However, it was not until that Peter the Great founded the city of St Petersburg as a strategic location on the Baltic Sea. Legend says that as soon as he saw the swampland he proclaimed that this would be the site of the future Russian capital, a prophecy which came to be from to and to In the 18th and early 19th centuries St Petersburg underwent huge change, emerging as a cultural front-runner in the Western world aside that of Paris and London.
In the Soviet era, St Petersburg was renamed Leningrad and the surrounding oblast federal subdivision kept the Soviet name. During the Second World War Leningrad was one of the key points at the Eastern front, and the Siege of Leningrad is considered to be the most tragic event in the history of the city, with hundreds of thousands of citizens having died when the Nazis cut off all supplies.
Over the course of the 21st century, St Petersburg has re-emerged as the pre-eminent destination for Russian art and learning with a wide range of concert halls, art galleries and museums adorning its many streets. It is also home to Russia's largest, private contemporary art museum opened in , Erarta. There is always plenty to do in St Petersburg, the city centre contains around 2, palaces and magnificent Baroque and neo-classical buildings that have been well-preserved, justifying its status as UNESCO World Heritage site.
There are also a series of parks to stroll through including one of the largest English gardens in Europe. Founded by Peter the Great in , this awe-inspiring star-shaped citadel was designed by Domenico Trezzini and has been the site of turmoil since its conception starting out as a defensive point and later becoming the prison and execution ground in the Bolshevik era; it remains the site where many members of House Romanov were buried.
This island has become a major tourist attraction for all lovers of Russian history. Book your tour of the Peter and Paul Fortress online today! St Petersburg State Hermitage Museum. There are museums, 45 galleries and other exhibition spaces to choose from, with the Hermitage Museum being the most famous, featuring the interiors of an imperial residence and a stunning art collection. The Hermitage is considered to be one of the largest museums in the world stretching over six buildings and containing over 3 million pieces of art work, many of which created by the 'Old Masters' from Rembrandt to Titian as well as modern masterpieces from the likes of Henri Matisse.
Book your walking tour of the State Hermitage online today! St Petersburg Peterhof Palace. The world-famous Peterhof Palace is a series of complexes and gardens located on the banks of the Neva River.
Constructed by Peter the Great, this French-inspired UNESCO World Heritage Site is the diamond of the Petrine-Baroque architectural style, containing all the frills and grandeur one would expect from a royal domain from carefully considered landscape gardens by the famed Versailles landscaper Andre Le Notre, to a vast array of sculptures and paintings from Europe's most famous artists of the day.
See our St Petersburg excusions page to book your trip to the Peterhof Palace. Stuck for things to do in St Petersburg? See our full range of St Petersburg tours and excursions for tourists by clicking the button below. Book your St Petersburg excursions online today! St Petersburg is considered one of the best cities in Russia in terms of night life, bars and restaurants. Tourists will have a wide range of locations to choose from ranging from small taverna-like bars frequented by the locals to private clubs and high-end restaurants serving up contemporary cuisine.
We have put together our top 3 recommended bars and restaurants in St Petersburg. Money Honey styles itself on a wild western saloon and has been considered a mainstay on the St Petersburg night scene for many years.
This bar is host to a wide variety of events and is particularly well known for it's rockabilly and rock'n'roll bands. The bar is open from am until am Monday to Thursday, am until am Friday and Saturday, and am until midnight on Sundays. Jazz-lovers will find that JFC covers a wide scope of musical tastes from blues and rock to more avant-garde elements. The venue is open pm until pm every day. This club caters to all interests and includes a karaoke, hookah bar, restaurant and prestigious cocktail bar.
This cocktail bar is open 24 hours 7 days a week. Kokoko opened in with the aim of providing world-class Russian cuisine with a contemporary twist. The restaurant serves up a great blend of seafood, meat and vegetarian dishes sourced from local produce.
This restaurant has split opening times running from amam and pm until am Monday to Friday, and am until pm and pm until am Saturday and Sunday.
Mamalyga is a must visit for anybody interested in Caucasian cuisine. The restaurant places comfort at the center of its concept, giving a much more homely feel. Perfect for lovers of barbecue and tandoori dishes.
Mamalyga restaurant is open am until am Monday to Friday, and pm until am Saturday and Sunday. The Tayaki Cafe is the perfect destination for lovers of Japan, and offers a quintessentially Japanese experience away from home. The restaurant is known for its Japanese street food, however you will often find events taking place in the cafe including tea ceremonies and lectures on Japanese culture.
This quaint cafe is open am until pm Sunday to Thursday, and am until pm Friday and Saturday. The weather is fickle and changeable, as it is common in coastal cities. Petersburg experiences the midsummer, with the sun never really setting in late June. This is celebrated by the White Nights Festival during the last ten days of June, which features all-day performances and make June the most popular month for tourists.
A visit in late autumn can also be recommended, because the heat begins to drop in September and so does the number of tourists. St Petersburg is made up of eighteen districts, the most popular of which are the central districts of Admiralteysky and Vasileostrovsky. The best place to stay during your trip in St Petersburg will largely depend on what it is you plan to do while you are there sports, shopping, site-seeing , however as a general rule, we recommend sticking to these two central districts when choosing your hotel.
We can arrange accommodation during your stay in St Petersburg through a accommodation search tool. Pulkovo Airport is located 17 kilometers south of the city centre and is the busiest Russian airport outside of Moscow, serving many international and domestic airlines.
However, there is also the option of flying into Lappeenranta Airport which is located across the border in Finland. The railway system is extremely well-connected. Moscow can be reached in only four hours via a high-speed rail system, and there are also international connections to Helsinki, Berlin and Eastern Europe. Its closeness to Europe makes St Petersburg a perfect destination for a short city-break , whilst still being able to offer a more exotic and distinctively Russian experience.
The city has an extensive cultural repertoire and boasts a number of World Heritage Sites. The tourist industry in St Petersburg has developed rapidly since the collapse of the Soviet Union and is now one of the best in Russia.
Moreover, the city has plenty to offer to those not as interested in art including a bustling night life and excellent variety of restaurants, making it one of the most diverse tourist experiences in Europe. When visiting a new city, you are bound to have loads of questions. Here, we have included some of the questions we get asked most about St Petersburg:. However, as with any major city, it is important to take the usual precautions particularly around busy areas such as Pulkovo Airport or the train station.
As a tourist, St Petersburg can be still be quite expensive although with the devaluation of the Ruble against other currencies in recent years the city has become much more affordable than it once was.
Eating out can prove expensive, but again this depends on where you are looking to eat. St Petersburg is approximately km away from Moscow and will take anything between 4 to 8 hours by train depending on the type of train you take, or around 1. To learn more about prices, timetables and bookings see our Moscow - St Petersburg trains page. Pulkovo airport is around 20km away from St Petersburg city centre and is approximately minutes' away by car. Regular buses run from the airport to the city centre however it is possible to book a taxi or private car in order to make the journey less stressful.
Most visitors to Russia will need a visa in order to enter the country. E-visas are available for up to 53 foreign states that want to visit St Petersburg specifically. From time to time, visa-free travel to St Petersburg is possible and you can find more information about whether you require a Russian visa from our Russian visa tourist page. And both are significant cultural centers, with numerous theaters and museums in each, including the historic Mariinksy Theater in St.
Petersburg and the famous Bolshoi Theater in Moscow. But most visitors will focus on the differences between the two cities and the residents of Moscow and Piter as Russians call it will readily admit to their fierce rivalry. One has a history that goes back a millennium; the other is just a few hundred years old.
One is known for military battles and political struggles, while the other is synonymous with imperial splendor and elegance. Over the centuries, one has served as a fortress to keep invaders out while the other was built to be a window to the western world.
Today, it is a modern metropolis, increasingly lined with concrete, glass and metal skyscrapers overlooking what remains of its illustrious history. Indeed, most of the twenty tallest buildings in the country can be found in Moscow. At the same time, Moscow is home to more than churches, many with the iconic onion-shaped domes for which Russia is famous, and has long been the center of the Russian Orthodox church.
Petersburg, the Kremlin has historically been the seat of government, both for Russia and the Soviet Union. Throughout Soviet times, Red Square was the site of military parades, including the Victory Parade in celebrating the defeat of Nazi Germany and parades each year on May Day and Victory Day showing off troops, tanks, missiles and Communist propaganda. Monuments in Pobedy Park Victory Park and elsewhere in the city commemorate war victories over Napoleon and the Nazis.
Upon initial arrival, Moscow can feel overwhelming, with bustling streets and crowded subway stations. With a dozen subway lines stopping at more than stations, just getting around the city may intimidate even the most experienced traveler. Petersburg is often referred to as the Venice of the North, an architecturally riveting city of canals and bridges — more than Walking through the city center is like taking a step back in time, with neoclassical and baroque buildings lining often quiet streets and no skyscrapers in sight.
If you arrive in St. Petersburg after visiting Moscow, it may seem calm in comparison. Petersburg — together they tell the story of Russian history and culture and highlight the best of what the country has to offer. Ancient geoglyphs etched in sand, unique marine habitats, and unrivalled natural wonders — see our top designated sites to visit next.
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