Palaces of St. Petersburg
Start
Palace Square
Travel time
about 1 hour (at a calm pace, without visiting museums)
Length
4km
Finish
Arts Square
sightseeing routes
What is this route?
This is your first time in St. Petersburg and you want to see the Northern capital in all its splendor? On the Palace Embankment and its surroundings, you will find the main imperial residences and grand-ducal palaces, world-famous museums, gardens and parks.
You can go on a trip to Palaces of St. Petersburg during the day and, if you have a lot of strength, combine it with a visit to the Hermitage or the Russian Museum.
In the evening, when the museums are closed, you will see famous architectural monuments in decorative lighting, and at night during the navigation period you can admire the layout of the Neva bridges.
What will you see?
Bridges
The Palace Bridge
Embankments
The Palace Embankment
Palaces and ensembles
The Winter Palace
Parks and gardens
Winter Palace Garden
Art museums
The State Hermitage Museum
Bridges
The Hermitage Bridge
Palaces and ensembles
Hermitage Theater
Palaces and ensembles
The Palace of Grand Duke Vladimir Alexandrovich
Palaces and ensembles
The Novo-Mikhailovsky Palace
Art museums
The Marble Palace
Bridges
Troitsky (Trinity) Bridge
Monuments
Monument to Suvorov
Parks and gardens
The Field of Mars
Palaces and ensembles
The House of Betsky, Prince of Oldenburg Palace
Bridges
Verkhny Lebyazhy Bridge
Parks and gardens
Summer garden
Art museums
The Summer Palace of Peter I
Art museums
The Mikhailovsky Palace (Engineering Palace)
Parks and gardens
Mikhailovsky Garden
Palaces and ensembles
The Mikhailovsky Palace
Historical Museums
Church of the Savior on Blood
Palaces and ensembles
Arts Square Ensemble
What can you expect?
Starting from the Palace Bridge, you will hit the road along the main front embankment of St. Petersburg. You will see a panorama with a view of the Neva in its widest place, on the Spit of Vasilyevsky Island and the Peter and Paul Fortress.
A walk along the Palace Embankment will introduce you to such attractions as: the Winter Palace, the Hermitage and the palaces of the Russian aristocracy, two beautiful St. Petersburg drawbridges and two old "humpbacked" bridges that have retained their appearance from the 18th century.
From the Palace Embankment you will turn into the Summer Garden, famous for its unique lattice and collection of statues. Here is the Summer Palace of Peter I. The second exit from the garden is to the Moika embankment, where you will see the Mikhailovsky (Engineering) castle - the last residence of Emperor Paul I and a branch of the Russian Museum.
Crossing Sadovaya Street, delve into the alleys of the Mikhailovsky Garden. Any of the two exits from the garden — back to Sadovaya or to the Church of the Savior on Blood — will lead you to the square of Arts and the palace of Grand Duke Mikhail Pavlovich, where the main exposition of the Russian Museum is located. This is the final destination of your journey.