Early Autumn in Tsaritsyno Park, Moscow [2]

Not many people know this, but Moscow has the world's largest forest in an urban area within its borders. Over 40 percent of Moscow's territory is covered by greenery, making it one of the greenest cities on the planet. Russia's autumns are exceptionally beautiful as a bold mix of tress make the forests burst with a gorgeous palette of colours.

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Catherine the Great purchased the Bogorodskoye estate in 1775 and renamed it Tsaritsyno - which means 'Queens'. Architect Vasily Bazhenov built a palace here for the Empress between 1776-85, but she declared the rooms unlivable after inspection. As a result, the Empress ordered the palace to be torn down.

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In 1786, the construction of a new palace was assigned to a student of Bazhenov, Matvey Kazakov. He supervised the construction until 1796 when the project was halted by Catherine's death. It is the only palace to be developed in the 'pseudo-gothic' style of the 18th century and is the biggest building of this style in Europe.

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The structures in the park remained abandoned for more than 200 years, until they were reworked between 2005-07. It now looks more elaborate than at any other time in its history and there are museums, opera houses and art galleries dotted around the park.

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The Figured Bridge was completed in 1776 and is considered one of the best monuments in neo-Gothic style. It was designed by Bazhenov to resemble a romantic castle over a lake surrounded by perennials. It personally reminds of a ginger bread house, but once you walk through it, you are simply stunned by the panorama of the palace.

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And because the estate is so large, you can quite literally spend many happy hours strolling through the glades when the weather is like this. Now that Victoria and I have a newborn, we have an excuse to visit more often. It's an ideal place to enjoy a picnic!