Palace Square, St Petersburg

Is Palace Square free, and when is it open?

Yes, it’s free, and it never closes. Palace Square is a public pedestrian square, so there’s no ticket, no gate and no opening time. You only pay for what’s around it — mainly the Hermitage in the Winter Palace and its General Staff wing across the square.

The one exception is big events. The square is fenced off for the 9 May Victory Parade and its night-time rehearsals, for the Scarlet Sails school-leavers’ party in late June (invitation only) and for large open-air concerts. Stages go up a few days ahead, so even before an event part of the square may be behind barriers.

Is Palace Square worth visiting?

Yes — but think of it as a starting point rather than a destination. On its own the square takes half an hour: walk in through the arch, look up at the column, cross to the Winter Palace and out to the river. What makes it essential is location. The Hermitage, Nevsky Prospekt, the Neva and Palace Bridge are all within a few minutes’ walk.

YesGo’s take: put it on day one, ideally early in the morning before the tour groups or late in the evening when the façades are lit. In the middle of the day in summer it is busy, hot and full of people selling boat trips — still impressive, just not at its best.

What to see on Palace Square

• The Alexander Column — stand at the base and you’ll see it’s one solid piece of red granite, not stacked drums.
• The General Staff arch — a double triumphal arch crowned by the Chariot of Glory. Walk through it from Bolshaya Morskaya Street and the square opens up all at once; Rossi designed it that way.
• The Winter Palace — the turquoise-and-white Baroque façade that runs the length of the square; the Hermitage is inside.
• The General Staff Building’s east wing — the Hermitage’s Impressionists and Matisse, entered straight from the arch (separate ticket).
• Guards Corps Headquarters — the plain building on the east side; it’s still military, so no entry.
• The Atlantes of the New Hermitage — ten granite giants holding up a portico at 35 Millionnaya Street, a three-minute walk round the corner.
• Palace Embankment behind the Winter Palace — views of Palace Bridge, the Strelka of Vasilyevsky Island and the Peter and Paul Fortress.

The Alexander Column: why doesn’t it fall?

The column went up in 1832 and was unveiled in 1834 to commemorate Alexander I’s victory over Napoleon. It was designed by Auguste de Montferrand, the architect of St Isaac’s Cathedral, and stands 47.5 m tall with its pedestal and the angel on top.

The shaft is a single granite monolith from a quarry near Vyborg, weighing roughly 600 tonnes. It is not anchored at all — it stays upright purely through its own weight and precise engineering.

That fact gave rise to a well-known story: nervous locals supposedly avoided walking past it in case it toppled, and Montferrand took a daily stroll around the base to prove it was safe. Treat it as legend rather than record — but it’s a good one to tell while you’re standing underneath.

A short history of Palace Square

In the early 1700s this was an open meadow beside the Admiralty fortress. Rastrelli’s Winter Palace (1754–1762) gave it a northern edge, and between 1819 and 1829 Carlo Rossi rebuilt the south side as one long, curved General Staff Building, with the arch as a monument to the war of 1812.

On Bloody Sunday in January 1905, troops opened fire on a peaceful workers’ march here. In October 1917 Bolshevik forces crossed the square to take the Winter Palace, seat of the Provisional Government.

After the revolution it was renamed Uritsky Square, after the head of the city’s secret police, assassinated in 1918. The historic name came back in January 1944, and since 1990 the square has been part of the UNESCO-listed historic centre of St Petersburg.

Palace Square at night and in the white nights

At night the square is at its most beautiful. The Winter Palace and the General Staff Building are floodlit, the crowds thin out and you can photograph the column with almost nobody in shot. During the white nights, roughly late May to mid-July, the sky never gets properly dark and the square stays lively until two or three in the morning.

From here it’s a three-minute walk to the Neva to watch Palace Bridge open for river traffic. Plan your way back first: the metro closes at night, and once the bridges are up you can’t cross to Vasilyevsky Island or the Petrograd Side until they come down again.

Palace Square vs Senate Square vs Red Square

Palace Square and Senate Square with the Bronze Horseman make an easy hour’s walk past the Admiralty. Red Square is about half the size of Palace Square but has more to go inside.

St Petersburg’s historic sights compared

Every historic place in St Petersburg rated by YesGo. Tap a column heading to sort.

Nearby — add to your day

76

State Hermitage Museum

St Petersburg, Russia

3 h · 500–1,200 ₽ · 4 min walk

Yes — add to my route: State Hermitage Museum

65

Nevsky Prospekt

St Petersburg, Russia

1 h 30 min · Free · 5 min walk

Yes — add to my route: Nevsky Prospekt

53

Palace Bridge and the bridge openings

St Petersburg, Russia

45 min · Free from the embankment · 8 min walk

Yes — add to my route: Palace Bridge and the bridge openings

36

Zoological Museum

St Petersburg, Russia

1 h 30 min · 700 ₽ · 12 min walk

Yes — add to my route: Zoological Museum

How to do it right

• Get your first photo from inside the General Staff arch — column and palace in one shot.
• Before 10:00 there are hardly any tour groups.
• The Hermitage Impressionists are in the General Staff Building, entered from the arch — separate ticket.
• It’s 10 minutes on foot to the Bronze Horseman and 15 to the Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood.
• Late at night, walk out to Palace Bridge — but be back on your side of the river before it opens.
• The Alexander Garden by the Admiralty has benches for a break before the Hermitage.

Questions