Around St Petersburg
The Grand Palace is an imposing building, although with just 30-something rooms, it is not nearly as large as your typical tsarist palace. From the start…
Must-see attractions in Around St Petersburg
Around St Petersburg
One of the greatest attractions outside of St Petersburg is the jaw-dropping collection of gilded fountains, statue-lined lanes and picturesque canals…
Around St Petersburg
The centrepiece of Tsarskoe Selo, created under Empresses Elizabeth and Catherine the Great between 1744 and 1796, is the vast baroque Catherine Palace,…
Around St Petersburg
Around the Catherine Palace extends the lovely Catherine Park. The main entrance is on Sadovaya ul, next to the Palace Chapel. The park extends around the…
Around St Petersburg
Peterhof's uncontested centrepiece is the Grand Cascade, a symphony of over 140 fountains and canals partly engineered by Peter himself. To see the…
Vyborg
Rising stoutly from an islet in Vyborg Bay, this castle was built by the Swedes in 1293 when they first captured Karelia from Novgorod. Most of it now…
Vyborg
Housed in a wing of a striking building designed by Finnish architect Uno Ulberg in 1930, this small museum hosts themed exhibitions that are curated from…
Around St Petersburg
The classical Alexander Palace, built by Quarenghi between 1792 and 1796 for the future Alexander I, is surrounded by the charming Alexander Park…
Around St Petersburg
Shaped in a graceful curve around a central turret, the Gatchina Great Palace certainly lives up to its name – its enormous (if surprisingly plain) facade…
Around St Petersburg
Menshikov’s impressive palace underwent a full restoration and reopened its state rooms in 2014. Most of the interiors are restorations of the 19th…
Vyborg
A must-see for architecture fans is the beautifully designed public library, one of Finnish architect Alvar Aalto's iconic designs. After years of…
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…
Around St Petersburg
Two lovely Italian-inspired pavilions built in the 19th century on islands just south of the palace grounds.
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…
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…
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…
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,…
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…
Around St Petersburg
The home of Ilya Repin in his later years is now a museum and park, and it's a pleasant day trip any time of year. You can also visit the nearby beach and…
Around St Petersburg
This early-19th-century wooden house was the composer’s childhood home until the age of 12. It became a museum in 1944, the centenary of Rimsky-Korsakov’s…
Around St Petersburg
You'll have to pay to enter the serene Pavlovsk Great Park just to access the palace, so it’s worth exploring while you're here. Filled with rivers and…
Around St Petersburg
Kronshtadt’s key sight is the unusual and beautiful Naval Cathedral. Built between 1903 and 1913 to honour Russian naval muscle, this neo-Byzantine wonder…
Around St Petersburg
This Rinaldi-designed building, created for the young Peter III, is the only remaining part of Peterstadt. It's a boxy miniature palace with rich,…
Around St Petersburg
Spared Nazi occupation and, after WWII, ruined by Soviet neglect, Oranienbaum and the surrounding town were renamed after the scientist-poet Mikhail…
Around St Petersburg
Along the shore to the west, the 1725 Hermitage is a two-storey yellow-and-white box featuring the ultimate in private dining: special elevators hoist a…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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,…
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…
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.