The former headquarters of the Singer sewing machine company, which opened a factory in the Russian capital in 1904, is one of St Petersburg’s most gorgeous buildings. The Style Modern architecture, designed by Pavel Suzor, and topped with a glass tower and sculpture, also housed the American consulate for a few years prior to WWI. Now it's home to the bookstore Dom Knigi, a cafe with superb views of the Kazan Cathedral, and the offices of vk.com, Russia's equivalent to Facebook.
Lonely Planet's must-see attractions
0.55 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…
14.95 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…
0.33 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…
15.14 MILES
One of the greatest attractions outside of St Petersburg is the jaw-dropping collection of gilded fountains, statue-lined lanes and picturesque canals…
1.09 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…
15.38 MILES
The centrepiece of Tsarskoe Selo, created under Empresses Elizabeth and Catherine the Great between 1744 and 1796, is the vast baroque Catherine Palace,…
1.26 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…
15.49 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
0.07 MILES
Tucked in a recess between Bolshaya and Malaya Konyushennaya uls is this lovely church, in the Romantic-Gothic style, built for St Petersburg’s thriving…
0.11 MILES
This neoclassical cathedral, partly modelled on St Peter’s in Rome, was commissioned by Tsar Paul shortly before he was murdered in a coup. Its 111m-long…
0.15 MILES
A landmark on the corner of Nevsky pr and Dumskaya ul is the clock tower of the former Town Duma (Town Parliament) which was the seat of the…
0.17 MILES
One of the city’s loveliest baroque exteriors, the salmon-pink Stroganov Palace was designed by court favourite Bartolomeo Rastrelli in 1753 for one of…
0.17 MILES
This is the former home of Isaak Brodsky, Repin’s favourite student and one of the favoured artists of the revolution (not to be confused with Joseph…
0.22 MILES
The Green Bridge over the Moyka River dates from the early 19th century and was the first cast-iron span in the city.
7. Armenian Church of St Catherine
0.23 MILES
Continuing with a tradition of non-Orthodox churches being built on Nevsky pr, the Armenian merchant Ovanes Lazarian paid for the city’s first Armenian…
0.23 MILES
There is invariably a pigeon perched atop the statue of Pushkin, erected in 1957, which stands in the middle of tree-lined Arts Sq.