# Zoological Museum, St Petersburg

> One of the world’s great natural history collections, on the tip of Vasilyevsky Island next to the Kunstkamera — home to a 27-metre blue whale skeleton and real Ice Age baby mammoths. Adult tickets are 700 ₽. It’s open 11:00–19:00 with last entry at 18:00, closed on Tuesdays. Plan on 1.5–2 hours.

Web page: https://yesgo.io/russia/saint-petersburg/zoological-museum

- City: [St Petersburg](https://yesgo.io/russia/saint-petersburg), Russia
- YesGo score: 36/100 (Yes, if nearby)
- Time on site: 1 h 30 min
- With kids: Fine with kids
- Address: Universitetskaya Embankment 1, Vasilyevsky Island
- Adults: 700 ₽
- Students, schoolchildren, pensioners: 400 ₽ (bring ID)
- Children 3–6: 200 ₽
- Under 3: Free
- Opening hours: 11:00–19:00, last entry 18:00
- Closed: Tuesdays; second Wednesday of the month, 1 Sep–1 May
- Ticket office: 11:00–18:00, short break 14:00–14:15
- Entry: Timed sessions
- Photos: Phone and camera photos allowed with a regular ticket
- Metro: Admiralteyskaya, 15–20 min walk; Vasileostrovskaya, 20–25 min
- Coordinates: 59.94260, 30.30560
- Facts checked: 29.10.2026

## Key facts

- **27 m** — the blue whale skeleton that fills the first hall (source: English and Russian Wikipedia, Zoological Museum (Saint Petersburg))
- **1832** — the museum was founded from the Kunstkamera’s natural history collections (source: English and Russian Wikipedia; Tonkosti Turizma guide)
- **≈ 30,000** — specimens on display (source: Russian Wikipedia; Tonkosti Turizma guide)
- **1977** — baby mammoth Dima was found in the Magadan region, in Russia’s Far East (source: Scientific Russia; Russian Wikipedia)
- **1900** — the Berezovka mammoth was found by the Berezovka river, a tributary of the Kolyma (source: Atlas Obscura, Berezovsky Mammoth; Russian Wikipedia)
- **1901** — the displays opened in today’s building, the former southern warehouse of the Stock Exchange (source: Russian Wikipedia; English Wikipedia (move to the former Bourse warehouse))
- **1714** — Peter the Great founded the Kunstkamera, where the collection began (source: English and Russian Wikipedia)
- **3 halls** — marine mammals; invertebrates, fish, birds and reptiles; land mammals (source: English and Russian Wikipedia)
- **A horse and two dogs** — that belonged to Peter the Great, among the oldest mounts in the museum (source: St Petersburg Scientific Centre RAS news on the restoration; Sputnik8 guide)

## Zoological Museum tickets and prices

**An adult ticket is 700 ₽.** Students, schoolchildren and pensioners pay 400 ₽, children aged 3–6 pay 200 ₽, and under-3s go free. The museum’s official price list has no separate rate for foreigners, which is unusual for St Petersburg, so this is one of the cheapest big museums in town.

Entry works on **timed sessions**. You can buy at the ticket desk or online on the Zoological Institute’s official website — handy on weekends and school holidays, when sessions fill up. Online sales need a Russian bank card: Visa and Mastercard cards issued abroad have not worked in Russia since March 2022, so bring roubles in cash for the desk.

Discounts need proof — staff check documents at the desk and again at the door. The free third Thursday of the month is for children under 18, students of Russian colleges and members of large families, with documents, so most foreign adults pay the normal fare that day too.

> **Closed on Tuesdays — and some Wednesdays** The museum shuts every Tuesday. From 1 September to 1 May it also closes on the second Wednesday of each month for cleaning. Last entry is at 18:00, and the halls start closing 15 minutes before 19:00, so don’t turn up after five expecting a full visit.

## Is the Zoological Museum worth visiting?

**Yes, if you travel with kids or like natural history — it’s one of the best-value museums in the city.** The blue whale skeleton overhead and the frozen baby mammoths are genuinely world-class, and you can see everything in under two hours.

It’s an old-school museum: tall glass cases, mounted animals, early-20th-century dioramas and labels mostly in Russian and Latin. There are almost no screens or hands-on displays. If you have only one or two days in St Petersburg and no particular interest in animals, put the [Hermitage](https://yesgo.io/russia/saint-petersburg/hermitage) and [St Isaac’s Cathedral](https://yesgo.io/russia/saint-petersburg/st-isaacs-cathedral) first and come here only if you’re already at the Spit.

## What to see inside

- **The 27-metre blue whale skeleton** — the centrepiece of Hall 1, hung with skeletons of other whales and dolphins; seals and walruses sit below.
- **Baby mammoth Dima** — a mummified calf found in 1977 in the Kolyma region and estimated to be around 40,000 years old.
- **The Berezovka mammoth** — found in Yakutia in 1900. Hall 3 shows its mounted body in the pose it was found in, next to its skeleton.
- **Baby mammoth Masha** from the Yamal peninsula, part of the Ice Age display.
- **Peter the Great’s horse and dogs** — some of the oldest mounted animals in the collection, recently restored.
- **The dioramas** in Halls 2 and 3 — seabird cliffs, African savannah, tigers and bears.
- **The insect gallery** above Hall 1 — butterflies and beetles from around the world, and the best view of the whale. Many visitors miss the stairs.

## How to get to the Zoological Museum

1. From [Palace Square](https://yesgo.io/russia/saint-petersburg/palace-square), walk across the [Palace Bridge](https://yesgo.io/russia/saint-petersburg/palace-bridge) to Vasilyevsky Island — about 1 km, 12–15 minutes. The museum stands right at the far end of the bridge, on the corner of Universitetskaya Embankment, next to the Kunstkamera.
2. Metro **Admiralteyskaya** (Line 5, purple): head out to Palace Square and over the bridge — 15–20 minutes on foot.
3. Metro **Nevsky Prospekt** (Line 2, blue) or **Gostiny Dvor** (Line 3, green): walk up [Nevsky Prospect](https://yesgo.io/russia/saint-petersburg/nevsky-prospect) to Palace Square and cross the bridge — about 25 minutes.
4. Metro **Vasileostrovskaya** (Line 3, green): walk down 6th–7th Line to the river, then right along Universitetskaya Embankment — 20–25 minutes.
5. Metro **Sportivnaya** (Line 5): cross the Birzhevoy Bridge to the Spit — around 20 minutes.
6. The official address is Universitetskaya Embankment 1; some maps list the same building as Birzhevaya Square 2.

## Opening hours and the best time to go

The museum is open **11:00–19:00 every day except Tuesday**, with last entry at 18:00. From September to May it also closes on the second Wednesday of the month. The ticket desk takes a 15-minute break at 14:00.

Come at opening on a weekday: at 11:00 the whale hall is quiet and you get the mammoths to yourself. Weekend afternoons and Russian school holidays bring families and school groups, and the busiest day of all is the free third Thursday.

## Is it good for kids?

Very. Children from about four upwards love the whale and the mammoths, the halls are spacious and the visit fits a young attention span. The museum runs interactive tours for kids from age four, though in Russian. With small children, start upstairs at the insect gallery, then go down to Hall 3 for the mammoths before energy runs out.

Photos are allowed with an ordinary ticket — phones and cameras both. Skip the flash on the mammoth cases; the glass reflects it.

## Before you go: checklist

- [ ] It isn’t Tuesday (or the second Wednesday, Sep–May)
- [ ] I’ll be inside by 18:00
- [ ] Roubles in cash for the desk — or a timed ticket bought online in advance
- [ ] Student card or ID for the concession price
- [ ] Kids promised the whale and baby mammoth Dima first

## Zoological Museum vs Kunstkamera vs Cruiser Aurora

|  | Zoological Museum | Kunstkamera | Cruiser Aurora |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| What it is | Animals of the world: whale, mammoths, dioramas | World cultures and Peter the Great’s anatomy collection | Historic warship turned museum |
| Where | Spit of Vasilyevsky Island | Next door on the embankment | Petrogradskaya Embankment |
| Best for | Kids from 4, nature lovers | Older kids and adults; anatomy hall isn’t for little ones | School-age kids who like ships |
| Time needed | 1.5–2 h | 1.5–2 h | 1–1.5 h |

With young children, YesGo picks the Zoological Museum: the whale and the mammoths need no explanation. Save the Kunstkamera for older kids, and add the [Cruiser Aurora](https://yesgo.io/russia/saint-petersburg/cruiser-aurora) if they’re more into machines than animals.

## St Petersburg’s museums and historic sights compared

Every historic place in St Petersburg rated by YesGo.

- [State Hermitage Museum](https://yesgo.io/russia/saint-petersburg/hermitage) — YesGo score 76/100 (Yes, go) · 3 h · 500–1,200 ₽
- [Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood](https://yesgo.io/russia/saint-petersburg/church-of-the-savior-on-spilled-blood) — YesGo score 75/100 (Yes, go) · 45 min · 700 ₽, under 7 free
- [Peter and Paul Fortress](https://yesgo.io/russia/saint-petersburg/peter-and-paul-fortress) — YesGo score 74/100 (Yes, go) · 2 h · Grounds free, cathedral 1,000 ₽
- [Kazan Cathedral](https://yesgo.io/russia/saint-petersburg/kazan-cathedral) — YesGo score 72/100 (Yes, go) · 30 min · Free
- [Bronze Horseman](https://yesgo.io/russia/saint-petersburg/bronze-horseman) — YesGo score 72/100 (Yes, go) · 20 min · Free
- [Palace Square](https://yesgo.io/russia/saint-petersburg/palace-square) — YesGo score 71/100 (Yes, go) · 30 min · Free
- [St Isaac's Cathedral](https://yesgo.io/russia/saint-petersburg/st-isaacs-cathedral) — YesGo score 69/100 (Yes, go) · 1 h · 700 ₽, colonnade 700 ₽
- [Cruiser Aurora](https://yesgo.io/russia/saint-petersburg/cruiser-aurora) — YesGo score 67/100 (Yes, go) · 1 h · 1,000 ₽ for foreign visitors
- [Nevsky Prospekt](https://yesgo.io/russia/saint-petersburg/nevsky-prospect) — YesGo score 65/100 (Yes, go) · 1 h 30 min · Free
- [Mikhailovsky Castle](https://yesgo.io/russia/saint-petersburg/mikhailovsky-castle) — YesGo score 54/100 (Yes, go) · 1 h 30 min · ≈ 700 ₽
- [Kunstkamera](https://yesgo.io/russia/saint-petersburg/kunstkamera) — YesGo score 50/100 (Yes, go) · 1 h 30 min · 500 ₽
- [Peterhof](https://yesgo.io/russia/saint-petersburg/peterhof) — YesGo score 50/100 (Yes, go) · 4 h · Lower Park from 2,000 ₽ for foreign visitors
- [Kronstadt](https://yesgo.io/russia/saint-petersburg/kronstadt) — YesGo score 49/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 4 h · Free, museums extra
- [New Holland Island](https://yesgo.io/russia/saint-petersburg/new-holland) — YesGo score 48/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 1 h · Free
- [Alexander Nevsky Lavra](https://yesgo.io/russia/saint-petersburg/alexander-nevsky-lavra) — YesGo score 48/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 1 h · Free, necropolises 200–400 ₽
- [Griboyedov Canal](https://yesgo.io/russia/saint-petersburg/griboyedov-canal) — YesGo score 48/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 30 min · Free
- [Yusupov Palace on the Moika](https://yesgo.io/russia/saint-petersburg/yusupov-palace) — YesGo score 47/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 1 h 30 min · from 950 ₽
- [Mariinsky Theatre](https://yesgo.io/russia/saint-petersburg/mariinsky-theatre) — YesGo score 46/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 3 h · Price depends on the show
- [Summer Garden](https://yesgo.io/russia/saint-petersburg/summer-garden) — YesGo score 46/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 1 h · Free
- [State Russian Museum](https://yesgo.io/russia/saint-petersburg/russian-museum) — YesGo score 44/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 2 h 30 min · from 700 ₽
- [Catherine Palace](https://yesgo.io/russia/saint-petersburg/catherine-palace) — YesGo score 37/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 3 h · 2,200 ₽ for foreign visitors
- [Zoological Museum](https://yesgo.io/russia/saint-petersburg/zoological-museum) — YesGo score 36/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 1 h 30 min · 700 ₽
- [Fabergé Museum](https://yesgo.io/russia/saint-petersburg/faberge-museum) — YesGo score 36/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 1 h 30 min · 700 ₽
- [Oranienbaum](https://yesgo.io/russia/saint-petersburg/oranienbaum) — YesGo score 28/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 3 h · Park 1,100 ₽, palace 1,800 ₽
- [Pavlovsk Palace and Park](https://yesgo.io/russia/saint-petersburg/pavlovsk-palace) — YesGo score 20/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 3 h · Palace 800 ₽, park 300 ₽

## The Spit of Vasilyevsky Island in half a day

Cross the Palace Bridge from Palace Square, be at the Zoological Museum for opening, pop into the Kunstkamera next door, then cross the Birzhevoy Bridge to the Peter and Paul Fortress. Add them to your route — YesGo works out the timing and walks.

1. [Palace Square](https://yesgo.io/russia/saint-petersburg/palace-square) — YesGo score 71/100 (Yes, go) · 30 min · Free
2. [Palace Bridge and the bridge openings](https://yesgo.io/russia/saint-petersburg/palace-bridge) — YesGo score 53/100 (Yes, go) · 45 min · Free from the embankment
3. [Zoological Museum](https://yesgo.io/russia/saint-petersburg/zoological-museum) — YesGo score 36/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 1 h 30 min · 700 ₽
4. [Kunstkamera](https://yesgo.io/russia/saint-petersburg/kunstkamera) — YesGo score 50/100 (Yes, go) · 1 h 30 min · 500 ₽
5. [Peter and Paul Fortress](https://yesgo.io/russia/saint-petersburg/peter-and-paul-fortress) — YesGo score 74/100 (Yes, go) · 2 h · Grounds free, cathedral 1,000 ₽

> **See the whale from above** Go straight up to the gallery over Hall 1. From there the whole blue whale skeleton fits in one view — and one photo — before you head down to the mammoths.

## Good to know

This is the Zoological Museum of the Russian Academy of Sciences in St Petersburg. Moscow has a separate Zoological Museum of Moscow State University, and the city zoo with live animals is elsewhere, on the Petrograd Side — there are no live animals here.

## Tips

- Arrive at 11:00 on a weekday — the first session is the quietest.
- Bring roubles in cash: tickets are cheap, and foreign cards won’t work at the desk.
- The [Kunstkamera](https://yesgo.io/russia/saint-petersburg/kunstkamera) is two minutes away; doing both takes 3–4 hours.
- Afterwards, walk out to the Rostral Columns on the Spit for the classic view of the Neva, the Winter Palace and the [Peter and Paul Fortress](https://yesgo.io/russia/saint-petersburg/peter-and-paul-fortress).
- From spring to autumn the Palace Bridge opens at night for ships — it’s five minutes from the museum if you want to come back and watch.

## Questions

### How much is a ticket to the Zoological Museum in St Petersburg?

700 ₽ for adults, 400 ₽ for students, schoolchildren and pensioners, 200 ₽ for children aged 3–6, and free for under-3s. There is no separate foreigner rate.

### What are the Zoological Museum’s opening hours?

11:00–19:00, last entry at 18:00. It’s closed on Tuesdays and, from September to May, on the second Wednesday of the month.

### Is the Zoological Museum open on Monday?

Yes. The weekly closing day is Tuesday, not Monday — unlike many St Petersburg museums.

### Where is the Zoological Museum?

At Universitetskaya Embankment 1 on the Spit of Vasilyevsky Island, next door to the Kunstkamera and a short walk over the Palace Bridge from Palace Square.

### Which metro station is closest?

Admiralteyskaya (Line 5), 15–20 minutes on foot, or Vasileostrovskaya (Line 3), 20–25 minutes. From Admiralteyskaya the walk goes past Palace Square and over the Palace Bridge.

### Is the Zoological Museum worth visiting?

Yes for families and anyone into natural history: the 27 m blue whale and the frozen baby mammoths are world-class and the ticket is cheap. With only a day or two in town and no interest in animals, prioritise the Hermitage.

### How long do you need at the Zoological Museum?

About 1.5–2 hours for all three halls.

### Can I buy Zoological Museum tickets online?

Yes, on the Zoological Institute’s official website, for timed sessions — but online payment needs a Russian bank card. Otherwise, pay in cash at the desk.

### Can you take photos inside?

Yes, phone and camera photos are allowed with a regular ticket at no extra charge. Professional shoots need the museum’s approval.

## How we checked

Prices, hours, the Tuesday closure, the sanitary day, the ticket-desk break, concessions, the free third Thursday, photo rules and metro stations come from the Zoological Institute’s official website, checked on 29.10.2026. Map listings show other prices (1,000 ₽, or 300–600 ₽) and some guides give an 18:00 closing time; we follow the official site, where 18:00 is the last entry and closing is 19:00. Sources give 25,000 or 30,000 specimens on display; we use 30,000 from Wikipedia. Dates for the transfer of the building differ (1890, 1893, 1896), so we give 1901, when the displays opened there. We found no independent confirmation of where the blue whale came from, so we don’t say. Walking times from the metro are our estimate from the map.

## Sources

- Official website of the Zoological Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Museum section: visitor information, tickets, opening hours, 29.10.2026
- English Wikipedia: Zoological Museum (Saint Petersburg); Russian Wikipedia: Zoological Museum of the Zoological Institute RAS; Wikidata Q2025062
- Scientific Russia: the discovery of baby mammoth Dima, 23 June 1977
- Atlas Obscura: Berezovsky Mammoth
- St Petersburg Scientific Centre of the Russian Academy of Sciences: news on restoring Peter the Great’s animals
- Visa and Mastercard statements on suspending operations in Russia, March 2022

---

This is the Markdown version of a YesGo page for AI assistants. Quote the web page link above, not this file.