# Governor's House, Yaroslavl

> The Governor's House is the main building of the Yaroslavl Art Museum: an 1820s neoclassical palace at 23 Volzhskaya naberezhnaya, with Russian paintings of the 18th–20th centuries. The main collection costs 300 ₽, a ticket to everything in the house 750 ₽. Open Tuesday to Sunday, closed Mondays. Allow an hour, 90 minutes with the summer garden.

Web page: https://yesgo.io/russia/yaroslavl/yaroslavl-governors-house

- City: [Yaroslavl](https://yesgo.io/russia/yaroslavl), Russia
- YesGo score: 48/100 (Yes, if nearby)
- Time on site: 1 h
- Entry: 300 ₽, everything 750 ₽
- With kids: Fine with kids
- Address: Volzhskaya naberezhnaya 23 (Волжская набережная, 23)
- Opening hours: Tue, Wed, Thu, Sun 10:00–20:00; Fri and Sat 11:00–21:00
- Closed: Mondays and 1 January
- Russian Art, 18th–20th c.: 300 ₽ (concession 250 ₽)
- Combined ticket: 750 ₽ for every display and exhibition in the house
- Garden (Sculpture en plein air): 150 ₽, May to October
- Garden hours: Not published separately — daytime on museum days
- Children: Under 7 free; ages 7–15 pay a reduced fare
- Audio guide: 100 ₽
- Guided tour in a foreign language: 2,000 ₽ per group
- On foot: ≈ 3 min from Sovetskaya Square
- Phone (tours and info): +7 4852 30-35-04
- Coordinates: 57.62792, 39.89630
- Facts checked: 30.10.2026

## Key facts

- **1821–1823** — built on Alexander I's orders as an imperial travel palace and the governors' residence (source: Official website of the Yaroslavl Art Museum; Putevka.com guide; T—Zh magazine)
- **Since 1970** — the main building of the Yaroslavl Art Museum (handed over in 1969) (source: Official website of the Yaroslavl Art Museum; Russian Wikipedia; Visit Yaroslavia)
- **17 governors** — lived and worked here before 1917 (source: Russian Wikipedia, “Governor's House (Yaroslavl)”; Visit Yaroslavia)
- **Pyotr Pankov** — the provincial architect who designed it (source: Official website of the Yaroslavl Art Museum; Russian Wikipedia; Putevka.com guide)
- **1919** — the museum was founded, first as the Yaroslavl Art Gallery (source: Official website of the Yaroslavl Art Museum; Visit Yaroslavia)
- **75,000+** — works in the museum's collection (the museum itself says over 80,000) (source: Visit Yaroslavia; official website of the Yaroslavl Art Museum)
- **1820s** — the Governor's Garden was laid out together with the house (source: Russian Wikipedia; Tonkosti Turizma guide (1821–1825))
- **1989** — the garden passed to the museum and was restored to its historic look (source: Official website of the Yaroslavl Art Museum; Tonkosti Turizma guide)
- **No. 1170** — the house stands in Yaroslavl's historic centre, a UNESCO site since 2005 (source: UNESCO World Heritage List; Russian Wikipedia, “Historic Centre of Yaroslavl”)
- **Federal** — protected cultural heritage site (source: Russian Unified State Register of Cultural Heritage; Russian Wikipedia)

## Governor's House tickets and opening hours

The main display, **Russian Art of the 18th–20th Centuries, costs 300 ₽**. The **combined ticket, 750 ₽**, covers every display and exhibition in the house. Children under 7 go free. Reduced fares for students and pensioners need a Russian document, so most foreign visitors pay the full price.

Hours: **Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday 10:00–20:00; Friday and Saturday 11:00–21:00**. The house is closed on Mondays and on 1 January.

Buy at the desk inside. The museum also sells tickets online, but **Visa and Mastercard cards issued abroad don't work in Russia** (since March 2022), so bring roubles in cash or a Russian card.

An audio guide is 100 ₽. If you want a person to walk you through the rooms, the museum runs tours in a foreign language for 2,000 ₽ per group — book by phone ahead of time.

> **Closed on Mondays — and the garden only opens May to October** The house is shut every Monday and on 1 January. The garden behind it is seasonal: from November to April you can only look at it through the railings. If the fountain and the outdoor sculpture are part of the plan, come in the warm months.

## What to see inside

- **The state hall** — the grandest room in the house, with Aivazovsky seascapes and Bryullov.
- **Konstantin Korovin** — 11 late paintings; the museum says no other Russian collection has a group like it.
- **The Wanderers (Peredvizhniki)** — Kramskoi, Perov, Repin, the Makovsky brothers, the Vereshchagins, Serov.
- **Landscapes** — Shishkin, Savrasov, Polenov and Levitan, the painters of the Russian countryside.
- **The Silver Age** — Kustodiev, Malyavin, Apollinary Vasnetsov, Roerich, Golovin, Grabar.
- **The governor's study and library**, furnished with late 19th-century pieces from a Yaroslavl merchant mansion.
- **Yaroslavl portraits** by local painters of around 1800 — provincial faces you won't see in Moscow.
- A model of Opekushin's Pushkin monument — the one that stands in central Moscow.

## Is the Governor's House worth visiting?

Yes, if you like painting. In an hour you see Korovin, Levitan, Repin and Kustodiev in the rooms of a real governor's palace, with none of the crowds of Moscow's Tretyakov Gallery. It is also the best thing to do in Yaroslavl on a rainy afternoon.

If art galleries aren't your thing, the façade from the embankment is enough, plus the garden in summer. On a single day in town, YesGo puts the [Yaroslavl Kremlin](https://yesgo.io/russia/yaroslavl/yaroslavl-kremlin) and the [Church of Elijah the Prophet](https://yesgo.io/russia/yaroslavl/church-of-elijah-the-prophet) first, and the Governor's House third — it sits right between the church and the river.

Without Russian, the big names carry the visit on their own; for the stories behind the paintings, take the audio guide or book a tour.

## How to get to the Governor's House

1. From **Sovetskaya Square**, walk past the Church of Elijah the Prophet and follow the yellow stone wall of the Governor's Garden down to the Volga — about 3 minutes. The entrance faces the embankment.
2. By trolleybus or bus, get off at **Krasnaya Ploshchad** (Красная площадь) or **Ploshchad Volkova** (Площадь Волкова), then walk 5–10 minutes through the centre to Sovetskaya Square and the river. Check route numbers in Yandex Maps.
3. If you're already walking the [Volga Embankment](https://yesgo.io/russia/yaroslavl/yaroslavl-volga-embankment), it is No. 23, between the river station and the white rotunda.
4. From **Yaroslavl-Glavny** railway station, take a trolleybus or a taxi to the centre (15–20 minutes); on foot it's nearly an hour. Yandex Go works, but foreign cards don't — pay the driver in cash.

## The Governor's Garden

The garden behind the house opens **from May to October**; entry is a 150 ₽ ticket to the outdoor sculpture display. It is small and carefully kept: a formal part with straight paths and a landscape part with winding ones, in the English manner.

A fountain ringed by flower beds sits in the middle. Granite, marble, bronze and ceramic sculptures line the paths, and the green domes of the Church of Elijah the Prophet show through the trees. In summer the museum holds concerts here.

The museum doesn't publish separate garden hours — go in daytime on a day the house is open.

## A short history

Alexander I ordered the house built, and provincial architect **Pyotr Pankov** designed it. It went up in 1821–1823, paid for by the treasury, as a travel palace where emperors could stay on their way through Yaroslavl — and as the governor's home. Seventeen governors lived here.

After 1917 the house changed hands and the garden became a children's park. The art museum, founded in 1919, moved in at the end of the 1960s and opened its displays by 1970. It took over the garden in 1989 and has shown sculpture there each summer since 1994.

Today the house is a federally protected monument within Yaroslavl's historic centre, which UNESCO listed in 2005.

## Before you go: checklist

- [ ] It isn't Monday or 1 January
- [ ] Friday or Saturday: opens at 11:00, stays open until 21:00
- [ ] Garden plans only between May and October
- [ ] Roubles in cash or a Russian card — foreign Visa and Mastercard don't work
- [ ] Main display (300 ₽) or everything (750 ₽) — decide at the desk

## Governor's House vs Metropolitan's Chambers vs Yaroslavl Kremlin

|  | Governor's House | Metropolitan's Chambers | Yaroslavl Kremlin |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| What's inside | Russian paintings, 18th–20th c., garden | Old Russian icons | Monastery, exhibitions, bell tower |
| Run by | Yaroslavl Art Museum | Yaroslavl Art Museum | Yaroslavl Museum-Reserve |
| Entry | 300 ₽, all of it 750 ₽ | Combined ticket 300 ₽ | Own tickets |
| Time needed | 1–1.5 h | ≈ 1 h | 1.5–2 h |
| Best for | Painting lovers | Icon lovers | Everyone — the town's top sight |

Do the Kremlin first. Then pick one of the art museum's two buildings by taste: paintings at the Governor's House, icons at the Metropolitan's Chambers — they're 10–15 minutes apart along the embankment.

## Yaroslavl's historic sights compared

Every historic place in Yaroslavl rated by YesGo.

- [Volga Embankment](https://yesgo.io/russia/yaroslavl/yaroslavl-volga-embankment) — YesGo score 51/100 (Yes, go) · 1 h · Free, open 24/7
- [Assumption Cathedral](https://yesgo.io/russia/yaroslavl/yaroslavl-assumption-cathedral) — YesGo score 51/100 (Yes, go) · 30 min · Free
- [Governor's House](https://yesgo.io/russia/yaroslavl/yaroslavl-governors-house) — YesGo score 48/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 1 h · 300 ₽, everything 750 ₽
- [Church of Elijah the Prophet](https://yesgo.io/russia/yaroslavl/church-of-elijah-the-prophet) — YesGo score 47/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 45 min · ≈ 200–250 ₽, May to October
- [Strelka Park](https://yesgo.io/russia/yaroslavl/yaroslavl-strelka) — YesGo score 47/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 40 min · Free
- [Metropolitan's Chambers](https://yesgo.io/russia/yaroslavl/metropolitans-chambers) — YesGo score 45/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 1 h · 200 ₽, concessions 100 ₽
- [Church of St John the Baptist at Tolchkovo](https://yesgo.io/russia/yaroslavl/st-john-the-baptist-tolchkovo) — YesGo score 41/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 40 min · Outside free, interior closed
- [Tolga Convent](https://yesgo.io/russia/yaroslavl/tolga-convent) — YesGo score 40/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 1 h · Free entry
- [Yaroslavl Kremlin (Transfiguration Monastery)](https://yesgo.io/russia/yaroslavl/yaroslavl-kremlin) — YesGo score 35/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 2 h · Grounds 100 ₽, combined ticket 800 ₽

## From Elijah the Prophet to the Strelka in half a day

Start with the frescoes of the Church of Elijah the Prophet, cut through to the Governor's House, then follow the embankment to the Metropolitan's Chambers and the Strelka. YesGo fits in the timing and the walks.

1. [Church of Elijah the Prophet](https://yesgo.io/russia/yaroslavl/church-of-elijah-the-prophet) — YesGo score 47/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 45 min · ≈ 200–250 ₽, May to October
2. [Governor's House](https://yesgo.io/russia/yaroslavl/yaroslavl-governors-house) — YesGo score 48/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 1 h · 300 ₽, everything 750 ₽
3. [Volga Embankment](https://yesgo.io/russia/yaroslavl/yaroslavl-volga-embankment) — YesGo score 51/100 (Yes, go) · 1 h · Free, open 24/7
4. [Metropolitan's Chambers](https://yesgo.io/russia/yaroslavl/metropolitans-chambers) — YesGo score 45/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 1 h · 200 ₽, concessions 100 ₽
5. [Strelka Park](https://yesgo.io/russia/yaroslavl/yaroslavl-strelka) — YesGo score 47/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 40 min · Free

> **Save it for a Friday or Saturday evening** On Fridays and Saturdays the house stays open until 21:00. Spend the day on the Kremlin and the embankment, come to the paintings in the evening when the rooms are quiet, then step outside for sunset over the Volga.

## Good to know

The museum's own name for the building is Губернаторский дом (Gubernatorsky dom); some English sources call it the Governor's Palace. The regional government sits in a different building on Sovetskaya Square, and the 18th-century Vice-Governor's House on Andropova Street is not a museum.

## Tips

- In an hour: state hall → the Wanderers → landscapes → the Korovin room → the governor's study.
- In summer, add 20–30 minutes in the garden by the fountain.
- Pair it with the Church of Elijah the Prophet, three minutes away.
- For icons from the same museum, walk 10–15 minutes along the river to the [Metropolitan's Chambers](https://yesgo.io/russia/yaroslavl/metropolitans-chambers).
- Finish at the [Strelka](https://yesgo.io/russia/yaroslavl/yaroslavl-strelka), where the Kotorosl meets the Volga.

## Questions

### How much is a ticket to the Governor's House?

300 ₽ for the main display of Russian art, 750 ₽ for everything in the house, 150 ₽ for the garden in season. Children under 7 go free.

### What are the opening hours?

Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday 10:00–20:00; Friday and Saturday 11:00–21:00. Closed on Mondays and 1 January.

### Is the Governor's House open on Monday?

No — Monday is its weekly day off. Go to the Church of Elijah the Prophet or the Volga Embankment instead and come back another day.

### What is inside the Governor's House?

The Yaroslavl Art Museum's collection of Russian painting from the 18th to the 20th century — Aivazovsky, Repin, Levitan, Kustodiev and 11 late works by Korovin — plus changing exhibitions and the governor's study.

### Is the Yaroslavl Art Museum worth it?

Yes for anyone who likes painting: an hour gets you major Russian artists in a real 1820s palace without crowds. If you have only a few hours in Yaroslavl, see the Kremlin and the Church of Elijah the Prophet first.

### Where is the Governor's House?

At 23 Volzhskaya naberezhnaya, on the upper Volga Embankment, about 3 minutes' walk from Sovetskaya Square.

### Is the Governor's Garden free?

No — it opens May to October with a 150 ₽ ticket for the outdoor sculpture display.

### Can I pay by card?

Only with a Russian card. Visa and Mastercard cards issued abroad don't work in Russia, so bring roubles in cash.

### Are there English tours?

The museum offers tours in a foreign language for 2,000 ₽ per group. Book by phone in advance.

## How we checked

Prices, hours, the weekly closure, concessions and the garden season come from the official Yaroslavl Art Museum website on 30.10.2026. The Visit Yaroslavia portal lists different hours (10:00–21:00 and 10:00–22:00); we show the museum's own. The museum publishes no separate garden hours and guides disagree, so that row is marked “verifying”. Older guides call the garden free or 80 ₽; the museum's price list sells it as the outdoor sculpture display for 150 ₽, matching T—Zh, so we show that. A visiting exhibition advertised on the museum's home page has its own price, and the price list doesn't say whether the combined ticket includes it. Construction dates: the museum and most guides give 1821–1823, one guide 1821–1826. The house passed to the museum in 1969 and displays opened in 1969–1970; Wikipedia and Visit Yaroslavia say 1970. Collection size: the museum says over 80,000, Visit Yaroslavia over 75,000 — the fact shows the lower figure. Walking times are our estimate from the map. There is no English Wikipedia article on the house.

## Sources

- Official website of the Yaroslavl Art Museum: prices; contacts — Governor's House; about the museum; Russian Art of the 18th–20th Centuries display — 30.10.2026
- Russian Wikipedia: Governor's House (Yaroslavl); Historic Centre of Yaroslavl; Wikidata Q4151348
- UNESCO World Heritage List: Historical Centre of the City of Yaroslavl, No. 1170, 2005
- Russian Unified State Register of Cultural Heritage
- Visit Yaroslavia, official tourism portal of the Yaroslavl region: Yaroslavl Art Museum
- Putevka.com and Tonkosti Turizma guides; T—Zh magazine, “Yaroslavl in one day”
- Visa and Mastercard statements on suspending operations in Russia, March 2022

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