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Winter Palace in Saint Petersburg

Maysa Halabi

A day inside one of the largest art museums in the world.

A frozen canal lined with pastel houses in a snowy old town at blue hour

The palace is so big that you could spend a week inside and still miss rooms. We picked a few highlights and let ourselves wander between them.

Buy tickets online to skip the queue, start with the grand staircase and the throne rooms, then head to the impressionist galleries upstairs.

In winter the square in front of the palace is magical under snow. In summer, stay up for the white nights when the sun barely sets.