Around St Petersburg
Criss-crossed by bridges and bedecked by smaller sprays, the Water Avenue is a canal leading from the hydrofoil dock to the palace. It culminates in the…
Must-see attractions in St Petersburg
Around St Petersburg
Two lovely Italian-inspired pavilions built in the 19th century on islands just south of the palace grounds.
Museum of the Defence & Blockade of Leningrad
St Petersburg
The grim but engrossing displays here contain donations from survivors, propaganda posters from the blockade period and many photos depicting life and…
St Petersburg
Fyodor Dostoevsky lived in flats all over the city (mostly in Sennaya), but his final residence is this ‘memorial flat’ where he lived from 1878 until he…
St Petersburg
For lovers of things that glitter and the applied arts, the Hermitage's Treasure Gallery should not be missed. Its two special collections, guarded behind…
Museum of Decorative & Applied Arts
St Petersburg
Also known as the Stieglitz Museum, this fascinating establishment is as beautiful as you would expect a decorative arts museum to be. An array of…
St Petersburg
The first stone building in the city, the Menshikov Palace was built to the grandiose tastes of Prince Alexander Menshikov, Peter the Great’s closest…
St Petersburg
The Trinity Cathedral boasts stunning blue cupolas emblazoned with golden stars. A devastating fire in 2006 caused the 83m-high central cupola to collapse…
St Petersburg
The most famous statue of Peter the Great was immortalised as the Bronze Horseman in the epic poem by Alexander Pushkin. With his horse (representing…
Around St Petersburg
Gatchina Park is more overgrown and romantic than the other palaces’ parklands. The park has many winding paths through birch groves and across bridges to…
Russian Academy of Fine Arts Museum
St Petersburg
Art lovers should not bypass the museum of this time-tested institution, which contains work by academy students and faculty dating back to its foundation…
St Petersburg
Nevsky Prospekt is Russia’s most famous street, running 4km from the Admiralty to Alexander Nevsky Monastery, from which it takes its name. The inner 2…
St Petersburg
Centred on the famed statue of the Bronze Horseman, this square is listed on city maps as Senatskaya ploshchad (Senate Sq). Its dominant feature is the…
St Petersburg
On eastern Aptekarsky (Apothecary) Island, this was once a garden of medicinal plants – founded by Peter the Great himself in 1714 – that gave the island…
St Petersburg
Leningrad party boss Sergei Kirov was one of the most powerful men in Russia in the early 1930s. His decidedly un-proletarian apartment is now a…
St Petersburg
The city's oldest park, these leafy, shady gardens can be entered either at the northern Neva or southern Moyka end. Early-18th-century architects…
St Petersburg
Built by Giacomo Quarenghi between 1806 and 1808 as a school for aristocratic girls, the Smolny Institute was thrust into the limelight in 1917 when it…
St Petersburg
If baroque is your thing, then look no further than the sky-blue Smolny Cathedral, an unrivalled masterpiece of the genre that ranks among Bartolomeo…
St Petersburg
Designed by Vasily Stasov, the striking Grand Choral Synagogue opened in 1893 to provide a central place of worship for St Petersburg’s growing Jewish…
St Petersburg
Catherine the Great had this baroque palace built in 1783 for Grigory Potemkin, a famed general and her companion for many years. Today it is home to the…
St Petersburg
A branch of the Russian Museum, the castle is worth visiting for its temporary exhibits as well as a few finely restored state rooms, including the lavish…
St Petersburg
Between the cemeteries and the main church, you'll pass a ticket kiosk with a separate admission to the old Annunciation church, aka the…
Around St Petersburg
One of the most tragic and mysterious characters in the Romanov royal family, emperor Paul I was intensely disliked by his own courtiers, who eventually…
St Petersburg
History buffs should not miss this oft-overlooked but superb local museum. Part of the State Museum of the History of St Petersburg, the mansion contains…
Monument to the Heroic Defenders of Leningrad
St Petersburg
Due south of the House of Soviets, on Moskovsky pr is this awe-inspiring monument. Centred around a 48m-high obelisk, the monument, unveiled in 1975, is a…
St Petersburg
Another in the city's collection of grand religious buildings is this beautiful functioning datsan (temple) where respectful visitors are welcome. The…
Around St Petersburg
Towards the southern end of the village, and with an excellent view along the river, the 7m-thick walls and stout towers of this fortress are slowly being…
St Petersburg
This 19th-century townhouse was the suitably grand childhood home of Vladimir Nabokov, infamous author of Lolita and arguably the most versatile of 20th…
St Petersburg
Splendid wrought-iron gates facing the Fontanka River guard the entrance to the Sheremetyev Palace (built 1750–55), now a branch of the State Museum of…
Around St Petersburg
This humble, sea-facing, wood-panelled villa was always Peter the Great’s favourite retreat and it’s easy to see why. It is snug, elegant and peaceful,…
Museum of the Imperial Porcelain Factory
St Petersburg
Run as an outpost of the Hermitage, this superb museum has a stellar display of the various designs the factory has produced over the centuries and will…
St Petersburg
This neoclassical cathedral, partly modelled on St Peter’s in Rome, was commissioned by Tsar Paul shortly before he was murdered in a coup. Its 111m-long…
St Petersburg
Century-old dacha (country cottages) and mansions, inhabited by very wealthy locals, line the wooded lanes that twist their way around Kamenny (Stone)…
Around St Petersburg
Even on summer weekends, the rambling and overgrown Park Alexandria is peaceful and practically empty. Built for Tsar Nicholas I (and named for his…
St Petersburg
This charming log cottage, protected within a stone building, is St Petersburg’s oldest surviving structure. The wooden cabin itself was supposedly built…
St Petersburg
This fabulous and fully restored mansion on the Moyka River belonged to Grand Duke Alexey, the son of Alexander II. The wrought-iron-and-stone fence is…
St Petersburg
Completed in 1744 and marked by a statue of scientist-poet Mikhail Lomonosov (1711–65), the 400m-long Twelve Colleges is one of St Petersburg’s oldest…
St Petersburg
The gilded spire of the Admiralty is a prime St Petersburg landmark, visible from Gorokhovaya ul, Voznesensky pr and Nevsky pr, as all of these roads…
St Petersburg
This fantastic, five-domed cathedral, ascribed to Domenico Trezzini, is the namesake of this neighbourhood. Incorporating both baroque and neoclassical…
St Petersburg
This light-blue baroque cathedral dates from 1740, and having been repainted and restored to its original glory both inside and out, glistens like a pearl…
