I returned recently from my trip to St. Petersburg and Tsarskoe Selo.  We arrived at T.S. on a wet, chilly day in late October.  After touring the Catherine Palace, we walked to the Alexander Palace before meeting our tour group at a restaurant across the street from the Alexander Palace.  First of all, I was very surprised at how much the A.P. had deteriorated since the last time I saw it in July 2005.  Maybe it was because of the drab weather, but I really don't think that is the reason the palace looked so bedraggled.  Now I understand what other forum members have said about the sad condition of the palace. 

Unfortunately, the interior of the palace was closed to visitors that day since it was the last Wednesday of the month.  (Note this fact if you plan to go.)  But since we had been inside before, we were happy to wander around the palace park.  That is, we were happy until we encountered the horrible condition of the pathways.  St. Petersburg had just had 3 days of rain, and the paths were deep in mud.  I ended up with mud up to my knees (although I didn't mind since it was "Alexander Palace mud.")  But because of the condition of the grounds, I was unable to get very far into the park.  I did see the children's island, the kitchens, the rear of the palace, and in the distance the white tower and other ruins.  Later, eating in a restaurant with a window view of the A.P.was a surreal experience!  So, even though we didn't get inside and even though the park was muddy, it was absolutely wonderful to be back at the Alexander Palace.

I will try to post pictures later.

[Ena]

Mary, thanks for your report.  I'll be there in less than two weeks and can't wait to visit the AP. I too will be there the last week of the month so thanks for double confirming the extra closing day. 

How long did it take to walk to the AP from the CP? 

[Vladimir_V.]

5 min