The Rumyantsev-Paskevich Palace is the reason to come to Gomel. Set in a large English-style park on a bluff above the Sozh River, the complex began as a neo-classical mansion in the early 19th century and grew over several decades into a rambling but attractive ensemble of palace wings, a chapel, a winter garden, and a watchtower. The park below has formal gardens, old chestnut trees, and direct access to the Sozh embankment.
The palace now operates as a museum of local history with two separate exhibits: one in the main body of the palace covering the history of the Rumyantsev and Paskevich families, and one in the attached chapel housing a small collection of religious art. The rooms retain their 19th-century furnishings and layout — high ceilings, parquet floors, and the heavy furniture of the Russian Imperial style. The museum is surprisingly good for a provincial Belarusian city; the families who owned the palace were genuinely significant historical figures, and the exhibits show it.