Marble Palace

Between Mars Field and the Neva is another branch of the Russian Museum, the Marble Palace, built for Catherine the Great’s lover, Grigory Orlov, from 1768 to 1785. Designed by Antonio Rinaldi, the palace is so named because it uses 36 different kinds of marble in its construction, both inside and out. Check out the grey-and-blue marble staircase and the fantastic Marble Hall. The art on display here is eclectic, ranging from 17th-, 18th- and 19th-century works done by foreign artists in Russia to the splendid Ludwig Museum, part of the modern art collection of chocolate billionaire Peter Ludwig. This is one of the few chances to see such a large collection of contemporary artwork in the city. The monstrous equestrian statue outside the museum of Alexander III is by the sculptor Paolo Trubetskoy, who famously quipped that he ‘simply depicted one animal on another’.