What to do in St. Petersburg

As promised I’m continuing my series of blogs about un-missable tourist destinations on the different ports of call we send you all too. Bear in mind this is aimed at people who have never visited these ports before and it’s all based on my personal opinions and my favourite sites. If you feel I’ve missed something important out or disagree please make a comment below to help other cruisers make up their minds.
So on to business, today I'll be looking at St. Petersburg.
The Hermitage

Designed by the Italian architect Bartolomeo Rastrelli, the glorious baroque Winter Palace of the Empress Elizabeth is famous as the setting for Russia's finest collection of art and antiquities. The collection was founded by Catherine the Great in 1764 and has since expanded to cover 3 million works, which are lavishly displayed in the galleries of the Winter Palace and the linked Small Hermitage and Large Hermitage. Highlights include works by Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, Raphael, Titian, Rembrandt, Rubens, Van Gogh, Matisse, Gaugin, Rodin and many of the French Impressionists. The interior of the museum is extravagantly decorated with gilded ceilings, marble colonnades, elegant statuary, crystal chandeliers and intricate mosaic floors - the flamboyant styling reaches its zenith in the famous Jordan Staircase. It would take around 10 years to tour the Hermitage, spending just one minute at each exhibit, but the 90-minute guided tour of the highlights provides a convenient overview.

St Isaac's Cathedral

Commissioned by Tsar Alexander I to build a spectacular imperial cathedral, French-born architect Auguste Montferrand executed a masterpiece of engineering considering the marshy ground. Completed in 1858, the gilded dome of St Isaac's Cathedral still dominates the skyline of St Petersburg, though Alexander and his successor were dead long before it was completed. The interiors are dazzling, with malachite and lapis lazuli columns, mosaic icons, painted ceilings and, in the sanctuary, the large stained-glass Resurrected Christ. The climb to the colonnade of the dome (accessible on a separate ticket) is rewarded by marvellous panoramic views over the city. The church became a museum of atheism during the Communist years, but church services are now held here on special occasions.

Peter and Paul Fortress

Peter the Great laid out the plans for the Peter and Paul Fortress on Zayachy Island in 1703 to defend the area from the Swedes, but it soon became a political prison. Among the famous prisoners to be held here were Dostoevsky, Gorky and Trotsky, as well as Peter's own son, Alexei. The bleak cells have been converted into a museum, along with the Commandant's House where prisoners were tried. The highlight of the fort is the imposing Cathedral of St Peter and St Paul, whose soaring gold spire is visible from all over St Petersburg. For an additional fee, you can enter the cathedral to see the gorgeous baroque interior and the surprisingly modest tombs of Russia's pre-revolutionary leaders, from Peter the Great to Nicholas II. The bell tower can only be visited on an organized tour. You can also buy a ticket to walk along the fortress walls for stunning views over the Neva River towards the Admiralty and Hermitage.

Cabin of Peter the Great

The first house built in the newly founded St Petersburg in 1703 was not a grand palace but a humble wooden cabin, from where Peter the Great supervised the construction of his grand imperial city. Now encased in a protective brick enclosure and furnished with period furniture, its spartan simplicity is a strange contrast to the grand cathedrals and palaces that surround it. Peter lived here between 1703 and 1708 and some of his belongings remain, including his boat, his compass and his icon of the Redeemer.

Again I would love for anyone who has been to St Petersburg to add to this, either with a personal view of any of these sites or with any you feel I have missed.
The Baltics seem to be getting more and more popular theses days, and with destinations like this I guess it's not hard to see why.


Happy Cruising