Winter Palace

It’s hard not to be overawed by the sheer size of St Petersburg’s resplendent Winter Palace, with its colonnaded façade stretching over 200 meters along the Neva River waterfront. A mind-boggling masterpiece of baroque design, the palace was the brainchild of architect Bartolomeo Rastrelli and is equally mesmerizing from the inside, featuring lavish gilding, red velvet carpets, glittering chandeliers and intricate ceiling paintings. Commissioned by Empress Elizabeth, the Winter Palace has been at the center of royal life since its completion in 1762, long serving as the winter residence of the Tsars and the royal court, and providing the backdrop to the fateful 1905 and 1917 Revolutions.
Since 1852, the Winter Palace has regained its prominence as the home of the renowned Hermitage Museum, among the world’s largest and most celebrated museums, with an incredible 3 million items on display, most notably a sizable collection of 19th- and 20th-century European art.

Practical Info

The Winter Palace is located on the waterfront in downtown St Petersburg and is open Tuesday through Saturday from 10:30 a.m. until 6 p.m., and on Sunday until 5 p.m. Adult admission to the palace and museum is R400, and there is free admission on the first Thursday of each month.