St Petersburg has interiors a museum would charge 700 roubles to see, and here they are free until ten at night: a 180-metre glass roof, an atrium under a glass vault, a dome topped with a globe, 18th-century arcades. All of it sits inside working shops. No ticket, no obligation to buy anything — you only need to know where to look.
We picked six addresses in the city centre, checked opening hours on the owners' websites on 19 October 2026 and noted what exactly to look for inside. One tip covers them all: go in daylight. Glass roofs only work with daylight, and in November it gets dark in St Petersburg around half past four.
🏛 The Passage: 180 metres under glass
The Passage (Passazh) department store at 48 Nevsky Prospekt (second entrance at 19 Italyanskaya Street; Nevsky Prospekt and Gostiny Dvor metro) was the city's first building of this scale under a continuous glass roof. Three tiers of galleries run 180 metres from Nevsky to Italyanskaya, and this is a rare case of a beautiful place that is also useful: you can simply walk straight through the Passage as a shortcut off the avenue.
The Passage gallery under its glass roof — Photo: A.Savin, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
The building went up in 1846–1848 to a design by the architect Rudolf Zhelyazevich, was rebuilt in 1900 by Sergey Kozlov, and the staircases and the bridge linking the galleries were added as late as 1934. The best view is from the top tier, where you can take in the whole vault and the rhythm of the arches. There are cafés and a tea room on the gallery, so lingering is easy. The same building, on the Italyanskaya side, houses the Komissarzhevskaya Theatre — its auditorium opened here in the early 20th century.
The shopping gallery is open daily from 10:00 to 22:00, entry is free. A listed monument of regional significance.
🛍 DLT: an atrium under a glass vault
DLT at 21–23 Bolshaya Konyushennaya Street was built in 1908–1909 as the trading house of the Guards Economic Society — a department store for officers. The star is the vast, light-filled atrium: a 13-metre span covered by slender reinforced-concrete arches carrying a glass vault. The floors' galleries run around the perimeter, and from any of them you see the whole volume — that is the view on this article's cover.
The galleries of the DLT atrium — Photo: MBH, CC BY 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
A whole team led by Ernest Virrikh designed it; the metalwork for the facades came from the San Galli works, the ceramics from Vaulin's workshop, the spire's mosaics from Frolov's. The Soviet name — Dom Leningradskoy Torgovli, "House of Leningrad Trade", hence DLT — stuck in the mid-20th century, and since 2005 the store has been run by Mercury, so today the floors are given over to luxury boutiques. That's no obstacle to a walk around the galleries: nobody at the door asks why you've come.
Hours on the DLT website are daily from 11:00 to 22:00 (the site itself was unreachable on 19 October; the figures come from its archived copy from May 2026, so double-check on a map app before visiting). A listed monument of regional significance.
📚 The Singer House: the ceilings of the House of Books and a dome awaiting restoration
The Singer Company Building at 28 Nevsky Prospekt is recognised by its tower with a glass globe, but the reason to step inside is the ceilings. The 1902–1904 building by the architect Pavel Suzor consists of two wings with a cross-wing between them, and the two courtyards in between were covered with glass roofs, creating atriums. Today the lower floors house Dom Knigi, the House of Books, and above your head in the sales halls are stucco, a stained-glass ceiling panel and skylights.
The stained-glass ceiling in a sales hall of the House of Books — Photo: Reshinna, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
You can't go up the tower: the bookshop runs no tours, and according to a 2025 heritage survey the dome and the 2.8-metre globe are in "limited working condition" and awaiting restoration — the project is approved, but no dates have been announced. So photograph the tower from outside, from the Griboyedov Canal embankment by the Kazan Cathedral, and look up once you're in.
The House of Books is open daily from 09:00 to 23:00 — the longest hours in this selection. A listed monument of federal significance.
🏺 Great Gostiny Dvor: 18th-century arcades and a museum with guided tours
Gostiny Dvor at 35 Nevsky Prospekt is the oldest address on the list. Rastrelli's design was approved in 1757, but the building was ultimately erected by Vallin de la Mothe with Kokorinov's participation and finished in 1785. Four "lines" — Nevskaya, Perinnaya, Lomonosovskaya and Sadovaya — enclose an entire block, and the open arcades of the upper tier remain the main sight: you can walk right round the building along them without stepping into the street.
A Gostiny Dvor gallery in the evening — Photo: Moneycantbuy, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
Inside are the marble staircases and mirrors of the Nevskaya line, reconstructed in the 1990s. A separate story is the Museum of Merchant History attached to Gostiny Dvor: it is open daily from 11:00 to 17:00 (ticket office until 16:30), and on Wednesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays at 14:00 there are guided tours of one and a half to two hours, by prior booking. The website doesn't publish the museum's ticket price — call ahead to check.
The store is open daily from 10:00 to 22:00; the Gostiny Dvor metro station vestibule opens directly into the building. A listed monument of federal significance.
🗼 Au Pont Rouge: a caduceus spire over the Moika
The "At the Red Bridge" department store at 73 Moika Embankment (corner of 15 Gorokhovaya Street) is the 1906–1907 building of the trading house Esders & Scheefhals, by the architects Vladimir Lipsky and Konstantin de Rochefort. In Soviet times it was a garment factory; the spire was removed in the 1930s and the glass dome dismantled in the 1960s. The 2009–2014 restoration brought back the tower with its 29-metre caduceus-shaped spire, the gilded signs in pre-revolutionary spelling and the owners' names on the attic.
Au Pont Rouge seen from the Moika — Photo: Ludvig14, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
Inside are four floors of department store, but the best shot is from outside, from the Red Bridge or from the water, with the tower reflected in the Moika. Open daily from 10:00 to 22:00.
🧱 Nikolskie Ryady and the Mertens House: a courtyard and shop windows
Nikolskie Ryady at 62 Sadovaya Street are trading rows from the late 1780s which the St Petersburg Encyclopaedia attributes to Quarenghi's designs. After reconstruction the inner courtyard opened in 2020 as a public space: about 7,000 square metres, galleries around the whole perimeter adding up to over a kilometre, and arched entrances from Sadovaya Street, the Kryukov Canal and Shchepyanoy Lane. Entry to the courtyard is free; in winter there is a Christmas tree and a carousel. The 2026–2027 season programme hadn't been announced by 19 October, and there was no ice rink last winter — wait for the announcement.
The Mertens House at 21 Nevsky Prospekt (1911–1912, architect Marian Lalewicz) has three glazed arches four storeys tall, once the largest shop windows in the city. Since 2023 it has been home to the MAAG clothing store, and the fitting rooms stand right by the arched windows: the best way to see the arches from inside is to walk in as a shopper. The store doesn't publish its hours; expect the usual Nevsky schedule — the neighbours run from 10:00 to 22:00.
We're leaving Apraksin Dvor next door off the list for now: since April 2026 its buildings have been under reconstruction, with the historic passage being recreated, and access to the courtyards is not guaranteed.
🧭 How to fit it all into one walk
Every address except Nikolskie Ryady lies along two kilometres of Nevsky and Bolshaya Konyushennaya: the Mertens House (No. 21) — the Singer House (28) — Gostiny Dvor (35) — the Passage (48) — then along Bolshaya Konyushennaya to DLT and on along the Moika to Au Pont Rouge. Allow two to three hours. The Eliseevsky store at 56 Nevsky, with its stained glass and pineapples, has its own article: the Eliseevsky Emporium, a free Art Nouveau museum. If it's pouring, this route is one of the few where you spend almost the whole time under a roof; other options are in our rainy-day plan for St Petersburg.
📌 In short
✅ Six shops with free entry: the Passage (48 Nevsky), DLT (21–23 Bolshaya Konyushennaya), the House of Books (28 Nevsky), Gostiny Dvor (35 Nevsky), Au Pont Rouge (73 Moika), Nikolskie Ryady (62 Sadovaya).
✅ Hours: House of Books 09:00–23:00; the Passage, Gostiny Dvor and Au Pont Rouge 10:00–22:00; DLT 11:00–22:00 (per the site's May 2026 copy).
✅ See the glass roofs in daylight — in November that means before 16:30.
✅ The Singer tower is off limits: the dome awaits restoration and there are no tours. The only guided tour in this selection is the Merchant History Museum at Gostiny Dvor on Wednesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays at 14:00.
✅ Nikolskie Ryady: the 2026–2027 season isn't announced yet, and there was no rink last winter.
These buildings were built to make shopping feel like a celebration, and a century on they still do — only now the celebration is free. Checked on 19 October 2026 on the owners' websites and in the St Petersburg Encyclopaedia.
❓ Questions and answers
Do I have to buy anything to go into the Passage, DLT or the House of Books?
No. These are ordinary working shops: entry is free during opening hours, with no tickets or registration. The Passage publishes visitor rules on its website, but they are about behaviour, not about buying.
When is the best time to see the glass roofs?
In the daytime, while it is light: the Passage's glass roof and the DLT vault only work in daylight. In November it gets dark in St Petersburg at around 16:30, so go in the morning or straight after lunch.
Can I go up into the tower of the Singer House?
No. The House of Books website offers no tours, and according to a 2025 survey the dome and globe are awaiting restoration. Look at the ceilings of the sales halls and at the tower from outside.
Cover photo: A.Savin, FAL, Wikimedia Commons.
