St Petersburg, Russia (Point of interest)

The Alexander Nevsky Monastery is home to some of the earliest buildings in St Petersburg. Founded by Peter the Great soon after the city itself was built in 1703, it now encompasses various chapels, a museum and an enormous necropolis. In 1797 th... Continue reading →

Explore rare and exotic plants at St Petersburg's enchanting Botanical Garden. You'll find plants from all around the world including the unique Queen of the Night which flowers just one night a year every May. The garden was ordered by Peter the ... Continue reading →

While Peter the Great favoured Peterhof, west of St Petersburg, for his summer palace, his wife Empress Catherine I favoured the royal estate south at Pushkin. It became known as Tsarskoe Selo, or Emperor's Village, nowadays the breathtaking Cather... Continue reading →

Officially St Petersburg's Church of the Resurrection of Christ, the 1881 murder of Tsar Alexander II dubbed it the Church of the Saviour on the Spilled Blood. Its onion domes and ornate mosaics are a splash of colour beside Griboyedov Canal. On t... Continue reading →

Shooting a blank over St Petersburg's Winter Palace on 25 October 1917, the Cruiser Aurora started the Russian Revolution. Russia's oldest surviving naval vessel, it is now a floating museum on the River Neva. Tours take you inside the engine room.... Continue reading →

St Petersburg commemorates the great Russian writer Fedor Dostoevsky in the apartment where he lived his last couple of years and wrote his last epic work, The Brothers Karamazov. His Literary Memorial Museum was opened in 1971. After the death of... Continue reading →

The oldest state museum in Russia, the Kunstkamera recognises its founder Peter the Great, who decreed its foundation in 1704, a year after St Petersburg was founded. An avid collector, Peter personally contributed to the museum's weird and wonderf... Continue reading →

Bound to its history but still variable with time, Leningrad Zoopark has a variety of 400 animal species among the 2000 inhabitants. Guests of all ages can enjoy seeing fascinating beings including the Japanese Macaque and the Black Stork.... Continue reading →

Dominated by its green and white neo-classical façade and backing onto Kryukov Canal, St Petersburg's Mariinsky Theatre was built in 1860 and first hosted ballet in 1880. The Mariinsky Opera and Ballet is sometimes still known by its Soviet name, ... Continue reading →

Thought-provoking and at times tear-jerking, the Memorial Museum depicts life as it was during the 900-day Siege of Leningrad by the Nazis. Artefacts, newsreels and biographical exhibits tell the story of how St Petersburg survived this appalling o... Continue reading →

One of the biggest military museums in the world, St Petersburg's Military Historical Museum of Artillery, Engineering Corps and Signals houses a huge collection of arms and artillery. Other artefacts for the family to enjoy include miniature soldi... Continue reading →

Russia's most famous street, Nevsky Prospekt is a 4.5km avenue with shops, palaces, gardens, museums and plenty more. Once roamed by wolves after being built through forest land, it is now a popular haunt for locals and tourists alike. As the hear... Continue reading →

St Petersburg's Peter & Paul Fortress stands monumentally on the Zayachy (Hare) Island across from the Winter Palace. Representing the whole of St Petersburg's 300-year history, the citadel now houses a cathedral, a mint, a printing house and a for... Continue reading →

For 200 years after its foundation by Peter the Great as one of his summer palaces, Peterhof was the playground of the Russian nobility. Beside the Gulf of Finland, this rich ensemble of palaces and gardens is one of Russia's "seven wonders." Foll... Continue reading →

St Isaac's Cathedral, named in honour of St Isaac of Dalmatia, was designed by architect Auguste Montferrand and consecrated in 1858. It was the most important church in tsarist St Petersburg, and its gold gilded dome dominates the city's skyline. ... Continue reading →

St Petersburg's State Hermitage Museum fills part of the former Imperial Palace complex along Palace Embankment. The exhibits are changed regularly to give each of the three million pieces of fine art by Rembrandt and Picasso, among others, their c... Continue reading →

The Summer Garden (Letnii Sad) was built at Tsar Peter the Great's personal command in 1704, just a year after the founding of St Petersburg. Peter's aim was for a palatial residence 'better than the French King's at Versailles'. Nestling between ... Continue reading →