Alexander Nevsky Lavra, St Petersburg

Is Alexander Nevsky Lavra free? Tickets and opening hours

Yes — the monastery grounds, the Holy Trinity Cathedral and the Nikolskoe Cemetery are free. You only buy a ticket for the two necropolises run by the State Museum of Urban Sculpture, which flank the path just inside the gate.

The 18th-Century Necropolis (Lazarevskoe Cemetery) is on the left, the Necropolis of Masters of Arts (Tikhvin Cemetery) on the right, next to the only ticket desk. One necropolis costs 200 ₽ (concession 150 ₽), both 400 ₽ (300 ₽). Payment needs roubles in cash or a Russian bank card: Visa and Mastercard issued abroad have not worked in Russia since March 2022.

The monastery is open daily 5:30–22:00 and the cathedral 5:45–20:00. The necropolises open daily 10:00–17:00, but the ticket desk stops selling at 16:30 — come later and the gates are effectively shut.

Where are Dostoevsky and Tchaikovsky buried?

• Necropolis of Masters of Arts (Tikhvin Cemetery, right of the path): Fyodor Dostoevsky, Pyotr Tchaikovsky, Modest Mussorgsky, Mikhail Glinka, Alexander Borodin, Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, the historian Nikolai Karamzin, the fabulist Ivan Krylov and the painters Ivan Shishkin and Arkhip Kuindzhi.
• 18th-Century Necropolis (Lazarevskoe Cemetery, left), the oldest in the city: the scientist Mikhail Lomonosov, the playwright Denis Fonvizin, the statesman Sergei Witte, Pushkin’s widow Natalia, and the architects Quarenghi, Rossi, Voronikhin, Zakharov and Thomas de Thomon — the men who built much of the city you’ve just walked through.
• Annunciation Church: Field Marshal Alexander Suvorov and 18th-century royals. The building was handed to the Church in 2023, so check access on the day.
• Nikolskoe Cemetery, behind the cathedral — free and still in use; the historian Lev Gumilyov lies here.

Is Alexander Nevsky Lavra worth visiting?

Worth it if Russian novels or music mean something to you. Nowhere else can you stand at the graves of Dostoevsky and Tchaikovsky within a few minutes of each other, and the monastery courtyard is one of the quietest corners of central St Petersburg.

Skip it on a one-day visit if those names don’t ring a bell. The Lavra sits 4 km from the Hermitage and Palace Square, and the trip there and back costs close to an hour you could spend at St Isaac’s Cathedral or on the canals.

One hour covers the courtyard, the cathedral and the Tikhvin necropolis. Two hours lets you add the 18th-Century Necropolis and the cemetery behind the cathedral. The necropolises reward a guide — without one you walk past most of the stories.

Holy Trinity Cathedral and the relics of Alexander Nevsky

The cathedral is a neoclassical church by Ivan Starov, with a dome and two bell towers, built in 1776–1790 under Catherine the Great. Entry is free.

Inside lie the relics of St Alexander Nevsky, the 13th-century prince who beat the Swedes on the Neva and became the city’s patron saint. Peter the Great had them brought here in 1724. The Soviets removed them in 1922 and they came back only in 1989. The massive silver shrine made for them stayed in the Hermitage — you can see it there.

Visit between about 11:00 and 16:00, when there’s no service and you can look at the interior without stepping around worshippers. The evening service starts at 17:00.

What to see at the Lavra

• The Gate Church by Ivan Starov — your way in from Alexander Nevsky Square.
• The graves of Dostoevsky and Tchaikovsky in the Necropolis of Masters of Arts.
• Lomonosov’s grave and the 18th-century tombstones of the Lazarevskoe Cemetery.
• The Holy Trinity Cathedral with the relics of St Alexander Nevsky.
• The bridge over the Monastyrka river and the courtyard — the best angle on the cathedral’s façade.
• The Metropolitan’s Garden, a quiet green square inside the walls.

Alexander Nevsky Lavra vs Kazan Cathedral vs Peter and Paul Fortress

Kazan Cathedral is on your way and takes half an hour. Pick the Peter and Paul Fortress for the tsars and the city’s founding, the Lavra for the writers and composers.

St Petersburg’s churches compared

Every church and monastery in St Petersburg rated by YesGo. Tap a column heading to sort.

How to do it right

• In an hour: gate → Necropolis of Masters of Arts (Dostoevsky, Tchaikovsky) → bridge over the Monastyrka → Holy Trinity Cathedral.
• In two hours: add the 18th-Century Necropolis with Lomonosov’s grave and the Nikolskoe Cemetery behind the cathedral.
• On a zero budget, the courtyard, the cathedral, the Nikolskoe Cemetery and the Metropolitan’s Garden are all free — enough for half an hour.
• The Lavra’s own tours run in Russian; for an English guide, book one in advance.
• Afterwards, ride two stops back to Gostiny Dvor for Kazan Cathedral and the Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood.

Questions