Not only a place for shopaholics but also for fans of history and architecture, St. Petersburg's largest department store, Gostiny Dvor, is one of Nevsky Prospekt's most famous landmarks, and has been at the center of trade in the city for 250 years. A Gostiny Dvor (“Guests’ Court”) was once a feature of all large Russian towns. The Russian equivalent of an eastern bazaar, these buildings were retail points, warehouses and living quarters for merchants arriving from far-flung corners of Russia and beyond. In St. Petersburg, Bolshoy Gostiny Dvor was the largest of several such buildings, many of which have survived to the present day.

Restored and reconstructed from 1945 to 1955, the building was transformed from 178 separate stores into one large department store with the removal of its internal walls. Bolshoy Gostiny Dvor now has 15,000 sq. meters of retail space occupied by 122 different departments, and is still St. Petersburg's main department store, the first place to look for anything from knitting needles to party supplies. Today, one circuit of Gostiny Dvor, past the dozens of shops and tiny stalls, is a kilometer. The first floor has caviar, souvenirs, shoes, music and cosmetics. The second floor has clothes, designer boutiques, toys, furs and hats. Football fans can do all their shopping at the official FIFA 2018 shop, while Sreda Project is a new addition to the department store, which aims to attract young, innovative talent by offering the latest in local designer fashion, a laidback co-working area and other creativity-inducing spaces. Also, in the warmer months the spacious balcony along the perimeter of Gostiny Dvor offers some great photo ops of Nevsky Prospekt.