The Kchessinskaya Townhouse was built in 1914 by the Court architect A von Goguen for the prima ballerina of the Mariinsky , who was a favourite of the young Nicholas II and emigrated to Paris after the revolution. In March 1917 it was the headquart..

Like many Russian cathedrals, St. Nicholas Naval Cathedral has two churches: a lower part for everyday services and an upper part for festive events and weekend masses. The latter has an opulent décor in the Baroque style that was in vogue in the mid..

The eastern tip of Vasilievsky Island is formed by the Strelka (“arrow”), affording one of the finest views of the city. The river is exceptionally wide here before separating into two branches, the Greater and Smaller Neva. This is where the port ..

You’ll recognise the Stroganov Palace by the caryatids, medallions and lion’s heads adorning its pink and white façade. It was designed by the Italian Bartolomeo Rastrelli, who built it in 1753-1754 in the Baroque style for Count Sergei Stroganov. Th..

This charming little bridge, affording a pretty view of the canal and the Church of Our Saviour on Spilled Blood, was built in 1826 by an engineer named Tretter. It was one of the first metallic suspension bridges in the world. It owes its name, Bank..

Gostiny Dvor (“merchants’ court”) is the city’s largest shopping mall. You can find everything here - and something for all budgets! It was designed by the Frenchman Vallin de la Mothe, who built it between 1761 et 1785 - in stone, at the request of ..

The Alexandra, renamed the Pushkin Theatre in the Soviet era, recently reclaimed its original name. Built by Carlo Rossi in 1830 in the Neoclassical style he favoured, the building has a portico with six columns topped by Stepan Pimenov’s Apollo’s ch..

Attention gourmets! The Eliseyev Emporium, the most famous food shop in St. Petersburg, is housed in a beautiful building designed in the early 20C by Gavriil Baranovsky. Even if you don’t feel like indulging, step inside just to admire the lavish Ar..

Potemkin, Tsarina Catherine the Great’s favourite, is said to have given sumptuous receptions here. After his death the Anichkov Palace, built in 1750, was extended along the quayside by a long building with a colonnade, then was flanked by two Neocl..

This magnificent neo-Baroque palace on the other side of the Fontanka is striking with its bright pink colour and profuse sculpted decorations on its façades. Owned by the Princes Beloselsky-Belozersky, it was rebuilt in 1848 by architect Andrei Stac..

On the other side of Pevchesky Bridge, the beautiful building at the end of a courtyard separated from the quay by a cast-iron gate belongs to the Singing Academy or Capella. Founded during the reign of Peter the Great, it was directed by illustrious..

It was in this townhouse that the greatest poet of imperial Russia, Alexander Pushkin, died in January 1837, a few days after his duel with Georges d'Anthès. Among the documents preserved on the ground floor, you can read the anonymous letter (in Fre..

This is one of the finest bridges in St. Petersburg and a symbol of rapprochement between France and Russia. The first stone was laid in 1897 in the presence of French President Félix Faure and Tsar Nicholas II. Composed of six metallic arches, Trini..

This building in the neoclassical style was built in 1875 by Ludwig Fontana to house a luxury hotel. The atlantes on the façade lend it quite a stylish look, on a par with the interior decor offering everything its prestigious clientele could ask for..

Peter the Great visited Versailles and took it as a model in designing the Summer Gardens in 1704. The superb wrought-iron gate by Yuri Velten leads into the garden on the Neva side. The fountains evoke figures from Aesop’s fables and the ancient sta..

Panteleimon Bridge, which owes its name to a nearby church, was built in 1908. Its beautiful decoration is by Lev Ilyin, who designed its street lamps like bundles of lances adorned with golden crowns and topped by two-headed eagles. The bridge affor..

The statue of Peter I in the central courtyard of St. Michael’s Castle seems to be keeping watch over this fortress built in 1797-1801 by his grandson Paul I, haunted by the fear of being assassinated - which he eventually was on 11 March 1801. Start..

With its more than a thousand instruments on display, the Museum of Music pays tribute to the role played by its first owners, the Counts Sheremetev, in the musical life of the city in the 18C. These great sponsors called upon architects Savva Shevak..

This former fortress was surrounded by ramparts until the shipyards were moved in the 19C. Boulevards replaced the ramparts, and Andrian Zakharov remodelled the building in the neo-Classical style in 1806. The Admiralty now houses the Naval College. ..

How about a glass of “little water”? Follow the tradition and sample a swig of vodka (they say it heals all ills), the national drink to which this entertaining museum is devoted. You will learn about the techniques for making this 40° plus grain alc..