From Russia with Love: Top Things to Do in St. Petersburg

The number of places of tourist interest in St. Petersburg can be quite overwhelming.

If you are on a short visit and just want to see the top places of tourist interest, check out this guide by www.essayjedi.com

The Hermitage Museum

The Hermitage Museum has several galleries containing the works of old masters. You can see the works of classic Western artists as well as the treasures from the East.

Peter and Paul Fortress

The Peter and Paul Fortress is the location of one of the famous as well as historical prisons in Russia. There are plenty of things to see at the fortress, including the Peter and Paul Cathedral and the Prison Museum. You will have to buy a ticket to enter the fortress.

The Catherine Palace

The Catherine Palace is also referred to as the Summer Palace and is located at a town called Tsarskoe Selo. The palace is part of a stunning complex that includes guest houses and the blue and gold palace. You get a glimpse of how the Russian royalty once lived. Visitors can also see the luxurious interiors of the palace. The right time to visit the Catherine Palace may not be the peak tourist season, but if you can visit Russia only during this time, you should not miss out on this.

Peterhof

Peterhof is another palace complex that you must visit. It is beautiful as well as fun. There is an admission fee to visit the palace. The best time to visit Peterhof is when the fountains are working during day time in summer. This is because it remains closed during winter in the evenings on any other day. If you want to visit the place interiors, you may have to buy more tickets. You may think that it is expensive to visit Peterhof, but it is worth seeing the playground of the tsars.

Kizhi Island

Kizhi Island is famous for the open-air museum of architecture in wood belonging to the Karelia Region in Russia. The impressive structures in the museum are made without using nails – the wood fits together with joints and grooves. In the island, there is the Church of the Transfiguration built in the 17th century. The most photographed church has 22 Russian style onion domes.

The Russian Museum

Peter the Great founded St. Petersburg so as to be Russia’s window to the western world. Therefore, the Russian Museum has the greatest collection of Russian art in the whole world. You can see the collection of arts from Byzantine-style icons up to the Socialist Realism during Stalin’s era.

Church of Our Savior on the Spilt Blood

The Church of Our Savior on the Spilt Blood is enthralling on its exterior as well as the interior. Inside the Church there are a number of mosaics that resemble the paintings of famous artists of Russia.

The Bronze Statue of the Horseman

The Bronze Horseman (Statue of Peter the Great sitting on a horse) is an integral part of the Russian culture as well as a symbol of St. Petersburg. The statue represents Peter the Great’s influence on Russia’s idea of greatness. The Bronze Horseman statue is fixed on a stone that was brought from a faraway place and later shaped.

There two more must-do things that should be added to this list: a visit to Lazarus and Tikhvin Cemetaries, the burial place of some of the famous Russian composers, artists and writer; and the St. Petersburg boat tour.

 

About the Author