--- title: "How many steps up Saint Isaac's Cathedral colonnade? 262" description: "262 steps up Saint Isaac's Cathedral colonnade in St Petersburg, Russia. Open to climb. What that count reaches, the height climbed, and how it compares." url: https://atoneplace.net/how-many-steps/saint-isaacs-cathedral/ site: "At One Place" --- # How many steps to the top of Saint Isaac's Cathedral colonnade? **Steps to the top of Saint Isaac's Cathedral colonnade: 262** Reaching the colonnade walkway around the dome, at 43 m · open to climb The 262 steps of the spiral reach an open colonnade that runs right around the drum of the dome, giving a full 360-degree view of the city — one of the few cathedral climbs that ends in a loop rather than a platform. The dome is gilded with about 100 kg of gold applied by fire-gilding, a process that killed a number of the workers through mercury poisoning. The cathedral took 40 years to build on 24,000 timber piles driven into the marsh. A lift was added in 2017 for part of the route. ## The numbers - **Steps:** 262 - **Reaches:** the colonnade walkway around the dome, at 43 m - **Public access:** Open to climb - **Where:** St Petersburg, Russia - **Height climbed:** 43 m — 141 ft - **Average rise per step:** 164 mm ## What the climb is like About 15 minutes. Open colonnade at the top, exposed to wind; a lift covers part of the ascent. > Published counts for the same structure routinely disagree by five to ten per cent, and nearly always for one of three reasons: whether intermediate landings count as steps, whether the final platform step counts, and where the climb is deemed to start. The figure here says what it reaches. ## How it compares *Only the ones marked open to climb can actually be walked.* - Arc de Triomphe: 284 steps - York Minster central tower: 275 steps - Batu Caves: 272 steps - Saint Isaac's Cathedral colonnade: 262 steps - Cape Hatteras Lighthouse: 257 steps - Leaning Tower of Pisa: 251 steps - Milan Cathedral rooftop: 251 steps *Saint Isaac's Cathedral colonnade ranks 47 of 56 here by step count.* | Structure | Steps | Reaches | Access | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Arc de Triomphe | 284 | the roof terrace at 50 m | Open to climb | | York Minster central tower | 275 | the top of the central tower, at 70 m | Open to climb | | Batu Caves | 272 | the Temple Cave, in a limestone hill above Kuala Lumpur | Open to climb | | Saint Isaac's Cathedral colonnade | 262 | the colonnade walkway around the dome, at 43 m | Open to climb | | Cape Hatteras Lighthouse | 257 | the gallery below the lantern room, at 63 m | Open to climb | | Leaning Tower of Pisa | 251 | the bell chamber at the top, at 56 m | Open to climb | | Milan Cathedral rooftop | 251 | the roof terraces, at 70 m among the spires | Open to climb | ## Common questions ### How many steps to the top of Saint Isaac's Cathedral colonnade? 262, reaching the colonnade walkway around the dome, at 43 m. ### Can the public climb Saint Isaac's Cathedral colonnade? Open to climb. About 15 minutes. Open colonnade at the top, exposed to wind; a lift covers part of the ascent. ### How high is that climb? 43 m, about 141 ft, which averages 164 mm per step. ## Related pages - [Cathedrals and churches](https://atoneplace.net/how-many-steps/cathedral/) - [How many steps up Leaning Tower of Pisa?](https://atoneplace.net/how-many-steps/leaning-tower-of-pisa/) - [How many steps up St Peter's Basilica dome?](https://atoneplace.net/how-many-steps/st-peters-basilica/) - [How many steps up Elizabeth Tower (Big Ben)?](https://atoneplace.net/how-many-steps/elizabeth-tower/) - [How many steps up St Paul's Cathedral?](https://atoneplace.net/how-many-steps/st-pauls-cathedral/) - [How many steps up Brunelleschi's Dome, Florence Cathedral?](https://atoneplace.net/how-many-steps/florence-duomo/) - [How many steps up Notre-Dame de Paris towers?](https://atoneplace.net/how-many-steps/notre-dame-de-paris/) - [How many steps up Sagrada Família towers?](https://atoneplace.net/how-many-steps/sagrada-familia/) - [How many steps up Cologne Cathedral south tower?](https://atoneplace.net/how-many-steps/cologne-cathedral/) ## Sources - Wikidata — Wikimedia Foundation (https://www.wikidata.org/) [CC0 1.0]