Nabokov Museum

This lovely 19th-century town house was the suitably grand childhood home of Vladimir Nabokov, infamous author of Lolita and arguably the most versatile and least classifiable of modern Russian writers. Here Nabokov lived with his wealthy family from his birth in 1899 until the revolution in 1917, when they sensibly left the country. The house features heavily in Nabokov’s autobiography Speak, Memory, in which he refers to it as a ‘paradise lost’. Indeed, he never returned, dying abroad in 1977. There’s actually relatively little to see in the museum itself, save for some charming interiors (don’t miss the gorgeous stained-glass windows in the stairwell, which are not technically part of the museum, but staff will often allow you to take a peek). Nabokov artefacts on display include family photographs and parts of his extensive butterfly collection. A 30-minute film (in Russian only) features interviews with Vladimir’s son and sister, the latter recollecting her time in this house.