Six kilometres east of Petrodvorets is the town of Strelna, where you’ll find two more palaces originally built for Peter. The butterscotch-painted Konstantinovsky Palace was chosen by Vladimir Putin as his St Petersburg residence, renovated to host 2003’s Russia-EU summit and reopened as the Palace of Congress (Dvorets Kongressov; 438 5360; www.konstantinpalace.ru; Beryozovaya alleya 3; adult/student R200/100, plus R200 for Russian language tour, R2500 for English-language tour; 10am-5pm Thu-Tue). Visits here are by appointment only, and although the palace is not a must-see sight, it nonetheless provides a fascinating glimpse of how a modern-day tsar (sorry, president) likes to entertain his guests. There’s a small collection of medals from the Hermitage’s collection here and some reconstructed rooms from the time of Grand Duke Konstantin Konstanovich, the palace’s last Imperial owner and something of a poet and musician. As you’d expect, security is tight; you must bring your passport and it will be checked at regular intervals on the tour.