Tsaritsino Palace

Lonely Planet review

On a wooded hill in far southeast Moscow, Tsaritsino Palace is the eerie shell of the exotic summer home that Catherine the Great began in 1775 but never finished. She allowed architect Vasily Bazhenov to work for 10 years before sacked him; apparently he had included a twin palace for her out-of-favour son Paul. She hired another architect, Matvey Kazakov, but eventually gave up altogether as money was diverted to wars against Turkey. What stands is mostly Bazhenov's fantasy combination of old Russian, Gothic, classical and Arabic styles.

The Great Palace is merely a shell of a building, nonetheless impressive for all its arches and towers. Rebuilding is oft talked about, but long in coming. The palace is surrounded by equally enticing outbuildings: the Opera House, a near-perfect venue for concerts; the ornate kitchen, or khlebny dom ; and the light-filled Small Palace, which sometimes houses exhibits. The Pattered Bridge, which you are likely to pass under en route to/from the metro, is called for the ornate Gothic designs adorning the pink brick.

The English-style wooded park stretches all the way south to the Upper Tsaritsinsky Pond, which has rowing boats for hire in summer, and west to the Tsaritsino Palace complex.