Saint Petersburg

Why Saint Petersburg works

Saint Petersburg was built to impress, and two centuries on it still does. The Hermitage, housed in the Winter Palace, holds one of the world's largest art collections — Rembrandts, da Vincis, and an entire wing of Impressionist works — and simply walking its gilded halls is a full day's experience. Outside, the Admiralty's golden spire and the Neva's granite embankments frame views that inspired generations of Russian poets. The city's canals — particularly the narrow Winter Canal beside the Hermitage — earn its nickname "Venice of the North," and a boat trip at dusk reveals facades lit gold against the water. St. Isaac's Cathedral's colonnade offers a rooftop panorama over the historic centre, while the Peter and Paul Fortress across the river marks the city's founding point in 1703. Nevsky Prospekt, the main boulevard, runs past Art Nouveau shopfronts, the Kazan Cathedral's curved colonnade, and countless coffeehouses. In June, the White Nights festival turns the sky a pale blue-grey through the night, and crowds gather on the embankments to watch the bridges raise for river traffic at 1am — a ritual as much a part of a Saint Petersburg visit as the museums themselves.

Trip Snapshot

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