Top St Petersburg Museums Which Are Not Palaces

It is a common perception St Petersburg is a museum under the sky, full of palaces and historical buildings. In many ways, that is correct, but there are many other museums offering interactive and technological options. Culture Trip looks at the best ones to spend your time in, where you can learn something new and just have some fun.

1. GameBrick

Museum

lovers of Lego will get into this paradise: a huge space is full of objects, constructed using Lego details. The centerpiece of the museum is the real Lego city: The playground town with its own infrastructure, buildings, railroad and habitats. You can even find a small Lego copy of the Hermitage museum.

2. Museum of Illusions

Museum

The space of the Museum of Illusion is separated by several zones: You can find a glass labyrinth, the house of a giant (where you will feel so tiny you can’t believe it), the zone with 3-D drawings causing optical illusions, and even a contact zoo, where you can interact with animals.

3. Planetarium № 1

Museum

St Petersburg now has the biggest Planetarium in the world: The diameter of its dome is 37 meters! The guests can enjoy a 40-minute show about the stars, the galaxy and human discovery. There’s also a retrospective which shows the city how it was 300 years ago up to today, a 3-D flyover of St Petersburg.

4. Erarta Museum

Museum, Art Gallery

Lovers of contemporary art can’t miss this place. Located on Vasilievsky island, Erarta is the biggest contemporary art museum in the city. You will find an impressive permanent collection of Russian artists, as well as a great program of temporary exhibitions with artists from all over the world. As an additional bonus, they also host concerts and theater programs.

5. Russian Railway Museum

Museum

This huge space of 57,000 sq meters is fully dedicated to the development of the railroad and features 28,000 objects, including old trains, some of them one-of-a-kind. With so many different things to choose from, there is a whole day of entertainment for the whole family.

6. Cruiser Aurora

Museum

The iconic ship, which played the crucial role in the revolution back in the day, is now an interactive museum. Aurora is located at Petrogradskaya embarkment and welcomes guests for excursions. You can see the ship from inside, learn about how the machine functions and also learn more about the historical role of Aurora in Russian history.

7. Museum "Grand Maket Rossiya"

Museum

This ambitious project demonstrates the huge and diverse territory of Russia in all its beauty: The giant model allows you to visit Vladivostok and St Petersburg in one day, as all of that is gathered under the same roof. The model is impressive with all the details and the amount of work which went into its creation.