Peterhof Palace.

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I was really looking forward to seeing the palace at Peterhof not only because of the palace but more because of the Grounds and the special water features around the grounds. We did not actually go inside the palace because it is very similar inside to the Catherine Palace. The queues for this were also very long indeed so if you intend to go in then I would advise going on a tour with beat the queues tickets. It is the grounds that are the highlight feature here. . The palace was originally built by Peter the Great and is set on the Gulf of Finland and is set in an elevated position so you can see the sea from the palace. On the outside of the palace the facade is painted yellow and white in a similar fashion to that of the Catherine palace. It is also known as the Russian equivalent of Versailles. The grounds are quite vast with a huge terrace on the rear of the palace where we entered and ambled through the formal park where water features are either side of the main pathway. It was not too crowded as the palace grounds are vast. On the mushroom domes of the chapel they are covered with Gold. From the terraces in front of the Palace you can see right down a massive water feature that cuts through an avenue of trees on either side. Right in front of the Palace is it's most famous feature. There are two grottos with water features in them. The Grand Cascade which comprises of 64 Gold Statues and fountains in a step wise formations leading down into a pond with a large statue of Samson forcing open the mouth of a lion. The remarkable and ingenious feature of the fountains are that there are no pumps. The water is collected in great reservoir at the top terrace and grounds and gravity forces the water through the miles of pipe work hidden beneath the ground. Other features around the grounds all include water features. Like a cascading chess board fountain. Magic trees which are great for kids because as they walk past water shoots out on them. There are various fountains dotted around the park land. There are also formal French Parterre gardens which are set out beautifully and are a pleasure on the eye. Small box hedging lines the pathways in a very formal design. There are also bridges going over flowing rivers and formal laid out forest walks. The easy part was walking down from the palace to the Gulf of Finland. It was lovely to walk through the park which took around 2 hours. The hard bit was walking back up the to the elevated part of the palace complex to return to the bus. There are also small pavilions dotted around the park. This was a fantastic visit to see the fountains shooting water up into the sky the water jets sprinkling and glistening in the sun against the sky blue skies. A perfect afternoon walk. The photo is at the foot of the Grand cascade looking towards the palace. I have a photo from a distance but it does not highlight the fountains as clearly. I will try to pop this photo after a comment. It really is worth a visit to this wonderful palace if you are interested in such things.