One-day Russian culture tour

Opened in 1898 by Tsar Nicholas II in the Mikhailovsky Palace, one of the finest neoclassical creations of architect Carlo Rossi, the State Russian Museum is rivaled only by Moscow’s Tretyakov Gallery for its exhaustive collection of Russian art throughout the ages. This tour of over two hours will take in all the highlights of the collection, from Medieval icons to masterpieces of the early 20th century Russian avant garde. While some of the latter will already be familiar to many visitors, a tour with an expert guide is an excellent introduction to the lesser known Russian artists of the 18th and 19th centuries, who set the foundations for one of the world’s greatest periods of creativity in the visual arts.

The second stop on the itinerary is the Yusupov Palace on the Moyka River Embankment. While somewhat bland on the outside, this 18th century building was the main St. Petersburg residence of the Yusupov family, one of the wealthiest and most powerful dynasties of the late-Tsarist period. As well as being the site of the assassination of Grigory Rasputin in December 1916, an event commemorated in an ever-popular display in the palace basement, the Yusupov Palace is also one of the best-preserved noble residences in St. Petersburg, with highlights of the interiors including the magnificent Palace Theatre, the grand White Column Hall, and the exotic Moorish Drawing Room.

Opened as recently as 2014, the Fabergé Museum in the Shuvalov Palace has not only brought new life to one of the oldest and most richly storied of St. Petersburg’s noble residences, it is also home to a superb collection of applied art from St. Petersburg craftsmen of the late 19th and early 20th centuries – a period synonymous with the city’s political prominence and cultural flowering. While the highlight of the collection is undoubtedly the nine Imperial Easter Eggs created by Carl Fabergé – the largest single collection of the renowned court jeweler’s works in the world – there is much more besides to see, including superb examples of jeweled icons, unique pieces created at St. Petersburg’s world-famous Imperial Porcelain Manufactory, and a host of other beautiful and extraordinarily valuable objets d’art.