Tsarskoe Selo is a suburb of Saint-Petersburg, located about 25 km. to the south of St. Petersburg, and famous for its palaces and parks. During the reign of Empress Elizabeth Tsarskoe Selo became a state residence. The architect Rastrelli designed a sumptuous palace, a diamond of Russian Baroque; a regular style park was laid out in front of the palace. In the second half of the 18th century, during the reign of Catherine the Great, several rooms of the palace were redecorated by Cameron in Classical style; besides the regular park a landscape park appeared. The main gem of the Catherine Palace is the Amber Room, revived by the time of the celebration of the tercentenary of Saint-Petersburg.

The Pavlovsk palace and park complex is an outstanding monument of Classicism of the second half of the 18th century. It is located about 27 km. from Saint-Peresburg. Founded in 1777, Pavlovsk was a private residence of Russian Grand Dukes till the October Revolution of 1917 except for the period of the reign of Paul I, who used Pavlovsk as his state residence. Everything in the palace is designed to amaze the visitor: the unique style of decoration of every room, the collection of works of art-gifts of European royal courts and commissioned items: paintings, tapestries, vases, sculptures, furniture, silk fabrics, bronzed articles, — everything successfully preserved in evacuation during World War II.