Dreaming of gilded ceilings with dripping chandeliers over marble floors? Hoping to find an abode with a couple of grand, sweeping double staircases? Then it’s time to visit a palace (or two or three). Turn toward St. Petersburg, Russia, where these massive homes, colored in turquoise, soft yellow, or a deep pinkish red and lined in thick white trim, now hold some of the city’s finest institutions. While many former Russian rulers built homes in towns outside the city that deserve a visit—Peterhof, Pushkin, Pavlovsk, and Oranienbaum, to start—many had at least one other dwelling space within the city. Here are some of the most gorgeous ones to find while passing through:
Winter Palace
Formerly the principal residence of the czars, today the State Hermitage Museum, the largest art museum in the world, makes the Winter Palace one of the most satisfying to visit. Certain rooms are restored to resemble the palace interior at the time of the Russian Empire, and the museum also holds a host of fine art, including celebrated works from Rembrandt, Picasso, and Da Vinci. Walking down the grand staircase today still produces visions of tossing warm furs over voluminous gowns and strolling along the Neva River, frozen two feet down and carpeted in pure white snow for miles. In Pavilion Hall, the gilded room shines like a woman laden in just the right number of sparkling diamonds, with fountains, a Roman mosaic, and the world-famous Peacock Clock, an 18th-century golden gift to Catherine the Great.
Yusupov Palace
The extraordinary wealth of the Yusupovs garnered them four palaces in St. Petersburg, but they preferred this location to the others. Retaining a remarkable number of the original rooms, the palace hosts theater, ballet, and a number of additional events. Particularly inspirational are the exquisite patterns decorating the Moorish Room—a nod to the Yusupov ancestry—with delicate columns, golden gates, and bold colors. But perhaps Rasputin’s ghost gives this palace its character, as the murder of the infamous political figure happened here in 1916.
Marble PalaceThirty-two different kinds of inlaid marble comprise the Marble Palace, installed by the principal architect to Catherine the Great, Antonio Rinaldi, and his team of fine craftsmen. Rinaldi married the Baroque and Neoclassical styles to turn out a uniquely balanced interior and exterior with exceptional skill. It shows in the exquisite colorations in Marble Hall, one of the finest palace interiors in all of Russia. Catch rotating modern art exhibitions here from the Russian Museum.
Yelagin Palace
There are two elements to take away from the Yelagin Palace: the rotunda and the palace grounds. First, the round, three-story central chamber of the eastern-facing palace floods the front rooms with light, perhaps an old-fashioned method for coping with lowlight Russian winters. Next, the building stands on its own island, now a park covered in trees and roamed by many a babushka pushing a carriage along the dirt path. With cultural events year-round, including a music festival in the summer and a tulip festival in the spring, Yelagin Palace hosts the kind of backyard parties that dreams are made of. Inside, glimpse examples of palace interiors from the 18th to the 20th century at the decorative arts museum, or find Soviet glass art in the orangery at the Museum of Glass Art.
Alekseevsky Palace
Home to the St. Petersburg House of Music, this hidden palace exudes underappreciated regality from the front gate. The Western influence on the Russian aristocracy—who spoke to each other in French—shines through the intricate ironwork and palace construction. And Grand Duke Alexei Alexandrovich requested medieval French castles also influence the design, evident in the four-story round tower. Inside, the palace features a bathroom filled with mosaics and impeccable oak paneling.
Mikhailovskiy Palace
Visit the Mikhailovskiy Palace for the majestic interiors of the Russian Empire as well as an unbelievable collection of Russian art. From ancient religious icons to Repin and Malevich, the collection at the State Russian Museum, housed here, simply can’t be beat. It’s common insider knowledge that this palace is a must-see over nearly any other museum in the city. The deeply pink neighboring Mikhailovsky Castle, now also a branch of the Russian Museum, deserves a visit as well. Notice how the white columns on both stretch up and offer support while staking a claim that the St. Petersburg palace is a proud, whimsical home of regal dreams.