Tsaritsyno Park (Russian: Царицынский парк) houses the Tsaritsyno Museum and Reserve. 

CURRENT INFORMATION

Tsaritsyno Park is unique for its historical architectural ensemble, beautiful ponds, musical fountains, greenhouses, and landscapes. The park covers a total area of about 1000 acres of land (405 hectares). The park is well known for its extensive exhibition activities. There is a project dubbed “Museum Tours”. The project is designed to allow other major Moscow museums to exhibit their collections. 

Visitors are entertained with music festivals, concerts, and performances, especially on weekends. The park and museum hold educational programs for both adults and children. There are also guided tours around the palaces and greenhouses. Visitors can also ride through the central part of the property using the museum electric car during summer. Tourists also have the opportunity to hire boats or catamaran on the ponds. The facility is endowed with an ice rink, ski trail, climbing wall, and dance floor. 

Tsaritsyno Park is open from 6 am to 12 am. The museums are closed on Mondays. (This complies with the European Museums decision to close museums on Monday for general cleaning, art moving and others. However, some museums are exceptions). They are normally open on Tuesday to Friday from 11 am to 6 pm. On Saturdays, they are open from 11 am to 8 pm. On Sundays and holidays, the place is open from 11 am to 7 pm. The Greenhouses are closed on Tuesdays too. 

Admission to Tsaritsyno Park is free to anyone with a valid ID card. There is a combined ticket that grants access to Grand Place, Bread House, Opera House and Greenhouses. This ticket costs 650 Rubles for an adult, 200 Rubles for a senior, student, children between the ages of 7 to 17 and a disabled person.

The ticket for the Grand Palace cost 350 Rubles for an adult. 80 Rubles for a senior, student, children between the ages of 7 to 17 and a disabled person. 

The Opera house also offers a ticket which 200 Rubles for adults. 80 Rubles for a senior, student, children between the ages of 7 to 17 and a disabled person. 

The Greenhouses are open to the adult who purchases a ticket costing 250 Rubles. 80 Rubles for a senior, student, children between the ages of 7 to 17 and a disabled person. Visitors are only allowed to visit three greenhouses a day at the current ticket price. 

Children under 7 years and students with The International Student Identity Card (ISIC) or the International Council of Museums (ICOM) cards have free entry to the park, greenhouses, Grand Palace, Bread house and the Opera house at all opening hours.

On the third Sunday of every month, visitors are allowed free admission to the Grand Palace, the Opera house, Greenhouses as well as the park. Also, children between the ages of 7 to 17 are allowed an additional free access to all facilities on the last Thursday of each month. Tickets sold to visitors are not refundable. Tickets can be purchased on the official website. 

HISTORICAL INFORMATION

The history of the facility dates back to the 16th century. The estate had several prominent owners but it was last owned by Empress Catherine the Great. The Empress bought the estate in 1775 and hired re known architect Vasily Bazhenov to design a country residence. The construction started a while after the draft was completed. 

In 1785, she tore down the main palace and reassigned the project to Matvey Kazakov, a student of architect Vasily Bazhenov. She claimed that the rooms were unlivable; they were too dark and cramped. Vasily Bazhenov’s design changed the original plan. Construction stopped following the death of Catherine in 1796. The property was left unattended to for more than two decades mainly because her successor, Emperor Paul I of Russia did not show any interest in the project. In the 1960s, the property gained the protected historic zone status when the park’s territory became a district of Moscow.

The Moscow authorities took up the completion of the estate. The project started in the 1980s and took several years to complete. The museums were initially stocked with decorative arts but they later added Russian and European Arts. Massive rehabilitation of buildings was done from 2005 to 2007. Tsaritsyno Park was reopened to the public in 2007. 

MISCELLANEOUS IMPORTANT FACTS

There are ramps and lifts at all entrances of the museum. This makes the facility user-friendly for both tourists with infants and disabled visitors. There are parking spaces allocated for disabled visitors. Tours and other programs have been crafted to benefit a disabled visitor. 

There is a cloakroom at the underground lobby. visitors are allowed to keep forbidden items such as big bags here. Also, professional photography is not allowed in the parks and museums. However, photographs for personal use are allowed except for places marked with the “No photography” sign. Visitors can also book for a paid amateur mini photo shoot or bridal photo shoots at the Grand Palace and the Central Hall of the first Greenhouse. 

Visitors enjoy free WiFi within the park. Animals and bicycles are not allowed in the park.

Tsaritsyno Park is considered by many to be the most beautiful park in the city. Many Muscovites come to take a stroll on the grounds and look at the many beautiful flower displays, or to watch the water fountains or decorative bridges. In addition to the palace complex there is so much natural beauty to see. It is no wonder why people flock here on the weekends to get away from Moscow and the city center and relax. The summer estate of Catherine the Great should not be missed.