10 most beautiful parks and gardens in St. Petersburg (PHOTOS)

Yulia Khakimova

Jul 13 2023

10 most beautiful parks and gardens in St. Petersburg (PHOTOS) — Max Dawncat (CC BY 2.0)

Russia’s ‘Northern Capital’ is famous for its magnificent palaces and waterways. But in fact, it's a very green place, where you can find many wonderful spaces to stroll in the city center or nearby.

1. The Summer Garden

Closest metro station – Gostiny Dvor
Work schedule
Free entry
What to do: take photos amid sculptures and fountains, listen to jazz.

Founded by Peter the Great in 1704, this park in fact occupies a small island. Initially, the emperor’s summer residence was located in this park, which was designed and modeled after the Park of Versailles.

Today, the Summer Garden is a veritable open-air museum, as its paths host copies of many statues with themes from Antiquity. During the summer season, the fountains spew forth water. While they are smaller to those at Peterhof, they are just as elegant.

The park now has a modern twist that would shock a time-traveler from the 18th century – in the old ‘Coffee House’ there’s a cafe now where you can listen to jazz.

2. The Mikhailovsky Garden

Closest metro stations – Gostiny Dvor/ Nevsky Prospekt
Work schedule
Free entry
What to do: see the oak tree planted by Peter the Great, take a photo in Rossi’s Pavilion.

The Mikhailovsky Garden is located not far from the Summer Garden. You can combine a walk in the Mikhailovsky Garden with a visit to the State Russian Museum or the Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood.

One of the city’s oldest oak trees, planted by Peter the Great, grows on the territory of this garden (the Summer Garden has another one).

There’s a pond that’s spanned by an elegant and picturesque bridge, as well as a pavilion. It’s built on the site of a palace that was built for Peter’s wife, Empress Catherine I.

3. The Alexander Garden

Closest metro station - Admiralteyskaya
Free entry
What to do: take an awe-inspiring walk from the Hermitage Museum to the Bronze Horseman

While this is a relatively small garden, it’s right next to the main sites of St. Petersburg: Palace Square and the Winter Palace, the Admiralty, and St. Isaac’s Cathedral. Also, the Bronze Horseman is located on the side of this garden that looks out onto the Neva River.

Initially, there was an empty plot of land here because it was an earthen embankment, a part of the Admiralty fortifications. Then, ship timber and anchors were stored here; later, public festivities were held on this open field. The Alexander garden was officially opened in 1874; and in 1879, the city’s largest fountain at the time was opened here.

4. Central Culture and Leisure Park on Yelagin Island

Closest metro station – Staraya Derevnya
Work schedule
Free entry on weekdays; on weekends and holidays – open to the public from 6:00 to 10:00 and from 22:00 to 23:00
What to do: take a boat ride, visit museums, feed squirrels

Yelagin Island is also a former imperial residence. The imperial family owned the island for about a hundred years, until the 1917 Revolution. Italian architect Carlo Rossi rebuilt Yelagin Palace for the Romanovs, and erected a complex of pavilions and additional buildings. Court gardener Joseph Bush Jr. created an English landscape park on the island, which was the complete opposite of the severe and French-style Summer Garden.

In summer, Yelagin Island hosts concerts, and in winter there’s a skating rink. Inside Yelagin Palace, you’ll see restored imperial interiors; in the Museum of Glass you can learn the technology of heat treatment for glass at a workshop.

5. The Botanical Garden of Peter the Great

Closest metro station - Petrogradskaya
Work schedule
Paid entry
What to do: visit the greenhouse and the Japanese garden, visit the oldest botanical museum.

The Botanical Garden has one of Russia’s oldest arboretum parks; there’s a Japanese garden and Alpine gardens. A greenhouse complex is the crown jewel, where you can see flowers bloom year-round (there’s also a calendar).

Guided tours go along three routes – subtropical, tropical, and one with a view of water plants. In summer, the garden hosts open-air concerts; in winter there’s a light show.

6. The Botanical Garden of St. Petersburg State University

Closest metro stations – Vasileostrovskaya, Sportivnaya, Admiralteyskaya
Paid entry, you can visit it in accordance with the tour schedule
What to do: soak in the youthful atmosphere of the university

The university’s botanical garden is smaller than the previous one, but it will delight flora enthusiasts. There are two large greenhouses on the territory – a Japanese garden and an arboretum. On your way back you can take a peek at the Faculty of Philosophy’s yard and see the collection of unusual monuments from around the world.

7. New Holland Island

Closest metro station - Admiralteyskaya
Work schedule
Free entry
What to do: visit restaurants; visit a skating rink in winter

New Holland is now a hip and trendy public space; and being an island, it’s sufficiently isolated from the hustle and bustle of the city center.

During the time of Peter the Great, timber was dried here and used for building ships. Later, a prison was built here, and eventually the Navy Department buildings. Today, boutiques and restaurants occupy the former building of the naval prison – the ‘Bottle House’.

Also, a children’s center now occupies the former Commandant’s house. Concerts are held on a field in the center of the island, and in winter it’s used as a skating rink.

8. The Tauride Garden

Closest metro station - Chernyshevskaya
Free entry
What to do: sports

This is the largest green zone of St. Petersburg’s Central District. We suggest you stop and take a look on your way to Smolny Cathedral. The garden was built near the Tauride Palace – the residence of Catherine the Great’s favorite, Prince Grigory Potemkin-Tavrichesky.

Today, the palace hosts the headquarters of the CIS Interparliamentary Assembly, while the garden is open for visitors. City festivals are held here year-round. In winter, the locals enjoy ice-skating and skiing here, in other seasons they come for a jog or for some Nordic walking. The garden has its own small greenhouse. Concerts are held indoors; and there’s also a cafe.

9. Ekaterinhof

Closest metro station - Narvskaya
Free entry
What to do: learn the history of the city

This park lies not far from the Narva Triumphal Arch, erected to commemorate the victory in the Patriotic War of 1812. Ekaterinhof is also a monument to victories that were achieved a century earlier: in this region on May 7, 1703, Peter the Great secured Russia’s first naval victory over the Swedes. He built an estate here and presented it to his wife, Ekaterina, as a wedding gift. Ekaterinhof means ‘the courtyard of Catherine’. During the time of Peter the Great, May festivities were held annually in this garden in order to celebrate the anniversary of this naval victory.

Later, the estate was converted into a milk farm, then into fruit and vegetable gardens, and finally the public festivities were once again held here. Today, it hosts sports and art festivals; there are tennis courts, and you can rent a boat.

10. Maritime Victory Park

Closest metro station – Krestovsky Ostrov
Free entry
What to do: active sports; enjoy amusement rides

St. Petersburg’s prestigious Krestovsky Island has a large park with wide promenades where you can ride a bike, a skateboard, or a kick scooter. You can also feed squirrels and swans, come for a picnic, or sample something delicious on the food truck street. There’s also the large Divo Ostrov amusement park.

Here, you can also see one of Russia’s most modern stadiums – the flying saucer-esque Gazprom Arena stadium – which is on the western end of Krestovsky Island. Behind it is a wide embankment with a view of the Gulf of Finland and the sleek structures of 21st century St. Petersburg: a new cable bridge and the Lakhta Center skyscraper.

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