St Petersburg
The Hermitage fully lives up to its sterling reputation. You can be absorbed by its treasures for days and still come out wanting more. The enormous鈥
Must-see attractions in St Petersburg
St Petersburg
Also known as the Museum of Ethnology and Anthropology, this is the city鈥檚 first museum, founded in 1714 by Peter himself. It is famous largely for its鈥
St Petersburg
This spectacular palace on the Moyka River has some of the best 19th-century interiors in the city, in addition to a fascinating and gruesome history. The鈥
St Petersburg
The Mariinsky Theatre has played a pivotal role in Russian ballet ever since it was built in 1859 and remains one of Russia's most loved and respected鈥
St Petersburg
Focusing solely on Russian art, from ancient church icons to 20th-century paintings, the Russian Museum's collection is magnificent and can easily be鈥
St Petersburg
This triangular island was closed for the most part of the last three centuries, and has opened to the public in dazzling fashion. There's plenty going on鈥
Erarta Museum of Contemporary Art
St Petersburg
Erarta's superb hoard of 2800 pieces of Russian contemporary art trumps its somewhat far-flung location. Housed in an ingeniously converted neoclassical鈥
St Petersburg
Housing a cathedral where the Romanovs are buried, a former prison and various exhibitions, this large defensive fortress on Zayachy Island is the kernel鈥
Church of the Saviour on the Spilled Blood
St Petersburg
This five-domed dazzler is St Petersburg鈥檚 most elaborate church, with a classic Russian Orthodox exterior and an interior decorated with some 7000 sq鈥
St Petersburg
The Alexander Nevsky Monastery 鈥 named for the patron saint of St Petersburg 鈥 is the city's most ancient and eminent monastery. Peter the Great made a鈥
St Petersburg
The golden dome of St Isaac鈥檚 Cathedral dominates the St Petersburg skyline. Its obscenely lavish interior is open as a museum, although services are held鈥
St Petersburg
The east wing of this magnificent building, wrapping around the south of Dvortsovaya pl and designed by Carlo Rossi in the 1820s, marries restored鈥
St Petersburg
Guided tours of the Hermitage鈥檚 state-of-the-art restoration and storage facility are highly recommended. This is not a formal exhibition as such, but the鈥
St Petersburg
It's well worth the effort making the trip out to see this magnificent collection of street art set inside a former 11-hectare industrial site. You'll鈥
St Petersburg
The magnificently restored Shuvalovsky Palace is home to the world's largest collection of pieces manufactured by the jeweller Peter Carl Faberg茅 鈥
Museum of Decorative & Applied Arts
St Petersburg
Also known as the Stieglitz Museum, this fascinating establishment is as beautiful as you would expect a decorative arts museum to be. An array of鈥
Anna Akhmatova Museum at the Fountain House
St Petersburg
Housed in the south wing of the Sheremetyev Palace, this touching and fascinating literary museum celebrates the life and work of Anna Akhmatova, St鈥
St Petersburg
The first stone building in the city, the Menshikov Palace was built to the grandiose tastes of Prince Alexander Menshikov, Peter the Great鈥檚 closest鈥
St Petersburg
This vast expanse is simply one of the most striking squares in the world, still redolent of imperial grandeur almost a century after the end of the鈥
St Petersburg
The Trinity Cathedral boasts stunning blue cupolas emblazoned with golden stars. A devastating fire in 2006 caused the 83m-high central cupola to collapse鈥
St Petersburg
The most famous statue of Peter the Great was immortalised as the Bronze Horseman in the epic poem by Alexander Pushkin. With his horse (representing鈥
Russian Academy of Fine Arts Museum
St Petersburg
Art lovers should not bypass the museum of this time-tested institution, which contains work by academy students and faculty dating back to its foundation鈥
St Petersburg
Nevsky Prospekt is Russia鈥檚 most famous street, running 4km from the Admiralty to Alexander Nevsky Monastery, from which it takes its name. The inner 2鈥
St Petersburg
Centred on the famed statue of the Bronze Horseman, this square is listed on city maps as Senatskaya ploshchad (Senate Sq). Its dominant feature is the鈥
St Petersburg
On eastern Aptekarsky (Apothecary) Island, this was once a garden of medicinal plants 鈥 founded by Peter the Great himself in 1714 鈥 that gave the island鈥
St Petersburg
Leningrad party boss Sergei Kirov was one of the most powerful men in Russia in the early 1930s. His decidedly un-proletarian apartment is now a鈥
St Petersburg
The city's oldest park, these leafy, shady gardens can be entered either at the northern Neva or southern Moyka end. Early-18th-century architects鈥
St Petersburg
Built by Giacomo Quarenghi between 1806 and 1808 as a school for aristocratic girls, the Smolny Institute was thrust into the limelight in 1917 when it鈥
St Petersburg
The elegant Style Moderne Kshesinskaya Palace (1904) is a highly appropriate location for this excellent museum 鈥 one of the city's best 鈥 covering鈥
St Petersburg
If baroque is your thing, then look no further than the sky-blue Smolny Cathedral, an unrivalled masterpiece of the genre that ranks among Bartolomeo鈥
St Petersburg
This fantastic conversion of the former Smolninsky Bread Factory has plenty to keep you interested, including many of the original factory fittings鈥
St Petersburg
Designed by Vasily Stasov, the striking Grand Choral Synagogue opened in 1893 to provide a central place of worship for St Petersburg鈥檚 growing Jewish鈥
St Petersburg
Catherine the Great had this baroque palace built in 1783 for Grigory Potemkin, a famed general and her companion for many years. Today it is home to the鈥
St Petersburg
A branch of the Russian Museum, the castle is worth visiting for its temporary exhibits as well as a few finely restored state rooms, including the lavish鈥
St Petersburg
Between the cemeteries and the main church, you'll pass a ticket kiosk with a separate admission to the old Annunciation church, aka the鈥
St Petersburg
Following a move to this beautifully repurposed building opposite the former shipyard of New Holland, the Central Naval Museum has moved into the 21st鈥
St Petersburg
History buffs should not miss this oft-overlooked but superb local museum. Part of the State Museum of the History of St Petersburg, the mansion contains鈥
Monument to the Heroic Defenders of Leningrad
St Petersburg
Due south of the House of Soviets, on Moskovsky pr is this awe-inspiring monument. Centred around a 48m-high obelisk, the monument, unveiled in 1975, is a鈥
St Petersburg
Another in the city's collection of grand religious buildings is this beautiful functioning datsan (temple) where respectful visitors are welcome. The鈥
St Petersburg
This 19th-century townhouse was the suitably grand childhood home of Vladimir Nabokov, infamous author of Lolita and arguably the most versatile of 20th鈥
