The Summer Garden, laid out by Peter the Great between the Neva and the Moika in the first years of the city's existence, is the oldest park in St Petersburg. The formal allées, ornamental ponds, and white marble statuary set the template for every Russian noble garden that followed. The wrought-iron Neva embankment fence, designed by Yuri Felten in the 1770s, is considered one of the most beautiful pieces of public ironwork anywhere.
The garden was extensively restored between 2009 and 2012 — controversially, since the works replaced the original lawns and recreated the geometric flowerbeds shown in 18th-century engravings. Whether you like the result or not, it is a fine green hour in a city heavy with paving and architecture, and the small Summer Palace of Peter the Great at the eastern corner is open as a museum from May to October.