The Summer Garden was commissioned by Peter the Great in 1704 as a formal European-style royal retreat, modeled loosely on Versailles, complete with his own modest Summer Palace on the grounds. After the 1917 Revolution it was opened to the public and has remained one of St. Petersburg’s most historic downtown parks.
Its main draw is one of Russia’s oldest statue collections, 79 marble sculptures by leading 17th- and 18th-century Italian sculptors, along with Russia’s first fountains and two pavilions, the Coffee House and Tea House, designed by architects Carlo Rossi and Ludwig Charlemagne.
The garden runs 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. in summer (May-September) and 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. in winter (October-March), closed Tuesdays and closed entirely through April for seasonal maintenance.