Laid out from 1872 to 1874, these pleasant gardens, named after Alexander II, wrap around the Admiralty and are mentioned in Pushkin's famous verse novel Eugene Onegin as a fashionable place for a stroll. They remain so, dotted with statues of Glinka, Lermontov, Gogol and other cultural figures, as well as a fountain that dates to 1879. Opposite St Isaac's there's a very good children's playground within the garden.
Alexander Garden
St Petersburg
Lonely Planet's must-see attractions
0.51 MILES
The Hermitage fully lives up to its sterling reputation. You can be absorbed by its treasures for days and still come out wanting more. The enormous…
14.31 MILES
The Grand Palace is an imposing building, although with just 30-something rooms, it is not nearly as large as your typical tsarist palace. From the start…
0.46 MILES
The east wing of this magnificent building, wrapping around the south of Dvortsovaya pl and designed by Carlo Rossi in the 1820s, marries restored…
14.5 MILES
One of the greatest attractions outside of St Petersburg is the jaw-dropping collection of gilded fountains, statue-lined lanes and picturesque canals…
0.58 MILES
This spectacular palace on the Moyka River has some of the best 19th-century interiors in the city, in addition to a fascinating and gruesome history. The…
15.5 MILES
The centrepiece of Tsarskoe Selo, created under Empresses Elizabeth and Catherine the Great between 1744 and 1796, is the vast baroque Catherine Palace,…
0.81 MILES
The Mariinsky Theatre has played a pivotal role in Russian ballet ever since it was built in 1859 and remains one of Russia's most loved and respected…
15.62 MILES
Around the Catherine Palace extends the lovely Catherine Park. The main entrance is on Sadovaya ul, next to the Palace Chapel. The park extends around the…
Nearby St Petersburg attractions
0.13 MILES
The gilded spire of the Admiralty is a prime St Petersburg landmark, visible from Gorokhovaya ul, Voznesensky pr and Nevsky pr, as all of these roads…
0.13 MILES
The golden dome of St Isaac’s Cathedral dominates the St Petersburg skyline. Its obscenely lavish interior is open as a museum, although services are held…
0.13 MILES
Centred on the famed statue of the Bronze Horseman, this square is listed on city maps as Senatskaya ploshchad (Senate Sq). Its dominant feature is the…
4. Manege Central Exhibition Hall
0.15 MILES
Formerly the Horse Guards’ Riding School, this large white neoclassical building was constructed between 1804 and 1807 from a design by Giacomo Quarenghi…
0.16 MILES
The most famous statue of Peter the Great was immortalised as the Bronze Horseman in the epic poem by Alexander Pushkin. With his horse (representing…
6. Museum of the History of Political Police
0.16 MILES
In the very same building that housed the tsarist and the Bolshevik secret police offices, this small museum recounts the history of this controversial…
7. State Russian Museum and Exhibition Centre ROSPHOTO
0.22 MILES
This gallery showcases rotating exhibitions of photography, videography and other mixed media drawn from across Russia and around the world. It’s…
8. Popov Communications Museum
0.27 MILES
Housed in the fabulous 18th-century palace of Chancellor Bezborodko, this museum of communications is the perfect addition to Pochtamtskaya ul (Post…