19 Cool and Unusual Things to Do in Saint Petersburg - Atlas Obscura

Unusual Attractions in Saint Petersburg

Saint Petersburg, Russia

Rasputin Museum at Yusupov Palace

Palace where the nearly un-killable Rasputin was murdered.

Saint Petersburg, Russia

Kunstkamera

Peter the Great's enlightening collection of natural oddities.

Saint Petersburg, Russia

Russian Vodka Museum

The past, present, and future of Russia's signature alcohol is remembered in the world's only museum dedicated to the starchy spirit.

Saint Petersburg, Russia

Peacock Clock

An over 200-year-old timepiece-automaton adorned with golden mechanical birds, which still sing to this day.

Saint Petersburg, Russia

Freud's Dream Museum

Dark, eerie exhibits make for a surreal exploration of the subconscious.

Saint Petersburg, Russia

Museum of Hygiene

This Russian museum stresses the importance of keeping clean and even holds one of Pavlov's dogs.

Saint Petersburg, Russia

F. M. Dostoyevsky Literary Memorial Museum

An ever-growing literary collection housed in the apartment where the Russian author penned his final novel.

Saint Petersburg, Russia

Nabokov's Butterflies

Specimens collected by the author of Lolita and self-taught lepidopterist exhibited in his childhood home.

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Stories About Saint Petersburg

Catherine the Great dropped in to visit the "ice mountain" in St. Petersburg, depicted in this detail from an 18th-century painting by Benjamin Paterssen.

Way Before Roller Coasters, Russians Zipped Down Enormous Ice Slides

These artificial mountains were fast, thrilling, and probably very dangerous.

by Jessica Leigh Hester

August 21, 2019