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Comprising 37 gilded bronze sculptures, 64 fountains and 142 water jets, the Grand Cascade descends from the terraces of the Great Palace, through the estate, and finally out into the gulf.

This opulent room, initially created in Baroque style in 1753 and redesigned by Yuriy Velten in 1770, contains portraits of Russia’s imperial family.

Located in the palace’s east wing, the suite contains Peter’s Oak Study – a rare example of Le Blond’s original design. The oak panels date from 1716–21.

With its allegorical sculpture of Elizabeth in the guise of Spring, Rastrelli’s creation is a stately sight.

Monplaisir (“my pleasure” in French), with its beautiful gardens and flower­beds, was Peter’s favourite palace. He often held parties here, during which his guests were subjected to a punishing regime of drinking. While not as lavish as the Great Palace, the interiors are still impressive.

This pavilion (1721–5), once used as a private dining venue by the tsar and his friends, stands aloof on the shores of the gulf. To highlight the need for solitude, the building is surrounded by a moat.

The palace, built for the tsar’s guests, is set in a formal garden with sculptures, fountains and Niccolo Michetti’s Golden Hill Cascade. A few of the rooms are open to the public.

More imposing than its name suggests, this Neo-Gothic house (1826–9), set in the gardens of Alexandria Park, was built for Nicholas I and his wife, who had bourgeois tastes and wanted a domestic environment.

The Neptune Fountain’s Baroque sculpture was originally erected in Nuremberg, Germany, in 1658. It was sold to Paul II in 1782 by local authorities as a lack of water in the town had rendered it unusable.

The fountain, dating from 1721, is formed by 550 jets rising in seven tiers. Commemorating the Russian victory over Sweden in 1709, it was badly damaged by Nazi bombs during WWII.