Ostankino Palace & TV Tower

The pink-and-white Ostankino Palace, a wooden mansion with a stucco exterior made to resemble stone, was built in the 1790s as the summer pad of Count Nikolai Sheremetev, probably Russia’s richest aristocrat of the time and son of Count Pyotr Sheremetev. Note that the palace is closed on days when it rains or when humidity is high. The lavish interior, with hand-painted wallpaper and intricate parquet floors, houses the count’s art treasures. The ornate rooms include the Italian Pavilion and the Egyptian Hall. The centrepiece is the oval theatre-ballroom built for the Sheremetev troupe of 250 serf actors. In 1801 Count Nikolai married one of the troupe, Praskovia Zhemchugova, and the two retired to Ostankino to avoid court gossip. These days, the theatre hosts a summer music festival, featuring intimate concerts. After a fire in the late 1990s, the 540m Ostankino TV Tower is no longer open to the public, although it still provides a distinctive landmark for the area. To reach the Ostankino Palace, walk west from VDNKh metro, across the car parks, to pick up tram 7 or 11 or trolleybus 13, 36, 69 or 73 west along ul Akademika Korolyova.