Yusupov Palace is located next to the Moyka Canal. It is a quiet road, although my visit was in March so summer may be very different. The palace is worth a visit, although it isn't worth organizing your whole day around it. If you arrive and there is a long queue, then find another attraction. Although some of the rooms are lovely (the rotunda, the study, the green, blue and red drawing rooms) and the theatre is breathtaking, this palace was enjoyable for me because I arrived early and travelled around with my audio guide in relative peace. This meant I had the space to view the rooms, and take in the atmosphere. I had the space to imagine what this place was like in the past...with larger crowds, I'm not I would've enjoyed it so much. The theatre, the ballroom, the Turkish and the Moorish room are very special, and really give you the sense of how powerful and wealthy the Yusopov family were. The other rooms, although beautiful and atmospheric, suffer from the sad fact that the palace's treasures were redistributed to other places like the Hermitage. That being said, this place is worth the visit. Yes, the ticket counter assistant has never been told that "her smile lights up the room", but I found the other assistants helpful and friendly.
They have an audio that only tells you of the rooms but nothing much of the history . They have a special day for this but it is only given in russian so to avail of this tour , you need a russian tour guide . Very disappointing ! We wasted a day looking for the place only to be informed that we need to have a russian tour guide who speaks english to interpret it to us. Pictures are not allowed to be taken unless we have to pay a fee but we were only informed about it when we were already upstairs in the middle and for us to go back was a hassle.
This is another venue of political and historical importance, linked to bloody events on the highest level of power.
Interesting if you are into hisotry and Rasputin. Fascinating tour relates how Rasputin was murdered by a member of the Yusupov family. The family home itself is very huge and offers a glimpse into how Russian aristocrats used to live at the turn of the 20th century. enjyed myself tremendously
Amazing interiors, wonderful building, the visit was a real treat and an insight to the opulence of the lives of some in days gone by. The private theatre within is especially wonderful.
This palace is definitely worth visiting. It has a beautiful theater inside where the family used to view productions.
This is certainly one of the most beautiful attractions in SPB and the most beautiful and cozy palace I've ever been to. It is relatively small, compared to the huge royal palaces around, but it bears the unique atmospere of family that lived in it. Every room is a new discovery, and the most of them are truly the pieces of art. You can only visit with guided tours which are organized every 30 minutes, but this really is an advantage because you will hear a lot of interesting stories and facts which you wouldn't know otherwise. The entrance fee is not cheap, but it is totally worth it. If you are skillful photographer I would recommend paying extra for photo permit because the interiors you'll see are simply amazing. I still regret that I didn't buy photo ticket... I loved everything about this palace, but my favorite part is family theatre. When you get there you can easily imagine how it was 100 years ago. Make sure to include Yusupov palace in your agenda during the SPB trip, you wouldn't regret it!
Very special palace . Interesting to see how these people lived in palaces years ago . Although he is not as grand as the palace of Catherine even though they say they were richer but see a lot of art was taken away . Somewhat neglected compared to the Hermitage . But still very interesting . We took headphones and listened without a guide . It was interesting .
The palace and the interiors are really amazing, but the staff whose face impression says” clogging up the country” unfortunately spoiled the whole impresison. The guide was always looking at the watch and didn’t give even a chance to ask a question so making you feel a provincial and the people of art are trying to explain you something spending their valuable time with a social smile. The tour lasts about one hour and practically nothing was said about the family of Yusupov, just about the interiors..
Yusupov Palace is a worthwhile place to visit. We hired a private guide for a day (Polina Volkova was excellent) and included this in our itinerary.It's an interesting well-restored building and it has the great tale of Rasputin to go with it too. There is an impressive private theatre inside and the day of our visit a bride was having bridal photos taken in there.If it looks crowded, then it's probably not worth visiting but if you get there and there's no queue, jump right in.Visited February 2013