Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg, one of the most beautiful cities in the world, is Russia's second-largest city after Moscow, with 5 million residents in 2012. An important Russian port on the Baltic Sea, it has a status of a federal subject (a federal city). Situated on the Neva River, at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea, it was founded by Tsar Peter the Great on 1703.
Saint Petersburg is one of the most modern cities of Russia, as well as its cultural capital.
The Historic Centre of Saint Petersburg and Related Groups of Monuments constitute a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Saint Petersburg is home to more than two hundred museums, many of them hosted in historic buildings.
Ballet performances occupy a special place in the cultural life of Saint Petersburg.
2017 was a record year for Saint Petersburg, with more than 7.2 million visitors to the city.
We recommend you stay in the city for at list 3 nights.
Main sights recommended are:
- The Hermitage Museum. The second-largest art museum in the world founded in 1764. The collections occupy a large complex of six historic buildings. In this complex the Winter Palace is the main attraction.
- Peterhof Palace and Gardens, located in Peterhof close to St. Petersburg. It is a series of palaces and gardens sometimes referred as the "Russian Versailles".
- The Mariinsky (Kirov) Theatre, a historic theatre and a home to the Mariinsky Ballet, Mariinsky Opera and Mariinsky Orchestra.
- Nevsky Prospekt is Saint Petersburg’s main street.
- Church on Spilled Blood, one of the main sights of the city. The church was built on the site where Emperor Alexander II was fatally wounded by political nihilists in March 1881.
- St. Isaac's Cathedral, was originally the city's main church and the largest cathedral in Russia.
- The Bronze Horseman. Located on the Senate Square it is the most famous monument to Peter I and one of the symbols of St. Petersburg.
- Catherine Palace located in Tsarskoe Selo (Pushkin town), 24 kilometers south from the center of Saint Petersburg. The palace, a home to the famous Amber Room, is undoubtedly one of St. Petersburg's top tourist attractions.
- St. Petersburg's most beautiful bridges. Of the 342 bridges in the city, several of them are technical and aesthetic masterpieces. The Palace Bridge, is undoubtedly one of the most famous sights of St. Petersburg. The bridge connect Palace Square to Vasilyevsky Island. The Bank Bridge, one of the world's most beautiful pedestrian bridges with its glorious sculptures of golden-winged griffons.
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