St Petersburg in December gives you about six hours of daylight: on 22 December 2026 the sun rises at 9:54 and sets at 16:01. The Peterhof fountains have been off since mid-October, canal boats stopped in November, and the bridge openings ended with the navigation season. What December offers instead is ice rinks, Christmas markets and a city dressed in lights.
Plan accordingly: anything involving open water is unavailable until spring. Museums, rinks, markets and evening walks through the lit-up centre are what the month is for — and book early if you arrive after 25 December.
What is already closed
Peterhof fountains. The ceremonial closing festival takes place on the third Saturday of September, but the fountains themselves run a few weeks longer — in 2025 until 12 October inclusive. In December the Lower Park is open and the palaces work, but the fountains are dry.
Canal and river cruises. The pleasure-boat season runs from mid-April to roughly mid or late November. Nothing sails in December.
Bridge openings. Raising the Neva bridges serves shipping, not tourists. In 2025 the side-channel bridges stopped on 15 November and the Bolshaya and Malaya Neva bridges on 30 November; after that they are raised only on prior application agreed with the city transport committee. No public schedule exists in December.
Some suburban pavilions. At Tsarskoye Selo the Arsenal pavilion works only on weekends and holidays, 11:00–17:00, from November to April, and the Catherine Palace adds the last Monday of the month to its usual Tuesday closure. The good news: entry to the Catherine and Alexander parks is free from November to April, and they are open daily from 7:00 to 21:00 between 1 September and 19 April.
at the Bank of Russia rate on 06.11.2026 · powered by tutkakdoma
What only happens in December
Outdoor rinks open in November and run all winter. In 2025/26 the New Holland rink ran from 15 November to 15 March, daily 10:00–21:30 and until 23:00 on holidays; an hour cost 200 to 800 roubles, skate hire 450 roubles. The Sevkabel Port rink opened on 21 November: 300 roubles on weekdays, 500 at weekends, free for children aged three to seven.
The main Christmas market occupies Manezhnaya Square plus Malaya Sadovaya and Klenovaya streets. In 2025/26 it ran from 13 December to 11 January, 12:00–21:00, free to enter. City decorations were installed from 11 November and finished by 19–20 December, when the main tree on Palace Square was lit — more than 700 locations and over 11,000 decorative elements. Arrive in early December and you catch the city half-decorated.
Museums and prices at the end of the month
On 31 December all Hermitage complexes closed at 18:00, the museum was shut on 1 January, and normal hours resumed on 2 January: 11:00–18:00 on Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday, until 20:00 on Tuesday, Friday and Saturday. Monday is always a day off.
December splits into two halves. Until around the 20th it is low season with cheap hotels and empty museums. After 25 December prices peak: the average daily rate over the holidays reached 5,815 roubles, up 11 % year on year, while booking services reported an average night of about 6,800 roubles and a 24 % rise in reservations for 31 December to 10 January. Russian Railways opens sales 90 days before departure at 08:00 local time at the departure station, so New Year trains sell out in early October. See also our guide to visiting St Petersburg month by month and to New Year in the city.
Clothing and ice
Average December temperature is about −3 °C, with daytime highs near +1.7 °C and night lows around −7.5 °C, and some 22 days with precipitation — the wettest month of the year. The constant crossing of zero, not the cold, is the real problem: pavements freeze over repeatedly. Grippy soles matter more than a thick coat, and a waterproof shell beats a down jacket in wet snow.
