Saint Petersburg is filled with historic palaces, grand squares, museums, churches and waterways that make sightseeing a central part of any visit. This directory helps you explore the city's attractions and choose places that match your interests and available time. Browse the listings to discover architectural landmarks, cultural institutions and scenic locations, then compare their positions before planning a route. Whether you prefer famous highlights or quieter corners, use the directory to organise your sightseeing without trying to see everything at once.
Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood, Saint Petersburg
A multicoloured Russian-revival church on the Griboedov Canal, built where Alexander II was mortally wounded, with interior walls covered in mosaics.9 min on foot from Nevsky Prospekt metro
Kazan Cathedral, Saint PetersburgMain image: AI-generated illustration. It may not show the place exactly as it looks.
A working cathedral on Nevsky Prospekt with a curved colonnade of 96 columns, built 1801–1811 to house a copy of the Kazan…4 min on foot from Nevsky Prospekt metro
State Russian Museum, Saint PetersburgMain image: AI-generated illustration. It may not show the place exactly as it looks.
The world's largest museum of Russian art, in Carlo Rossi's Mikhailovsky Palace on the Square of Arts, with the Benois Wing and…7 min on foot from Nevsky Prospekt metro, Open 10:00–20:00, closed Tue
Nevsky Prospekt, Saint PetersburgMain image: AI-generated illustration. It may not show the place exactly as it looks.
The main street of Saint Petersburg, about 4.5 km from the Admiralty to the Alexander Nevsky Lavra, lined with churches, palaces, canals,…1 min on foot from Gostiny Dvor metro, Open 24 hours
Saint Isaac's Cathedral, Saint PetersburgMain image: AI-generated illustration. It may not show the place exactly as it looks.
Saint Petersburg's monumental cathedral combines a gilded dome, marble interiors, mosaics and an outdoor colonnade with panoramic views.9 min on foot from Admiralteyskaya metro
Palace Square, Saint PetersburgMain image: AI-generated illustration. It may not show the place exactly as it looks.
The great open square in front of the Winter Palace, framed by Rossi's curved General Staff Building and crowned by the Alexander…5 min on foot from Admiralteyskaya metro, Open 24 hours
Mariinsky Theatre, Saint PetersburgMain image: AI-generated illustration. It may not show the place exactly as it looks.
The green-and-white opera and ballet house on Theatre Square, opened in 1860, with a modern second stage and concert hall nearby.
Kunstkamera, Saint PetersburgMain image: AI-generated illustration. It may not show the place exactly as it looks.
Russia's first museum, in a baroque building on the Neva: Peter the Great's collection of curiosities and a large ethnographic museum.14 min on foot from Admiralteyskaya metro, Open 10:00–18:00, closed Mon
Summer Garden, Saint PetersburgMain image: AI-generated illustration. It may not show the place exactly as it looks.
Peter the Great's riverside garden of 1704, with marble statues, a small Dutch-style palace and one of the city's most famous iron…Open 10:00–22:00, closed Tue
Yusupov Palace, Saint PetersburgMain image: AI-generated illustration. It may not show the place exactly as it looks.
An aristocratic palace on the Moika River with decorated state rooms, private apartments, a miniature theatre and an exhibition about Rasputin's murder.15 min on foot from Spasskaya metro, Open daily 10:00–19:30
Bronze Horseman, Saint PetersburgMain image: AI-generated illustration. It may not show the place exactly as it looks.
Falconet's rearing-horse statue of Peter the Great on Senate Square, unveiled in 1782 on a huge granite boulder known as the Thunder…11 min on foot from Admiralteyskaya metro, Open 24 hours
New Holland Island, Saint PetersburgMain image: AI-generated illustration. It may not show the place exactly as it looks.
A small man-made island of brick naval warehouses, a ring-shaped prison called the Bottle and a monumental arch, reopened as a free…
Erarta Museum of Contemporary Art, Saint PetersburgMain image: AI-generated illustration. It may not show the place exactly as it looks.
Russia's largest private museum of contemporary art, on Vasilievsky Island, open late every day except Tuesday.9 min on foot from Gorny Institut metro, Open daily 11:00–23:00
Saint Nicholas Naval Cathedral, Saint PetersburgMain image: AI-generated illustration. It may not show the place exactly as it looks.
An active baroque cathedral of 1753–1762 with five gilded domes and a free-standing bell tower, built for the Russian navy.
Alexander Nevsky Lavra, Saint PetersburgMain image: AI-generated illustration. It may not show the place exactly as it looks.
Saint Petersburg's oldest monastery, founded in 1710, with a Starov cathedral, Baroque churches and two necropolises where Dostoevsky, Tchaikovsky and Lomonosov are…3 min on foot from Ploshchad Aleksandra Nevskogo metro
Saint Michael's Castle, Saint PetersburgMain image: AI-generated illustration. It may not show the place exactly as it looks.
Paul I's palace of 1797–1801, a Romantic-classical castle once ringed by canals, today a branch of the Russian Museum with a portrait…12 min on foot from Gostiny Dvor metro
Palace Bridge, Saint PetersburgMain image: AI-generated illustration. It may not show the place exactly as it looks.
The cast-iron bascule bridge across the Neva, opened in 1916, whose raised leaves in front of the Hermitage and the Peter and…11 min on foot from Admiralteyskaya metro, Open 24 hours
Spit of Vasilyevsky Island, Saint PetersburgMain image: AI-generated illustration. It may not show the place exactly as it looks.
The eastern tip of Vasilyevsky Island, a Neoclassical ensemble of the Old Stock Exchange, two red Rostral Columns and a granite embankment…Open daily 01:10–02:50
Cruiser Aurora, Saint PetersburgMain image: AI-generated illustration. It may not show the place exactly as it looks.
The protected cruiser launched in 1900, famous for the blank shot of October 1917, now a museum ship of the Central Naval…Open daily 11:00–18:00
Central Naval Museum, Saint PetersburgMain image: AI-generated illustration. It may not show the place exactly as it looks.
One of the world's largest maritime museums, founded in 1709 from Peter the Great's Model Chamber and since 2013 housed in the…
Russian Railway Museum, Saint PetersburgMain image: AI-generated illustration. It may not show the place exactly as it looks.
One of the largest railway museums in Europe, opened in 2017 in the former Baltic Station locomotive depot, with about 118 pieces…3 min on foot from Baltiyskaya metro
Russian Ethnographic Museum, Saint PetersburgMain image: AI-generated illustration. It may not show the place exactly as it looks.
A museum of the peoples of Russia in a Svinyin-designed building behind the Russian Museum, with about half a million objects covering…9 min on foot from Nevsky Prospekt metro
State Hermitage Museum, Saint PetersburgMain image: AI-generated illustration. It may not show the place exactly as it looks.
Russia's great art museum fills the former Winter Palace and neighbouring buildings on the Neva embankment, with palace interiors as memorable as…7 min on foot from Admiralteyskaya metro
Fabergé Museum, Saint PetersburgMain image: AI-generated illustration. It may not show the place exactly as it looks.
A museum of Carl Fabergé's work in the Shuvalov Palace on the Fontanka, home to nine imperial Easter eggs made for the…
Lakhta Center, Saint PetersburgMain image: AI-generated illustration. It may not show the place exactly as it looks.
The 462-metre glass skyscraper on the Gulf of Finland, the tallest building in Europe, with an observation deck on floors 83 to…
Smolny Cathedral, Saint PetersburgMain image: AI-generated illustration. It may not show the place exactly as it looks.
Rastrelli's blue-and-white Baroque cathedral on the left bank of the Neva, begun in 1748 and consecrated in 1835, with one of the…Open daily 08:00–20:00
State Memorial Museum of the Defense and Siege of Leningrad, Saint PetersburgMain image: AI-generated illustration. It may not show the place exactly as it looks.
The museum in Solyanoy Lane that tells the story of the 872-day siege of Leningrad. It opened in 1944, was closed for…
Piskaryovskoye Memorial Cemetery, Saint PetersburgMain image: AI-generated illustration. It may not show the place exactly as it looks.
The main memorial to the victims and defenders of besieged Leningrad: 186 mass graves, an Eternal Flame, a bronze Motherland figure and…Open daily 09:00–21:00
Grand Maket Russia, Saint PetersburgMain image: AI-generated illustration. It may not show the place exactly as it looks.
A huge working model of Russia at 1:87 with moving trains and cars, tiny cities and a day-and-night cycle.
Final thoughts
The most enjoyable way to discover Saint Petersburg is to balance major landmarks with time for its canals, bridges and historic streets. Choose a few attractions that interest you and plan a route with room to explore between stops. Check the official source for current museum information, visitor access and booking arrangements before finalising your plans.
Ask Masha