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Things to do in St. Petersburg

Things to do in  St Petersburg

Welcome to St Petersburg

Since being founded by Tsar Peter the Great and built on a desolate swamp, St. Petersburg—the former capital of the Russian Empire—has become a national symbol of historical heritage, vibrant cultural life, and sheer beauty. The city’s canals and grand architecture, drawn with bright colors and white light, show why so many of Russia’s famous artists and poets have sprung from the so-called Venice of the North. Taking a city tour with a local guide is a sure way to best explore the city’s highlights and deeply understand their history. Tours explore the magnificent Baroque-style Winter Palace (formerly home to Empress Catherine the Great, and now part of the State Hermitage Museum), the Peter and Paul Fortress on the Neva River, St. Isaac’s Cathedral, the Peterhof Palace, the Fabergé Museum, and more. You could spend years admiring the State Hermitage Museum’s astounding collection of fine art, comprised of works by everyone from Raphael to Rembrandt to Renoir—tackle its 2.7 million pieces on a guided tour. For even more culture, enjoy a Russian folk show at Nikolayevsky Palace. And you can’t miss the Church of the Saviour on the Spilled Blood, which—with its dramatic name and many towers—has become an emblem of this majestic Russian city.

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Top 15 attractions in St Petersburg

#1
The State Museum of the Political History of Russia

The State Museum of the Political History of Russia

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The State Museum of the Political History of Russia covers a lot of ground, with exhibitions featuring everything from the Russian Revolution to the collapse of the Soviet Union and the evolution of modern-day Russia. Each gallery offers a wealth of information, and multimedia and interactive displays bring history to life.More
#2
Central Naval Museum

Central Naval Museum

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Housed in imposing red-brick barracks along the Kryukov Canal, the Central Naval Museum is one of the world’s largest maritime museums and dates back to 1805. More than 700,000 items make up the huge permanent collection, offering comprehensive insight into Russia’s maritime heritage and military prowess.More
#3
St. Petersburg Planetarium (Sankt-Peterburgskiy Planetariy)

St. Petersburg Planetarium (Sankt-Peterburgskiy Planetariy)

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Spend a few hours at the St. Petersburg Planetarium (Sankt-Peterburgskiy Planetariy) and learn all about Russia’s long history of space exploration. Attend a talk or film screening, gaze through telescopes in the observatory, or visit the “star hall.”More
#4
St. Nicholas Naval Cathedral (St. Nicholas Cathedral of the Epiphany)

St. Nicholas Naval Cathedral (St. Nicholas Cathedral of the Epiphany)

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A trio of golden crosses tops this blue-and-white Baroque Orthodox cathedral in Saint Petersburg. It actually contains two churches: Saint Nicholas Church on the ground floor, with Epiphany Church above. It’s also an important site for the Russian navy, and there are memorials here dedicated to the crews of sunken Soviet submarines.More
#5
Monument to Catherine II (Pamyatnik Ekaterina II)

Monument to Catherine II (Pamyatnik Ekaterina II)

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Catherine the Great was loved by the people of Russia, and her reign is often referred to as the golden age of Russia. Alexander II wanted to honor the empress and had the Monument to Catherine II (Pamyatnik Ekaterina II) built. The sculpting began in 1862 and wasn't completed until 1873. The statue shows Catherine the Great wearing an ermine coat. She carries a laurel wreath in her left hand and a specter in her right hand. Around her neck she wears the order of St. Andrew.There are nine other statues towards the base of the monument, and they represent the sphere of influence of the Empress, including Prince Griogory Potemkin and Field Marshall Alexander Suvorov. The only other female statue aside from Catherine is Princess Catherine Dashkov who was the founder of the Russian Academy of Science. The statue of Catherine the Great was replaced by a statue of Lenin after the 1917 Revolution, but it was put back again after the end of the Soviet regime.More
#6
Russian Vodka Museum (Muzey Russkogo Natsional'nogo Napitka)

Russian Vodka Museum (Muzey Russkogo Natsional'nogo Napitka)

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Fittingly for a drink that dates right back to the 12th century, the perfect place to sample Russian vodka is located in St Petersburg’s former military stables and is part of the Museum Quarter project to protect the historic buildings of the city center. Exhibitions at the Russian Vodka Museum (Muzey Russkogo Natsional'nogo Napitka) romp through the story of the spirit’s production and its cultural importance, detailing its rise in popularity and refinement from a drink for medieval peasants to the favorite tipple of the Russian aristocracy in the 19th century. Displays include shot glasses, an enormous collection of unusual vodka bottles, posters from previous advertising campaigns and ancient equipment used in distillation. All visits to the museum terminate with a tasting of several different flavored vodkas accompanied by Russian snacks known as zakuski – ‘little bites’ of caviar, salads, pickles, smoked meats or fish normally served with flatbread as hors d’oeuvres before dinner. Conveniently, the museum shares its home with a restaurant serving up specialty vodkas.More
#7
Mikhailovsky Castle (St. Michael's Castle)

Mikhailovsky Castle (St. Michael's Castle)

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The late 18th-century Mikhailovsky Castle was designed to appease Emperor Paul I’s fear of being assassinated—an impenetrable fortress, protected by fortified ramparts, drawbridges, secret tunnels, and a moat. The Emperor’s paranoia was well-placed; in an ironic twist of fate, the Tsar was murdered in his sleep barely a month after moving in.More
#8
Bronze Horseman

Bronze Horseman

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The Bronze Horseman is a statue of Peter the Great on a horse. Catherine the Great had the statue built in the late 1700s to honor Peter the Great as the founder of the city of St. Petersburg. She commissioned the French sculptor Etienne-Maurice Falconet who had spent a long time studying the movements of horsemen on reared mounts. The horse stands on a rock meant to represent a cliff. This huge block of granite weighs more than 1,600 tons and took more than nine months to transport from the Gulf of Finland.Visitors can still see an inscription on the stone that says "to Peter the First from Catherine the Second” in Latin on one side and in Russian on the other side. The statue faces west to represent Peter “leading Russia forward” because he drew inspiration from countries in the west. Legend has it that St Petersburg can never be taken by enemy forces as long as the statue remains standing in Senatskaya Square. You will often see newlyweds having their wedding photos taken in front of the statue.More
#9
Dostoevsky Museum

Dostoevsky Museum

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Officially known as the F.M. Dostoevsky Literary Memorial Museum, this museum celebrates the life of Russian author Fyodor Dostoevsky. It was opened in 1971 in the apartment where he lived first in 1846 and again from 1878 until his death in 1881. Notably, it is also where he penned his last novel, the Brothers Karamazov. The interior has been reconstructed based on recollections of Dostoevsky’s wife and friends and includes memorabilia donated by his grandson. A literary exhibit focuses on Dostoevsky’s life and work, while exhibit halls occasionally display contemporary art. The museum library holds about 24,000 volumes and museum collection also includes a large collection of graphic and applied art and a collection of photographs.Every November, the museum hosts a conference on Dostoevsky and World Culture. It also hosts bus and walking tours of St Petersburg focused on Dostoevsky’s works and the city.More
#10
Stroganov Palace (Stroganovsky Dvorets)

Stroganov Palace (Stroganovsky Dvorets)

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With a prime location on the corner of Nevksy Prospekt and the Moika River Embankment, the Stroganov Palace (Stroganovsky Dvorets) is one of the oldest aristocratic in St. Petersburg. Designed by renowned Italian architect Bartolomeo Rastrelli, the palace is one of the best examples of late Baroque architecture in St. Petersburg. The light pink main façade faces Nevsky Prospekt and features a large entrance arch supported by two Corinthian columns that leads to an inner courtyard. Oak gates feature carvings of branches and lion’s heads, while windows are framed by cupid figures.Today the palace houses part of the collection of the State Russian Museum and several rooms are open to the public, having been restored to their late 18th century appearance. The State Dining Room overlooks both Nevsky Prospekt and the River Moika and features large mirrors opposite the windows to create the illusion of a room much larger than it actually is. The Large Ballroom is simply grand, with glittering chandeliers, parquet floors made of exotic woods, stucco molding and patterned balcony railings, as well as a large painting by Valeriani. The Mineral Study, restored in 2005, is considered one of the masterpieces of 18th century Russian architecture.More
#11
Pushkin Museum

Pushkin Museum

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Alexander Pushkin was Russia’s most celebrated poet and the Pushkin Museum and Memorial Apartment is a lasting memorial to his life and work. Located in one of the oldest stone mansions in St Petersburg, the apartment museum is just two blocks from Nevsky Prospekt on the banks of the Moika River. A fine example of a nobleman’s apartment in the 1830s, it became a museum in 1925.The carefully preserved apartment is where Pushkin lived in 1836 and 1837 and where he died after being wounded in a duel. The centerpiece of the museum is Pushkin’s study, where objects belonging to his family, friends and contemporaries are on display. Visitors can also see Pushkin’s writing desk, a death mask, a lock of his hair and other personal items. In the basement of the building are exhibits on the history of the house, Pushkin’s life in St Petersburg in 1836, and the duel that killed him.More
#12
The General Staff Building

The General Staff Building

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With an imposing Neoclassical façade over 1,900 feet (580 meters) long, the Carlo Rossi–designed General Staff Building is one of St. Petersburg’s architectural highlights. The grand building, which is part of the enormous State Hermitage Museum complex, houses a large collection of impressionist and post-impressionist art works.More
#13
The Anna Akhmatova Museum

The Anna Akhmatova Museum

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Opened in 1989 to mark the centennial of her birth, the Anna Akhmatova Museum in the Fountain House of Sheremetev Palace celebrates the life and works of one of Russia’s most renowned poets. The twice Nobel Prize–nominated writer lived here for over 20 years and now, enthusiasts can get a sense of where she worked and view her personal effects.More
#14
Planet Neptune Oceanarium

Planet Neptune Oceanarium

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The first aquarium of its kind in Russia, the Planet Neptune Oceanarium transports visitors into an underwater world, with more than 4,500 fish and marine creatures. Over 150 different species are represented, including sharks, seals, stingrays, moray eels, and a variety of Russian fish.More
#15
Pavlovsk Palace (Pavlovskiy Dvorets)

Pavlovsk Palace (Pavlovskiy Dvorets)

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Built by Catherine the Great in the 18th century for her son, Emperor Paul I, Pavlovsk Palace is a notable example of the era’s neo-classical architecture. Set amid 1,500 acres (607 hectares of landscaped parks and woodlands, a visit to the estate provides insight into the life of one of Russia’s most enigmatic rulers.More
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Trip ideas

Top Parks and Gardens in St. Petersburg

Top Parks and Gardens in St. Petersburg

You’re never far from nature in St. Petersburg, one of Russia’s greenest cities. From the landscaped gardens of Peterhof to the urban greenery of Maritime Victory Park, these are our favorites.
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All about St Petersburg

When to visit

St. Petersburg fires on all cylinders winter and spring, when its weather hits the sweet spot of comfortably hot and dry. Outdoor events come thick and fast December through June, from holiday-season boat parades and the Firestone Grand Prix in March, to April’s Mainsail Art Festival, and Pride in June. Crowds thin when late summer brings muggy heat and a hurricane risk.

St Petersburg information

Number of Attractions

59

Number of Tours

0

Currency

RUB
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