Guide to St. Petersburg, the ancient capital of Russia

The second largest and most important city in Russia, St. Petersburg, formerly Leningrad, is definitely a magical city with a great visual impact. Architecturally rich despite its young age, a recommended destination for those who love art. Here is a short guide to make your trip pleasant and organised: what to see in St Petersburg, what to do, what to visit.

Glimpse of St. Petersburg - Photo by QK from Pixabay
Glimpse of St. Petersburg - Photo by QK from Pixabay

St. Petersburg, Russia. It is the second most important Russian city after Moscow: residence of the tsars, boasts an immense artistic heritage and one of the most important museums in the world. It is a very rich city from an architectural point of view, despite its young age, as well as a recommended destination for those who love art. Over the years, after various wars, it changed its name, going from Leningrad, Petrograd, up to the current one St. Petersburg.

Cultured, open, lively and refined, St. Petersburg, the ancient capital of all Russia, is a kind of dream nestled on the mouth of the Neva, the river which, before diving into the Baltic, flows under its thousand bridges, nourishes the infinite network of channels that make it resemble Venice, and offers a unique spectacle when, in early spring, it transports the immense blocks of ice arriving from the sea to the sea lake Ladoga.

A spectacular city in all respects, whose historic center is part of the long list of assets Equity shares Unesco of humanity. Which erased the signs of the Second World War, when the then Leningrad it resisted the Nazi siege for three years, today offering an immense living room, animated by elegant streets and airy boulevards; from buildings ranging from Baroque to Art Nouveau, and which often bear the signature of Italian architects. If you don't know what to do in St. Petersburg e what to visit, we offer you a short guide to give you some ideas.

10 things to do and see in St. Petersburg: places of interest

What to see in St. Petersburg in one day

From museums like theHermitage, which easily competes with the Louvre or the Uffizi in terms of the number and level of masterpieces housed there. From shops, galleries, clubs and restaurants that make it a sought-after and fashionable destination.

A walk on Nevsky Prospect, the most vital and elegant street in the centre, allows you to experience first-hand so much beauty and richness, to which the lateral arteries contribute with their markets, cultural initiatives, boutiques and commercial galleries. The list of monuments to visit is very long, starting with theHermitage, perhaps the most important museum in the world, wanted in its primitive nucleus by Catherine II, tsarina of all the Russias, and then constantly expanded and enriched with works from every era, to the point of making it a citadel of art, which to be fully visited - the experts claim - takes six years.

St. Petersburg, Russia - Photo by Georg Adler
St. Petersburg, Russia – Photo by Georg Adler

St. Petersburg, what to do and what to visit

Among the many places of interest of St. Petersburg We offer you just a few that you cannot fail to include in the list."St. Petersburg, what to visit".

Hermitage and Winter Palace

THEHermitage di St. Petersburg it is one of the most important museums in the world which has over three million works of art dating back to different historical eras. Initially the residence of the tsars, this building was later transformed into a museum. Visiting theHermitage you will be able to observe the most important and largest collection of paintings in the world: from Caravaggio, a Van Gogh, Until you get to Kandinsky. The museum complex includes the Winter Palace, the city's most famous structure as well as the winter residence of the tsars.

Winter Palace, St. Petersburg
Winter Palace, St. Petersburg

Church of Spilled Blood

You can't decide what to visit St. Petersburg without thinking about Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood. This cathedral was built between the end of the 1800s and the beginning of the 1900s precisely on the places where the Tsar Alexander II. The Church owes its name to this event. Its onion domes and enamel decorations are wonderful, not to mention the evocative ceramics and colored glass.

Church on Spilled Blood, Russia
Church on Spilled Blood, Russia

Nevsky Prospect

Nevsky Prospekt: it is the most famous street in all of Russia. The center develops right around this avenue, very busy during the day, despite the harsh winter temperatures and heart of the St. Petersburg nightlife.

Le things to see in St. Petersburg there are so many of them. TO St. Petersburg There are many places of interest and it would be impossible to list them all. We recommend using the St. Petersburg metro to travel from one area to another, so you can optimize your time and be able to visit as many sites as possible.

Nevskij Prospekt, St. Petersburg - Photo iGuzzini
Nevsky Prospect, St. Petersburg – Photo iGuzzini

5 Places of interest in St. Petersburg

Apart from the Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood, which reflects in the Neva his game of phantasmagorical domes; there St. Nicholas Cathedral And that of St. Isaac; The Alexander Column; the Monument to Peter the Great, who founded it in 1703, in Dekabristov square; the Mariinsky Theater Building; il State Russian Museum and that Russian ethnographic; The St. Peter's Fortress e St. Paul, and many others.

St. Petersburg, RussiaSt. Petersburg, Russia

St. Petersburg: see also

6 The St. Petersburg Metro

La St. Petersburg Metro it covers almost all of the main areas of interest in the Russian city and is the right answer to the question that you will surely have asked yourself: CHow to get around St. Petersburg? The metro has five lines with 67 stations. The subway lines are usually called by their color (the red line, the blue line, etc) as is often the case even if they have a specific name.

St. Petersburg Metro Map
St. Petersburg Metro Map

St. Petersburg in a nutshell: how to get there, where to sleep, what to eat and what temperatures to expect

7 Getting around in St. Petersburg

The best way to reach St. Petersburg is definitely by plane. The St. Petersburg airport Pulkov it is located about 16 km away from the city center and you can decide whether to take a taxi or a bus and then the subway to reach your hotel. To move to and fromSt. Petersburg airport you can alternatively use i marshrutka, typical minivans very popular in Russia.

Marshrutka in St. Petersburg
Marshrutka in St. Petersburg

8 St. Petersburg, climate

If you are not a fan of harsh cold, the best time to visit St. Petersburg it runs from May to September, months in which temperatures are acceptable. TO June and July you can even experience the “sleepless nights”, in which the sun never sets. In other months, St. Petersburg is still wonderful, but remember to wrap up well as the temperatures tend to be low.

Magical nights St. Petersburg
Magical nights St. Petersburg

9 What to eat in St. Petersburg

St. Petersburg, what to eat: among the typical dishes that you absolutely must try, we remember the Sirniki, egg, ricotta and flour pancakes, i blinis a mix between crepes and pancakes and the Borsch, a beetroot and meat soup.

blinis
blinis

10 Where to sleep in St. Petersburg

Ideal destination for yours do you travel, St. Petersburg offers various accommodation options. There is no area that is preferable to another when choosing yours hotel in St. Petersburg, as the city is small and in every area there is beauty to visit. Whatever your choice, we remind you that St. Petersburg is a fairly economical city within everyone's reach.

Corinthia Hotel St. Petersburg
Corinthia Hotel St. Petersburg

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St. Petersburg Map

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