Top 20 Museums in St. Petersburg

Grounds of the Fortress

It's free to wander the grounds of the Peter and Paul Fortress, and admire the widely varied architecture of its numerous historic buildings.

Peter & Paul Cathedral

This stunning baroque cathedral is one of St. Petersburg's great landmarks, and also houses the graves of nearly all the Romanov Emperors and Empresses.

Jail of Trubetskoy Bastion

This exhibition charts the history of this notorious political prison in the walls of the Peter and Paul Fortress through the turbulent final decades of Tsarist rule.

History of St. Petersburg - Petrograd. 1703-1918 (Commandant's House)

Tracing the civil history of the St. Petersburg area from before the city's founding up until the arrival of the Bolsheviks, with numerous absorbing interactive exhibits.

History of Peter & Paul Fortress (Nevskaya Curtain Wall)

This exhibition provides a detailed examination of the various stages of building of the Peter and Paul Fortress, with blueprints, antique tools, and interactive displays.

Museum of Space Exploration and Missile Technology (Ioannovsky Ravelin)

These premises in the Peter and Paul Fortress were used as laboratories for ground-breaking rocket research, and now house a museum charting the Soviet side of the space race.

Street of Time (Engineering House)

Designed to help teach children about St. Petersburg, this display is arranged as a street of houses from different periods, each with housing a different aspect of the city's history.

Printing workshop "Pechatnya" (Nevskaya Curtain Wall)

This workshop is both a museum of antique printing presses and a workshop where you can try using the machines for yourself, or pick up printed souvenirs and gifts.

Neva Panorama Walkway along the walls of the fortress

For superb views across the Neva River, this walk along the tops of the fortress walls is unbeatable, with great opportunities for photography.

History of the Bell Tower of the Peter & Paul Cathedral

A chance to see the carillion and the historic bells of the Peter & Paul Cathedral, as well as spectacular views of the city centre from the 42m viewing platform.

Lower Park with Fountains

As well as Peterhof's celebrated fountains, the Lower Park contains the numerous elegant buildings constructed for Peter the Great along the shores of the Gulf of Finland.

Upper Garden

Surrounding the Grand Palace, Peterhof's Upper Garden is an immaculately laid out formal garden dating from the reign of Empress Elizabeth.

Grand Palace

This elegant baroque palace is the centre of the Peterhof estate, boasting regal facades and stunningly ornate interiors.

Church Wing (building)

Recently opened after decades of restoration, the house church of Peterhof's Grand Palace once again boasts Bartolomeo Rastrelli's richly gilded interiors.

Special Collections (Jewelry Collection)

Housed in lavishly decorated chambers that once accommodated visiting royalty, this collection of Imperial jewels includes numerous pieces by Faberge.

Grottos of Grand Cascade

Providing the chance to see the mechanisms powering Peterhof's most famous fountains, the grottos are also richly decorated with marble and gilded statuary.

Monplaisir

The private residence of Peter the Great at Peterhof, Monplaisir confirms the Tsar's excellent taste, with a variety of beautiful and unusual interiors.

Catherine Wing (building)

Built for Empress Elizabeth, this pretty smaller residence next to Monplaisir is somewhat inconspicuous, but is used to display the extraordinary Russian Dinner Service.

Bath Wing (building)

Developed and adapted over the reigns of several Emperors and Empresses, Peterhof's baths give an unusual glimpse into the intimate daily life of the Imperial family.

Aviaries of the Lower Park (Voliere)

It should be no surprise that even the birds at Peterhof live in unusual luxury, and these two pavilions - one housing Russian songbirds, one parrots - have beautifully painted ceilings.

Hermitage

Dating from the Petrine era, this small pavilion was designed to allow the Tsar to dine in privacy with his guests, ensured with an unusual system of pulleys.

Marly

This pretty baroque mansion was designed as a retreat for Peter the Great, and is now used to display many of his personal effects.

Benois Family Museum

The Benois family, emigres to St. Petersburg after the French Revolution, produced generation after generation of artists, architects and designers, celebrated in this museum.

Museum of Private Collections

This museum was opened in 2003 to house collections gifted to Peterhof by private collectors, including porcelain and avant-garde art.

Museum of Playing Cards

A collection charting the history of card games, with beautiful examples from all over the world, as well as other luxurious games and accessories.

Museum of Imperial Yachts

A small pavilion with a collection of models, photographs, and accessories charting the yachting traditions of the Imperial family as begun by the keen sailor Peter the Great.

Tsarina's Pavilion and Olga's Pavilion

Commissioned by Nicholas I for his wife and daughter, these two pavilions on islands in the Kolonistsky Park have recently been opened to visitors.

Alexandria Park

Landscaped for Nicholas I's wife, this rambling park around the cottage palace is a far cry from the elegant splendor of the main park at Peterhof.

Cottage Palace

Built to satisfy Empress Alexandra's desire for simplicity and peace, this pretty villa shows a more private side of the Imperial family.

Gothic Capella (Chapel)

This tiny church in the grounds of Nicholas I's Cottage Palace was the private chapel of the Imperial family and has an unusual neo-gothic design.

Farmers' Palace

Once a simple rustic pavilion, this building in Peterhof's Alexandra Park gradually grew to become a sizeable villa for the family of the future Alexander II.

Palace Telegraph Station

Built on the orders Nicholas I, this station connected Peterhof with Kronshtadt and the Winter Palace while the Imperial family had a monopoly on the telegraph in Russia.

Palace of Peter the Great in Strelna

The oldest of St. Petersburg's Imperial suburban residences, this simple wooden palace has a collection of Peter the Great's personal belongings.

Catherine Palace

Built by the same architect as the Winter Palace, the Catherine Palace is a gilded rococo masterpiece, and home to the famous Amber Room, one of St. Petersburg's top tourist attractions.

Catherine Park

This large park shows the tastes of several generations of Romanovs, combining ornate formal gardens with a rambling landscaped park that contains several beautiful follies.

Alexander Palace

A superb example of neoclassical grandeur, the Alexander Palace is less famous than the neighboring Catherine Palace, but is slowly being restored to its former glories.

Hermitage

Like the Catherine Palace in miniature, this charming blue-and-gold pavilion was designed for private dining, and has superb 18th century interiors that have survived almost completely unaltered.

Turkish Baths

Designed to resemble a mosque, this eccentric pavilion on the shore of the Great Pond has beautiful interiors in "Moorish" style, including some pretty mosaics.

Grotto

Built for Empress Elizabeth, this pretty folly was used by Catherine the Great to display classical sculptures and vases, and now houses temporary exhibitions.

Upper Bathhouse

Although its exterior is unusually simple in comparison with the surrounding buildings, this elegant neoclassical folly is richly decorated inside with copies of Roman murals.

Lower Bathhouse

Bearing some resemblance to a Russian church, this peculiarly shaped pavilion actually has a highly functional design, as can be seen in the recently opened exhibition inside.

Concert Hall

Designed as a temple to the goddess Ceres, Giacomo Quarenghi's large musical pavilion has strictly elegant facades and richly decorated interiors.

Museum of Festive Horse Carriages

Displaying a wide array of conveyances, many of them astonishingly luxurious, this collection is based on a museum founded by Tsar Alexander II.

Cold Bath Pavilion (incl. Exhibition Agate Rooms: The Way to Revival (history and restoration of the Agate Rooms))

Less famous than the Amber Room, the remarkable 18th century interiors of the Cold Bath pavilion were no less unique, and are currently being painstakingly restored.

Grand Palace

The Palace at Pavlovsk is not grand in dimensions, but designed with the elegant restraint of severe neoclassicism it nonetheless impresses, and has some beautifully decorated interiors.

Pavlovsk Park

A superb example of English-style landscaping, this huge park has beautiful rolling vistas, dense woodland, and several charming follies.

Rose Pavilion

The centre of Pavlovsk Park, this elegant neoclassical pavilion is a fine example of early 19th century wooden architecture, and was the favourite haunt of Empress Maria Fyodorovna.

Private Garden of Empress Maria Fyodorovna

Reserved exclusively for the owners of the Grand Palace, this small but beautifully executed garden was designed by Charles Cameron as a cozy retreat.

Temple of Friendship

A typical neoclassical rotunda, the Temple of Friendship was dedicated to Catherine the Great, and her likeness is featured in a series of flattering sculptures and bas-reliefs.

Museum of Costumes

This collection of men's and women's clothing shows the ceremonial costumes of the Imperial family through several generations, as well as historic army uniforms and civilian attire.

Oranienbaum Park

Located on a slight incline, this pretty landscaped park is slowly being restored to its former glories, and contains a number of unusual architectural features.

Grand Menshikov Palace

This superbly elegant baroque palace was originally built for Peter the Great's closest adviser, and was the only suburban palace to survive World War 2 intact.

Chinese Palace

The favorite retreat of Catherine the Great, this small but exquisitely designed neoclassical villa has superbly restored interiors in "Oriental" style.

Palace of Peter III

This modest two-storey building was built for the future Peter III, and was the centre of Petershtadt, his peculiar model fortress of which he styled himself the Commandant.

Stone Hall

Built as part of a Summer Palace for Peter III, this simple two-storey block by Antonio Rinaldi was later used as a Lutheran church, and is now an exhibition and concert hall.

Grand Palace

Gatchina Park

Prioratsky Palace

Pavilion of Venus

White-birch House

Private Garden

Signal Tower

Exhibition Hall of Monumental Sculpture

A collection of models of nearly all the public monuments in St. Petersburg, this museum gives visitors the chance to trace the development of monumental sculpture over the centuries.

Necropolis of the 18th century (cemetery)

This is a cemetery, not a museum, but it is worth visiting to see some elaborately ornate graves, and to pay respects to many of the great and good, including Mikhail Lomonosov and Gavrila Derzhavin.

Necropolis of Masters of Arts (cemetery)

This part of the monastery cemetery lives up to its name, holding the graves of, among others, Dostoevsky, Rimsky-Korsakov, Tchaikovsky, Glinka and Mussorgsky.

Blagoveschenskaya Burial Vault

The first stone church in St. Petersburg, this elegant baroque building was originally designed as a burial vault for the Imperial family, and features the ornate tombs of the city's high and mighty.