St Petersburg
Laid out from 1872 to 1874, these pleasant gardens, named after Alexander II, wrap around the Admiralty and are mentioned in Pushkin's famous verse novel…
Must-see attractions in St Petersburg
Vyborg
Explore these two central and adjacent leafy parks, separated by Leningradsky pr, to find intriguing statutes and carved trees. At the southern end of…
St Petersburg
In the midst of the university grounds is a whimsical collection of sculptures from different artists including monuments to figures as disparate as Ho…
St Petersburg
One of the biggest and best of its kind in the world, the Museum of Zoology was founded in 1832 and has some amazing exhibits, including a vast blue whale…
St Petersburg
Named after the Roman god of war and once the scene of 19th-century military parades, the grassy Mars Field is a popular spot for strollers, even though…
St Petersburg
Administered by the Russian Museum, these 8.7-hectare gardens are lovely and offer an impressive perspective of Mikhailovsky Castle. They are famous for…
Manege Central Exhibition Hall
St Petersburg
Formerly the Horse Guards’ Riding School, this large white neoclassical building was constructed between 1804 and 1807 from a design by Giacomo Quarenghi…
Vyborg
At the southern end of Tverdysh Island is this double line of fortifications, built between 1730 and 1750 as protection against the Swedes and named after…
Around St Petersburg
Near the town of Repino, this long stretch of sand backed by pine forest makes a great setting for a day out of the city. The water is generally calm and…
St Petersburg
The two Rostral Columns, archetypal St Petersburg landmarks, are studded with ships’ prows and four seated sculptures representing four of Russia’s great…
Around St Petersburg
Built for Catherine the Great as her private residence at Oranienbaum, this over-the-top Rococo palace, designed by Antonio Rinaldi, is distinctly un…
Around St Petersburg
This small museum within the main palace is a repository for the personal effects of the Romanovs from Peter the Great onwards. On display you'll see…
St Petersburg
The last great church to have been built in St Petersburg before the revolution, this neo-Byzantine beauty dates from 1907 and creates one of the most…
Vyborg
This 180-hectare park facing onto tranquil Zashchitnaya Bay is a lovely place to escape the world for a few hours, if not most of the day. It’s laid out…
St Petersburg
The Yelagin Palace was built for his mother by Tsar Alexander I, who had architect Carlo Rossi landscape the entire island while he was at it. The palace,…
St Petersburg
Also known as the House of Matyushin, this small museum occupies a charming grey-painted wooden cottage dating from the mid-19th century that was once the…
St Petersburg
The Style Moderne gem Leuchtenberg House is so called because it once belonged to the Duke of Leuchtenberg, great-grandson of Tsar Nicholas I. Cross the…
St Petersburg
This fascinating museum charts the history of the St Petersburg region from medieval times to 1918. What starts as a fairly standard-issue plod through…
Around St Petersburg
Named after the French royal residence near Paris, Marly Palace was originally envisioned by Peter the Great to host his most distinguished visitors…
St Petersburg
In the centre of Palace Sq, this 47.5m column, topped by a statue of an angel holding a cross, was designed in 1834 by Montferrand. Named after Alexander…
St Petersburg
The two great wings of the General Staff Building are joined by a triumphal arch over Bolshaya Morskaya ul, topped by the Chariot of Glory by sculptors…
Around St Petersburg
The cottage doesn't really resemble a cottage and is also rather tellingly referred to as the Cottage Palace. It was created for Nicholas I's wife,…
St Petersburg
This enormous statue of Catherine the Great (1873) stands amid the chess, backgammon and mah-jong players who crowd the benches in Ostrovsky Sq. At the…
St Petersburg
Inside the Peter & Paul Fortress, a separate ticket gives you access to both a walkway that goes along the walls and leads to the Naryshkin Bastion. The…
St Petersburg
Named after its engineer Mikhail Anichkov and featuring rearing horses and attendants at all four corners, the striking ornamentation of this bridge over…
Around St Petersburg
Built as a surprise present from Maria Fyodorovna to Paul I, the Birch House has a rough facade made of birch logs, but the interior is actually very…
Around St Petersburg
This palace was the summer residence of Alexander II and his family. Alexander spent much of his childhood here, and loved the place, which began as a…
Rosenshtein Apartment Building
St Petersburg
Petrogradsky Island is packed with architectural treasures, including this building, which plays with medieval themes in its stuccoed walls, lancet…
Vyborg
The last remaining part of the original Vyborg castle, this tower can be climbed for great views of the town. Unfortunately, it's inaccessible for the…
Around St Petersburg
Also known as the Chinese Village, this assembly of buildings was commissioned by Catherine the Great during the craze for Chinoiserie in the late 18th…
Raketa Petrodvorets Watch Factory
Around St Petersburg
This watch factory produces some of Russia's finest timepieces and can be visited on a fascinating guided tour. Call ahead before visiting.
Around St Petersburg
With a gorgeous location on the shore of the Great Pond, the Grotto Pavilion is sometimes used to host exhibits.
Around St Petersburg
This Schinkel–designed 1829 church functioned as the Romanov family's chapel when they were at Peterhof.
Around St Petersburg
This is a monument to the Russian victory in the Battle of Chesme in 1778.
St Petersburg
Immortalised by Dostoevsky, who lived all over the neighbourhood and set Crime and Punishment here, St Petersburg’s Haymarket was once the city’s filthy…
Tikhvin Monastery of the Mother of God
Around St Petersburg
Rising like a fairy tale across the Tabory pond, this complex is about a 1km walk from the train station straight along Sovetskaya ul. At its heart is the…
St Petersburg
The new epicentre of creativity on the Fontanka River is this mazelike complex of shops, bars, cafes, beauty salons, tattoo parlours, galleries and even a…
St Petersburg
This museum near Sennaya pl is a must for train-set fans and modellers. It houses a collection of scale locomotives and model railway bridges, often made…
St Petersburg
This excellent private museum tells the story of Russia’s national tipple in an interesting and fun way, from the first production of ‘bread wine’ to the…
St Petersburg
Named after Sergey Kuryokhin (1954–96), a legend of the Russian contemporary arts and music scene, this is the temporary home of the arts centre until its…
