Guided tour of the Yusupov Palace on the Moyka

Enormously popular with tourists, the Yusupov Palace is worthy of attention both as a superb example of a high society residence from the 19th century, and for the exhibition devoted to Grigory Rasputin, whose legendarily protracted murder began in the palace's basement.

Built by the prominent St. Petersburg neoclassicist Jean-Baptiste Vallin de la Mothe, architect of the Small Hermitage and Gostiny Dvor, the palace was purchased in 1830 by Duke Boris Nikolayevich Yusupov, whose family combined high positions at court with immense wealth, consolidated via the singular familial trait of producing only one male heir for several generations. After the October Revolution, the palace became a museum and was then transferred to the Commissariat of Enlightenment, later becoming the House of Teachers. This relatively benign fate allowed the palace to maintain much of its original interior luxury and elegance, and the superbly preserved and restored décor is definitely the main attraction here, although the Rasputin exhibition is also extremely popular.

The palace is not, however, easy to access for independent travelers. By booking a guided tour, you will not only have the guarantee of getting to see everything the palace has to offer, but also get much greater insight into the rich history of the Yusupov family and the complex set of circumstances that led up to the nefarious murder for which the palace's place in history is assured.

Itinerary and route details