Moscow - St Petersburg

It is easy to see why St Petersburg is known as "the Venice of the North". It was founded by Peter I ('the Great') in 1703 by draining a marshy area. It comprises 44 islands linked by over 300 bridges in the mouth of the River Neva. We visited St Petersburg at the end of our holiday cruise, and expected the city formerly known as Leningrad to be dull but it is a most beautiful place with a huge variety of colourful architectural styles.

The astonishing Cathedral of the Resurrection. The sign at the top of the picture is pointing to a bank.
The huge spire of the Peter and Paul Cathedral is visible from much of the centre of St Petersburg	An ornate statue in front of the magnificent St Isaac's Cathedral. It is possible to climb up towards the cathedral's dome, but we did not
Imposing buildings and monuments are a feature of central St Petersburg
The 4x4 car on the pavement is not parked. It was doing 20mph to beat the rush hour traffic jam!	The battleship Aurora which fired the first shot of the Russian Revolution, now accessible to the public on the St Petersburg waterfront

We were taken on several interesting trips whilst we were in St Petersburg. Use the links below to get full details.

Places to visit in St Petersburg

Catherine Palace, Pushkin

Song and Dance

The Hermitage

St Petersburg from the Waterways

Yusupov Palace