Things to Do in St Petersburg

With its orange-brick façade and gilded church spire, hemmed in by the waters of the Fontanka and Moika Rivers, Mikhailovsky Castle offers an enchanting first impression, but it’s the palace’s somber history that will stick in the minds of visitors. Built between 1797 and 1800 during the short reign of Emperor Paul I, the castle was the result of the enigmatic leader’s near-obsessive fear of being assassinated. Claiming that he was visited in a dream by the Archangel Michael and advised to build a castle on the site of his birthplace, the Tsar did just that – erecting a supposedly impenetrable fortress underlain with secret tunnels and protected by fortified ramparts, drawbridges and a moat. Somewhat ironically, fate stepped in, and just a month after moving into his safeguard the Tsar was murdered in his sleep.

Guarding the western end of Nevsky Prospekt, St. Petersburg’s busiest shopping boulevard, Anichkov Palace is one of the street’s oldest buildings, occupying a scenic spot on the Fontanka River waterfront, fronted by the landmark Anichkov Bridge. Commissioned by Empress Elizabeth in 1741, the royal residence was designed by architect Mikhail Zemtsov, and added to over the years by architects like Francesco Bartolomeo Rastrelli and Karl Rossi.

Nevsky Prospekt (Не́вский проспе́кт) is the most famous street in Russia and main street of St. Petersberg, spanning from the Admiralty (Адмиралтейства) to the Alexander Nevsky Monastery (Александро-Невской лавры).

As a major central street in the city, Nevsky Prospekt is oft the stomping grounds for many holiday, national, and other celebrations, such as Victory Day, and Day of the City, hosting events from festivals to parades.

The street is also home to many sculptures that captures both Russian heroes and historical figures including Nevsky himself, Catherine the Great, city hero of Leningrad Obelisk, Kutuzov, and one of Mikhail Barclay do Tolly, located in the Kazan area.

Founded by Peter the Great in 1710 to commemorate the Russian military leader who stopped the advance of the Germans and Swedes in the 13th century, the Alexander Nevsky Monastery (Александро-Невская лавра) is not just a tribute and final resting place to one of Russia’s great leaders, but home to many of Russia’s historical icons.

Upon entrance through the main gate you will notice the Lazarev and Tikhvin Cemeteries on either side, known together as the Necropolis of Masters of Art (Некрополь мастеров искусств) where the ornate tombs of Leonhard Euler, Mikhail Lomonosov, Nikolay Karamzin, Modest Mussorgsky, Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky, and Fyodor Dostoevsky reside.

The monastery also includes 2 baroque churches, the Saint Nicholas Church (Никольская церковь), and the majestic Holy Trinity Cathedral (Троицкий собор), one of the very few churches given permission to carry out sermons during Soviet rule. Even though much of the monastery’s structures have undergone sporadic reconstruction, the baroque style that dominates much of the complex is still intact.

Completed in 1811 and standing at an impressive 203 feet tall (62 meters), St Petersburg's Cathedral of Our Lady of Kazan exhibits Russian classical architecture, having replaced a wooden church of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary. The cathedral took 10 years to construct and today encircles a small square with a double row of beautiful columns, while the interior is adorned with the works of some of the country's greatest artists and sculptors, such as I.P. Prokofyev and F.G. Gordeev, with reliefs on the facade by I.P. Martos, S.S. Pimenov and I.P. Martos.

St. Petersburg’s preeminent opera and ballet venue, and home to the world-renowned Kirov Ballet, Mariinsky Theatre has long been at the center of the city’s rich arts scene. Built in 1859 by architect Albert Cavos and named after Empress Maria Alexandrovna, the theatre saw a host of prestigious performers grace its stage during its pre-Revolution heyday, including dancers like Vatslav Nizhinsky, Matilda Kshesinskaya and Anna Pavlova, and opera singer Fiodor Shaliapin.

Long upheld as the lifeline of the city, the Neva River runs straight through the heart of St Petersburg, with its many tributaries and canal ways crisscrossing the city center. For visitors to St. Petersburg, following the path of the Neva River makes a popular route for walking tours and sightseeing cruises, with many of the city’s top attractions lining its banks. The grand façades of the Anichkov Palace, the Winter Palace and the Mariinsky Theatre, the Classicist buildings of New Holland Island, the historic Peter and Paul Fortress and the lush Summer Gardens all face onto the waterfront, punctuated by iconic drawbridges like the Peter the Great Bridge and the Palace Bridge.

Built in 1777 under commission of Catherine the Great and featuring the works of architects like Charles Cameron, Jacomo Quarengi and Carlo Rossi, the stately Pavlovsk Palace was a gift from the Empress to her son, the future Emperor Paul I, to mark the birth of her first grandson. A magnificent neoclassical complex set in an idyllic 1,500-acre estate, the palace is surrounded by landscaped parks and woodlands, and served as the summer residence for the Emperor and his wife, Maria Feodorovna, until his untimely death in 1801.