One of the world's oldest naval museums is located right in the centre of St. Petersburg, on the Vasilevsky Island Spit, and only the Royal Danish Naval Museum and those in Britain and Holland are older than St. Petersburg's Central Naval Museum. An integral part of St. Petersburg, the museum is almost as old as the city itself and has existed for so long that it witnessed the birth of the Russian Navy. The museum originates from what was once the "Model Chamber", a collection of models of ships under construction and drawings of them, created at the Admiralty on Peter I's order in 1709. Today the collection contains more than 2000 unique models, each of them an accurately scaled copy of a ship, aircraft, shore installation (dry dock, lighthouse or building), weapon, or machinery. The models include, for example, a miniature of the 100-gun English ship, made in 1695 and presented to Peter I by the King of England; models of a Maltese galleon from 1568; a French galleon from Louis Xlll's reign; and a model of a frigate, made by Peter I himself. In addition, the museum's pieces de resistance include: an ancient hollowed-out canoe made from a single piece of wood, which lay on the bottom of Ihe South Bug River for around 3000 years; Peter the Great's famous little boat, christened "The Grandfather of the Russian Fleet" by Peter himself; and S. Dzhevetsky's genuine submarine, built in 1881. Of particular interest is the museum's collection of examples of armaments, naval machinery, flags and banners. The collection contains several unique exhibits, which in most cases are not replicated by any other naval museum in the world. For instance, the Moscow Tsar's Flag, the first Imperial ship's standard and the oldest surviving Russian tricolour flag in the world, can be seen in the museum.
Average duration 1 hour
Address 4, Birzhevaya Sq. Open: 10 a.m. - 4 p.m., closed on MON, TUE, and on the last THU of every month.

The world's largest martial museum is located in the former building of the Arsenal. The collection of this museum includes about 500,000 items: examples of armaments, military uniforms, banners, orders, and battle relics of the Russian Army are included in the museums displays.
Average duration 1 hour
Address 7, Alexandrovskiy Park Open: 11a.m. - 5 p.m., closed on MON, TUE, and on the last THU of every month.

The "Aurora" is a retired battleship, formerly used by the Russian Navy, that has been put on eternal mooring. The museum exhibition within the battleship illustrates the Aurora's participation in the Tsushima battle of the Russo-Japanese War (1904-1905), as well as its revolutionary activities in the beginning of the XX century and its participation in World War II (1941-1945).
Average duration 1 hour
Address Petrogradskaya Emb. Open: 11 a.m. - 4 p.m. Closed on MON, FRI.

This museum was the first memorial museum to be established in Russia. The museum opened in 1904 and is located in a building which was constructed specifically for the purpose of housing "The State Museum in Memory of A.V. Suvorov". The museum was designed by architect A. Gogen and was paid for using funds raised through private donation. At the present time, following ten years of construction, the interiors of the museum's halls have been completely restored. Displays include: personal belongings of the great warrior A.V. Suvorov, paintings, graphics, numismatics, armaments, rare books, and costumes. The collection totals over 100,000 items.
Average duration 1 hour
Address 43, Kirochnaya Str. Open: 10 a.m. - 5 p.m., closed on THU, WED, and on the last MON of every month.

An ice-breaker built in England to fullfill the order of the Russians in 1916 (to the design of Admiral S.O.Makarov) and originally named "Svyatogor". Later, its name was changed to "Krasin" as a memorial to L.B.Krasin, who not only helped to secure the payment for the ship, but also acted as a trade representative for Russia while the building of the ship was taking place. "Krasin" remains as a living legend of the Russian ice-breaking fleet. The museum exposition is dedicated to the Umberto Nobile rescue expedition, the escort of Arctic Convoys during World War II, and the research projects conducted by the ice-breaker.
Average duration 1 hour
Address 22, Leytenanta Smidta nab. Open 10.00 - 17.00, closed on MON.

This mansion is a branch of the Museum of St.Petersburg History and bears the name of one of its owners - Count N.P. Rumyantsev, the founder of the famous Rumyantsevsky Museum which was located on the mansion's premises during the first half of the XIX century. Currently, the exhibition "Leningrad in the Second World War" is held in the building. It displays over 2,000 relics of war times, including unique documents and photographs, examples of arms and ammunition, and personal possessions of both Leningraders and the defenders of the city during the 900-day siege.
Average duration 1 hour
Address 44, Angliyskaya nab. Open 11.00 - 17.00, TUE till 16.00, closed on WED and on the last TUE of every month.

This memorial is dedicated to the 900-day, unprecedented heroic defense of the city during World War II (1941-1945). The museum holds an obelisk, sculptural compositions, and an underground Memorial Hall where original documents and items from that time are displayed.
Average duration 1 hour
Address Pobedy pl. Open 10.00 - 18.00, TUE, FRI till 17.00, closed on WED

The collection of the museum contains original documents, and possessions of townspeople and soldiers which were preserved and later presented to the museum by Leningraders.
Average duration 1 hour
Address 9, Solyanoy per. Open: 10.00 - 17.00, closed on WED