Saint Petersburg, Russia. This is the second most important Russian city, after Moscow: residence of the tsars, it boasts an immense artistic heritage and one of the most important museums in the world. It is a city rich in architecture, despite its young age, as well as a recommended destination for art lovers. Over the years, after several wars, it changed its name, from Leningrad, to Petrograd, until it reached the current Saint Petersburg.
Cultured, open, lively and refined, Saint Petersburg, the former capital of all the Russias, is a kind of dream set at the mouth of the Neva, the river that, before plunging into the Baltic, flows beneath its thousand bridges, nourishes the endless network of canals that make it resemble Venice, and offers a unique spectacle when, in early spring, it carries to the sea the immense blocks of ice coming from Lake Ladoga.
A spectacular city in every respect, whose historic center is part of the long list of UNESCO World Heritage sites. It erased the marks of the Second World War, when then Leningrad resisted the Nazi siege for three years, now offering a huge lounge, driven by elegant streets and airy boulevards; by palaces ranging from baroque to art nouveau, often signed by Italian architects. If you don’t know what to do in Saint Petersburg and what to visit, we offer you a short guide to give you some ideas.
10 things to do and see in Saint Petersburg: places of interest
1 What to see in Saint Petersburg in one day
From museums like the Hermitage, which in terms of the number and quality of masterpieces it houses, easily competes with the Louvre or the Uffizi. From shops, galleries, venues, and restaurants that make it a sought-after and fashionable destination.
A walk along the Nevsky Prospect, the most lively and elegant street in the center, allows you to experience so much beauty and wealth firsthand, contributed to by the side streets with their markets, cultural initiatives, boutiques, shopping galleries. The long list of monuments to visit starts precisely with the Hermitage, perhaps the most important museum in the world, originally established by Catherine II, empress of all Russias, and then constantly expanded and enriched with works from every era, making it an art citadel which – according to experts – requires the beauty of six years to be visited entirely.
Saint Petersburg, what to do and what to visit
Among the many points of interest in Saint Petersburg, we suggest only a few that you cannot fail to include in the list “Saint Petersburg, what to visit”.
2 Hermitage and Winter Palace
The Hermitage of Saint Petersburg is one of the most important museums in the world, featuring over three million works of art from various historical periods. Originally the residence of the tsars, this building was later transformed into a museum. Visiting the Hermitage, you can see the most important and largest collection of paintings in the world: from Caravaggio to Van Gogh, up to Kandinsky. The museum complex includes the Winter Palace, the most famous building in the city as well as the winter residence of the tsars.
3 Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood
You cannot decide what to visit in Saint Petersburg without thinking about the Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood. This cathedral was built between the late 1800s and early 1900s precisely on the site where Tsar Alexander II was assassinated in an attack. The Church owes its name to this very event. Its onion domes, enamel decorations, not to mention the evocative ceramics and stained glass, are marvelous.
4 Nevsky Prospect
Nevsky Prospect: this is the most famous street in all of Russia. The city center develops right around this avenue, very busy during the day, despite the harsh winter temperatures and the heart of the nightlife of Saint Petersburg.
There are really many things to see in Saint Petersburg. In Saint Petersburg there are multiple places of interest, and it would be impossible to list them all. We recommend using the Saint Petersburg metro for your transfers from one area to another, so you can optimize your time and visit as many sites as possible.
5 Places of Interest in Saint Petersburg
Aside from the Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood, which reflects its fantastic domes in the Neva; the St. Nicholas Cathedral and that of St. Isaac; the Alexander Column; the Monument to Peter the Great, who founded it in 1703, in Decembrists Square; the Mariinsky Theatre Palace; the Russian State Museum and the Russian Ethnographic Museum; the Peter and Paul Fortress, and many others.
