On the spot that would become Tzarskoje Selo stood a small manor, the Saris hoff, Saaris Moisio ("myza" or hillock), in Russian the Sarskaya Myza, as marked on Swedish maps of the 17th century. First Sarskaya Myza was given as a gift to prince Alexander Menshikov, and then on July 24, 1710, by order of Peter the Great, the manor was "bequeathed" to his second wife Catherine the First and given the status of court lands. In the 1710s and 1720s, a royal country residence appeared in place of the old estate. They began to call Sarskaya Myza "Sarskoje Selo", and when the palace construction was underway, the name became Tsarskoye Selo. For two centuries Tsarskoye Selo was considered the imperial summer residence.

After the October Revolution the palace and park ensemble was turned into a museum and in 1937, on the 100-year anniversary of the tragic death of poet Alexander Pushkin, the town received its present name. From 1811 to 1843 the Tzarskoje Selo Imperial Lyceum, where Pushkin obtained his education, was located here.

At the beginning, the palace was a small two-storied building typical of Russian palaces of the early 18th century. The different architects carried out reconstruction of the Catherine Palace and park ensemble: M.Zemtsov, A.Kvasov, S.Chevakinsky, G.Trezini. From the end of 1748 and through 1756, court architect Bartolomeo Francesco Rastrelli directed construction of the Tzarskoje Selo residence. On July 30, 1756, B.Rastrelli presented his creation to Elizabeth and foreign diplomats.

The palace is quite impressive with its size, powerful spatial dynamics and picturesque decoration in the style of the Russian Baroque. The wide, light blue ribbon of the palace with its snow-white columns and gilt ornament looked quite festive. The formal yard is surrounded by the palace's service buildings placed in a semi-circle. The five golden domes of the Palace Chapel top the northern wing.

The Great Hall is the biggest and the most impressive room in the palace. It is very light because of the big number of windows and mirrors. The ceiling is decorated with a canvas "The Triumph of Russia". Rastrelli also luxuriously decorated the interiors and suites of the palace with its magnificent enfilade of formal halls that, for its wealth of gilded carvings, was dubbed the "Golden Enfilade".

"The Amber Room", stolen by the Germans, during the World War II, was made anew by a group of Russian restorers. And it is open to the public, again!

The Catherine Park occupies an area of more than one hundred hectares. There is also a lot to see here: The Agate Pavilion and The Cameron Gallery, The Cascade Ponds and The Hermitage Pavilion, The Upper Bath and The Lower Bath.