Moika Palace, Saint Petersburg

Also known as the Yuposov Palace after the family who owned it for generations, Moika Palace is most known for being the scene of Gregory Rasputin’s assassination. On the Moika River, the palace stands on land that was originally a wooden palace belonging to Tsarevna Praskovia Ivanovna, niece of Peter the Great. In 1770 the french architect Jean-Baptiste Vallin de la Mothe was commissioned to build the palace that you see today, although it has had a few minor alterations since. Legend says that in 1916, Prince Nicolay Yusupov tried to kill the Tsarina’s advisor Rasputin by poisoning, beating and shooting him in the basement of the palace before dumping the body in the icy river. In the palace museum you can see a recreation of the assassination and the investigation that followed it.

After the October Revolution in 1917, the palace was handed to educational authorities who preserved many of the original features, meaning that you can admire the colourful tiled walls in the Moorish Drawing Room and the intricately plastered decadent ceilings in the main staircase. As well as the Rasputin display, in the modern museum, you can explore the reception and living rooms on the ground floor of the palace. The palace also acts as a cultural centre, holding classic concerts and theatre performances in the White Columns Hall or the rococo Palace Theatre.