Everyone who crosses Anichkov Bridge sees the pinkish-red palace with atlantes on the corner of Nevsky Prospekt and the Fontanka, but few go inside: it is not a walk-in museum. Yet it keeps genuine mid-19th-century interiors — the grand staircase, the Mirror Hall, the Oak Hall. There are two ways in: a guided tour of the state rooms or a concert. In autumn the palace has events almost every evening, a good excuse to combine architecture with music.
On 19 October 2026 we checked the palace website, run by the organiser of its tours and concerts, for how tours work and what they cost, where to buy tickets, box-office hours, visitor rules, the late-October programme and the history of the building. Distance to the metro is from Yandex Maps.
🏰 The last private palace on Nevsky
The palace was built in 1848 by Andrei Stackenschneider; Nicholas I approved the design himself, and contemporaries called it "a majestic palazzo". According to the palace website, it was the last private palace built on Nevsky Prospekt in the 19th century. Its owners, the Princes Beloselsky-Belozersky, were an ancient family tracing their line to Vladimir Monomakh, and their receptions were compared in splendour to those at the Winter Palace.
The grand staircase with sculptures and wrought-iron railings — Photo: A.Savin, Wikimedia Commons, FAL
In the late 19th century the palace was bought by Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich on his marriage to Princess Elisabeth of Hesse, later Grand Duchess Elizaveta Fyodorovna. In 1911 she gave it to her nephew, Grand Duke Dmitri Pavlovich, later one of Rasputin's killers. After the revolution it housed public organisations and a district Communist Party committee, and it was damaged by bombing during the Siege. Since 1992 it has been a cultural centre, and since 2003 it has been managed by the Presidential Property Management Department.
🎟 Way one: a tour of the state rooms
The general tour lasts 50 minutes to an hour and is for ages 12+. Visitors go only as a group, with a palace guide and strictly along the route — you cannot wander the halls on your own. There is a single ticket for all categories; the palace website lists 500 or 600 roubles for different sessions, and the purchase form shows the exact price. Buy at the palace box office, from the official sellers kassir.ru and bileter.ru, or via the "Buy without commission" button on the website. Foreign bank cards do not work in Russia, so pay in cash at the box office or with a Russian card online.
The Mirror Hall with rows of seats for concerts — Photo: A.Savin, Wikimedia Commons, FAL
The route covers the state rooms on the first floor up: the Oak Hall (the former library), the Picture Gallery, the State Dining Room, the Beige Drawing Room, the Mirror (Ball) Hall and the Golden Raspberry Drawing Room. According to the palace, they keep fireplaces, light fittings, stucco, paintings, mirrors and furniture from the mid-to-late 19th century. You may photograph with a phone or amateur camera everywhere except the Golden Raspberry Drawing Room; video is not allowed.
🎻 Way two: a concert in the Mirror Hall
The Mirror Hall was designed for concerts from the start and, the palace says, has excellent acoustics; it still works as a concert hall. The advantage of a concert is seeing the hall in the evening, under its chandeliers, and hearing its sound. But it is an event ticket, not a tour: nobody will tell you about the palace.
The Oak Hall, the former library with a carved wooden gallery — Photo: A.Savin, Wikimedia Commons, FAL
Coming up: 23 October, an Elton John tribute; 24 October, hits of French film music; 25 October, two programmes by the St Petersburg State Academic Symphony Orchestra — "Russian Music" under Alexander Titov at 16:00 (tickets 500–1,300 roubles) and "Mozart, Bach" at 19:00; 27 October, an evening with singer Ani Aspeti; 28 October, "The Shot. The Snowstorm" by the Vladimir Retsepter Pushkin School theatre (in Russian); 29 October, the CAGMO orchestra's candlelit Michael Jackson symphony (3,300–7,500 roubles); 30 October, the hits of the Paul Mauriat orchestra; 31 October, "Tchaikovsky. Masterpieces of Russian Ballet"; 3 November, British jazz with Cleveland Watkiss. For free and cheap options, see our list of free concerts.
