St. Petersburg was built a little over 300 years ago when Russia’s Tsar Peter the Great decided to turn Russia into a European country. It was here, on the banks of Neva River that the Russian Empire built its capital, as grandiose and as lavish as the empire itself. Perhaps the city’s best sights are its streets and canals that have inspired many great artists such as Tolstoy and Dostoevsky, Pushkin and Stravinsky, Gogol and Mussorgsky.
They say it is a living museum. They say it is Russia's cultural capital. They say it is one of the world’s most beautiful cities. It borrowed the best features of Europe’s finest capitals like the Roman temples and the Versailles palaces, the canals of Venice and Amsterdam’s bridges. Even the Bolsheviks who despised everything about this city were unable to alter its imperial style and stature. Sure, they tried, but luckily, St Petersburg has preserved its unique feel.
In the very center of the city stands the Winter Palace. On one side, the palace is faced by the Palace Square with the Alexander Column in the middle of it. The column was erected to celebrate the victory over Napoleon (what is called in Russia, the First Patriotic War). To its rear, the palace is washed by the Neva River in the middle of which you will find the Peter and Paul Fortress designed to defend the city from the water. The Cathedral of the Peter and Paul Fortress is the burial place of the Russian Emperors.
The Winter Palace is home to the Hermitage Museum – the largest collection of Russian art in the world. The Hermitage started as the private art collection of Catherine the Great and over time became the largest collection of Russian art in the world. These art works are displayed in the Palace’s numerous halls, many of which are works of art in themselves.
Next to the Winter Palace stands the grandiose St. Isaac's Cathedral, the largest orthodox cathedral in the world. Built in the classic Roman style, it took over 40 years to complete. St. Isaak’s cupolas alone are made of 100 kilograms of pure gold.
A few blocks from the Palace Square you will find the Savior-on-the-Blood Cathedral built in the place where tsar Alexander II was murdered with a bomb that was thrown into his carriage.
The outskirts of St. Petersburg have many luxurious palaces. Most notable are the Catherine’s Palace in Tsarskoe Selo (Pushkin) and Peterhof, the summer residence of the Russian tsars.
The St. Petersburg hotel landscape offers many options both in terms of price and quality. In addition to luxurious hotels like the Astoria, St. Petersburg has many so-called mini-hotels. The city authorities did not permit construction of large buildings in the center to preserve the look and feel of the city and as a result, there appeared a range of smaller comfortable hotels set up in the houses of Russia’s nobles, famous poets and writers. This not only saves you money, but also makes your stay in St. Petersburg even more interesting.
St. Petersburg has a world-class entertainment program, especially during the White Nights. As the world’s northernmost city (with a population of over one million) every June, there are no nights in St. Petersburg. The spirit of the white nights attracts many people and a mind-boggling variety of shows, concerts, festivals, parties and conferences etc.
The restaurant scene in St. Petersburg is extremely diverse. There are a great variety of cuisines and many of them are of excellent quality.
Getting to St. Petersburg from the US usually involves one stop in Paris, Moscow or Helsinki. St. Petersburg is a world-class tourist destination, a “must-see” for any worldly person.
Pictures of St. PetersburgI had just passed an exhilarating and fascinating morning in the Hermitage Museum in St Petersburg and I left with my head full of the splendour of the building and the unsurpassed beauty of the exhibitions. Turning away from the River Neva, glittering in the early summer sunshine, I started to walk down the Nevsky Prospekt. Picking my way through the crowds of tourists scurrying here and there to catch up with their groups, I stumbled upon a different kind of treasure house.
Sever (which means North) at 44 Nevsky Prospekt has been the home to the city's finest confectioner and patisserie for over a hundred years. Walking through the door is like entering an Aladdin's Cave dedicated to the art of fine food. Each customer was faced with the same dilemma as me, everything looked mouth-watering and whichever one of the hundred or so gateaux that I chose, there would be so many others which seemed equally tempting.
The display cabinet was overcrowded with cakes and tarts carrying names like 'Ravenna', 'Verona' and the 'Golden Fleece', each more finely crafted than the next. I made my choice, a 'Kartoshka', not as you might think a potato, but a delicious cake made with cream, biscuit, a dash of Cognac and lashings of cocoa. I approached the salesgirl who was dressed in a smart blue and white uniform, I paid and I carried my cake and coffee to a small table in the window where I sat peacefully for an hour reflecting on the treasures of the Hermitage and watching the world drift by on the Nevsky Prospekt...