IT'S EASY to imagine how the tsars lived when you explore Russia's Catherine Palace.
Located 30km outside St Petersburg in Pushkin, the flamboyant Rococo-style palace was the favourite summer residence for many Russian tsars.
Construction began during the reign of Catherine I in 1717, but it was her daughter Elizabeth who was responsible for the much grander design that rivals Versailles.
When it was unveiled in 1756, the expanded 325-metre-long palace dazzled the empress, her courtiers and foreign ambassadors.
More than 100kg of gold was used to gild the sophisticated stucco facade and numerous statues erected on the roof.
The magnificent formal garden in front of the palace includes an azure and white Hermitage Pavillion near the lake.
The palace was abandoned on Catherine's death in 1796 until her grandson Alexander I decided to refurbish some of the interiors.
The Stasov staircase was added 20 years later to replace the old circular staircase leading to the palace house church.
The residence was destroyed by German forces during World War II. Only the shell of the building remained.
Soviet archivists managed to document most of the interior, and in 2003 the palace was restored to its former glory.
Travellers on The Senior's 20-day Baltic and St Petersburg escorted tour will visit Catherine's Palace and also take in the sights of Helsinki, Tallinn, Stockholm, Copenhagen, Berlin, Amsterdam and Paris.
Parisian highlights include lunch at the Eiffel Tower and a dinner and show at the famous Moulin Rouge.
There are two 2017 departures - July 27 and August 20.
The tour includes return airfares, two nights in Amsterdam, luxury cruising aboard the Celebrity Silhouette and three nights in Paris.
Prices start from $8695 per person twin share.
More details from Travelrite, 1800-630-343.