Nevsky Prospekt may sound like a great title for a spy movie but translated it really just means Neva Avenue. Sounds ordinary, doesn’t it? But, like the Champs Elysées in Paris or Broadway in New York, this road in St. Petersburg is anything but common. One of the oldest roads in a relatively new city […]

Italy is famous for its outdoor fountains and sculpture. Paris, too, has its Arc de Triomphe and dozens more. But St. Petersburg, Russia is no slouch when it comes to monuments. Tourists flock to this ‘Venice of the North’ in part because it has dozens of noteworthy sights for those who love to stroll around […]

First completed in 1865, the Leningrad Zoo has had its ups and downs over the past nearly century and a half. It isn’t equal to the world-class zoos such as those in San Diego and the Bronx. Still, it is a great sight to see in St. Petersburg. In 1873 it was taken over by […]

Erected during the Great Northern War against Sweden, Peter and Paul fortress form the cornerstone for the city of St. Petersburg, Russia. Though built as a bar against its then-enemy, the battles quickly moved north and it was never used to stall invaders. Instead, it evolved into one of the most notorious political prisons under […]

St. Petersburg is sometimes called the ‘Venice of the North’ for all its canals. But canals would be a great inconvenience without bridges to walk across them. Luckily this city of 101 islands has over 500, and many are stunning. The first bridge ever built there was erected in 1703, the year of St. Petersburg’s […]

St. Petersburg lies at the shore of the Gulf of Finland that separates it from that Scandinavian country. A coastal city, it offers a number of cruises both short and long. Whichever choice a visitor makes can hardly be bad, since there are so many fine sights to see on any of them. The River […]

Summer Garden (Letny Sad) The Letny Sad is one of St. Petersburg’s oldest and finest gardens. Designed to provide Peter the Great with a leisurely stroll, visitors can easily imagine themselves in his shoes. Built along classical lines, the grounds are laid out according to a strict geometric plan. Yet, there’s nothing rigid or tense […]

Completed in 1900, the Aurora was destined for fame. One of the few survivors of the Tsushima battle of the Russo-Japan war in 1905, it would go on to feature prominently in the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917. The signal to storm the Winter Palace was a shot fired from her decks. Though damaged during WWII, […]

One of Russia’s premier religious sites, the monastery named for Prince Alexander of Novgorod is among the most popular tourist destinations in St. Petersburg. Like many attractions, the site isn’t visited so often solely because of its religious significance. For most visitors, it’s because it has so many architectural and artistic elements to view. The […]

St. Petersburg is a fascinating mixture of old-style Russia and Gilded Age Europe. Tsar Peter decided to move to the capital and founded a city in 1703 devoted to culture and science. Along the banks of the River Neva, he started an effort that continued for two hundred years. For generations, artists and engineers from […]