St Petersburg is a city of thoroughfare courtyards. Half of its best moments sit behind an arch you can walk past. Here are seven worth stepping into.
🏛 1. Yard of Spirits (Vasilievsky, 4th Line, 5)
The narrowest courtyard-well in the city: 1.5 by 1.5 metres between walls. Local lore says a wish made in the centre comes true.
🎨 2. Mosaic Courtyard (Petrogradskaya, Malaya Posadskaya, 7)
Inner yard where the artist Volodya Lubenko covered walls and ground with broken-faience mosaics in the 1980s. Open to the public.
🏢 3. Five Corners (Zagorodny, 11)
A historic intersection where five streets meet. The courtyard of No. 11 holds a Soviet mosaic and the graffiti "nostalgia for the future".
🌿 4. Bak House (Kirochnaya, 24)
Among the city's most beautiful thoroughfare courts. Two wings linked by air galleries on the fourth floor. Open to walk through.
🪞 5. Liteyny 21 courtyard-well
A classic St Petersburg well, 15 metres across. The sky becomes a square. Such yards are a Petersburg trademark.
🏛 6. Capella Courtyard (Moyka, 20)
A thoroughfare between the Moyka and Bolshaya Konyushennaya, entered through the Capella arch. Beautiful perspective, lit at night.
🪴 7. Tolstoy House (Fontanka, 54 / Rubinstein, 15)
The longest thoroughfare in the centre — 150 metres from the Fontanka to Rubinstein through two art-nouveau wings, with the "House with Towers" arches.
🚕 Route planning
All seven in a day is a stretch — pick by geography: Petrogradskaya side (Spirits, Mosaic), central Nevsky (Liteyny, Capella, Tolstoy), Zagorodny (Five Corners, Bak). Between districts, a RideClu transfer.
🛏 Where to stay
Apartments overlooking central courtyards are bookable on Tutkakdoma.
If this is your first time in St Petersburg, bear two things in mind. Distances between the main sights are short, but autumn daylight is brief and rain arrives on no schedule. Plan your route around the lit half of the day, allow half an hour of buffer between stops, and bring a thermos and gloves for the evening. Dress in layers and wear non-slip soles — the embankments and bridges are windy, and courtyards stay wet after rain.
On the ground, walking is easiest between adjacent blocks, with short taxi hops when it gets dark or wet. If you are travelling as a group or with children, arrange the evening transfer back to your flat ahead of time — late-night fares spike. Flats in the centre go fast at weekends: book a week ahead for Nevsky, the Petrograd Side or Vasilievsky.
St Petersburg rewards half-day visits rather than one long marathon. Pick a theme — a single museum, a district, a walk — and give it time. After the active part, a warm cafe, a bookshop or a swimming pool is as much part of the ritual as the sights themselves, especially in November.
Verified on 22 October 2026.
Cover photo: Artyom Svetlov, CC BY 4.0, Викисклад
