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Site Of Pushkin's Duel
This is a point of literary pilgrimage for those who mourn the loss of Russia's poetic genius, Alexander Pushkin, who was senselessly killed in a duel with the Frenchman Georges d'Anthès on 8 February 1837. The story has developed a certain mythology around it in the past two centuries. A marble monument now stands on the place where Pushkin was shot and there are always fresh flowers here.
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Smolny Cathedral
If baroque is your thing, then look no further than the sky-blue Smolny Cathedral, an unrivalled masterpiece of the genre that ranks among Bartolomeo Rastrelli's most amazing creations. The cathedral is the centrepiece of a convent mostly built to Rastrelli's designs between 1748 and 1757. His inspiration was to combine baroque details with the forest of towers and onion domes typical of an old Russian monastery.
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Smolny Institute
Built by Giacomo Quarenghi between 1806 and 1808 as a school for aristocratic girls, the Smolny Institute was thrust into the limelight in 1917 when it became the headquarters for the Bolshevik Central Committee and the Petrograd Soviet. From here, Trotsky and Lenin directed the October Revolution, and in the Hall of Acts (Aktovy zal) on 25 October, the All-Russian Congress of Soviets conferred power on a Bolshevik government led by Lenin.
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SS Peter & Paul Cathedral
SS Peter & Paul Cathedral, in the grounds of Peter & Paul Fortress, has a magnificent baroque interior, quite different from other Orthodox churches, and a landmark needle-thin spire. All of Russia's prerevolutionary rulers from Peter the Great onwards (except Peter II and Ivan VI) are buried here. Peter I's grave is at the front on the right. Nicholas II and his family - minus Alexey and Maria - were the latest most controversial additions in 1998.
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St Isaac's Cathedral
The vast golden dome dominating the St Petersburg skyline is the neo-classical St Isaac's Cathedral. French designer Ricard de Montferrand kick-started proceedings in 1818, but construction took so long (the cathedral wasn't finished until 1858) that Nicholas I was able to extend the original designs to include even more extravagance.
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St Petersburg Zoo
St Petersburg Zoo is full of miserable animals and happy kids. The lack of funds is pitifully evident, but all things considered it's pretty well kept. It's the world leader in polar bear births (since 1993, over 100 have been born here).
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State Hermitage Museum
There are art galleries, there are museums, there are the great museums of the world and then there is the Hermitage. An unrivalled collection of art treasures housed in the magnificent palace from which the Romanov tsars ruled the Russian Empire, the State Hermitage will inevitably be the focus of any first visit to St Petersburg, and rightly so.
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State Museum Of Theatre & Music
Behind the Alexandrinsky Theatre, appropriately enough, this museum is a treasure-trove of items relating to Russian theatre, including model sets, posters and costumes. In a relatively new section aimed at children, there are great models of the Mariinsky stage and antique contraptions used to create stage effects such as wind and rain.
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State Photography Centre
This exhibition hall showcases rotating exhibitions of photography, videography and other mixed media. Recent features have ranged from photos of Nicholas II and his family in their final days, to video art exploring the concept of 'slowness' in everyday activities. (That last one sounds like a thriller.) Other events include master classes and talks by participating artists.
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Strelka
Among the oldest parts of Vasilevsky Ostrov, this eastern tip is where Peter the Great first wanted his new city's administrative and intellectual centre. In fact, the Strelka became the focus of St Petersburg's maritime trade, symbolised by the colonnaded Customs House (now the Pushkin House).
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Stroganov Palace
One of the city's loveliest baroque exteriors, the salmon pink Stroganov Palace was designed by court favourite Bartolomeo Rastrelli in 1753 for one of the city's leading aristocratic families. Most famously, the Stroganov's chef created a beef dish served in a sour cream and mushroom sauce that became known to the world as 'beef stroganoff'. The building is now owned by the Russian Museum, which uses the splendidly restored rooms for temporary exhibitions.
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Summer Garden
This is perhaps St Petersburg's loveliest and oldest park. Laid out for Peter the Great with fountains, pavilions and a geometrical plan to resemble the park at Versailles, it became a stomping ground for 19th-century ladies (and gentlemen) of leisure. Though changed now, its formal elegance remains.
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Summer Palace Of Peter I
The modest, two-storey Summer Palace in the northeastern corner of the Summer Garden was St Petersburg's first 'palace', which may seem like a slight misnomer for a remarkably small building. The 14-room baroque palace was built for Peter between 1704 and 1714 by Domenico Trezzini. Today it's open as a museum, showing off some simple 18th-century furnishings, porcelain duct work and ornamental painting. The bas-reliefs around the walls depict Russian naval victories.
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Tauride Palace & Gardens
Catherine the Great built this fabulous baroque palace in 1783 for Grigory Potemkin, a famed general and one of her many lovers. The palace takes its name from the Ukrainian region of Crimea (once called Tavria), which Potemkin conquered. The palace was a thank you for that acquisition, amongst other things.
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Temple of Love, Peace & Music
A highlight of any visit to Pushkinskaya 10 is the Temple of Love, Peace & Music. Collector Kolya Vasin (Russia's most famous Beatles' fan) has assembled an amazing array of John Lennon paraphernalia, which he shares with other fans on designated days.
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Temple Of The Assumption
This stunning 1895 neo-Byzantine church was built by architect Vasily Kosyakov on the site of a previous monastery. It was closed during the Soviet period, and from 1957 the building became the city's first - and very popular - year-round skating rink. The 7.7m, 861kg metal cross on the roof was only replaced in 1998. The exterior was under scaffolding at the time of research, but the church continued to hold services. Women should cover their heads before entering.
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Toy Museum
Since 1997, this privately run museum has been collecting toys from all over Russia and presenting them in three different sections - folk toys, factory toys and artisanal toys. Examples of the latter include toys made in Sergiev Posad, home of the ubiquitous matryoshka (nesting doll), a creation that is often assumed to be far older than it is, being created for the first time only in the 19th century. The Toy Museum is charming and often has very interesting temporary exhibitions too.
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Trinity Cathedral
The Trinity Cathedral boasts stunning blue cupolas emblazoned with golden stars. Slow but careful restoration of this cathedral has been underway for several years. In 2006, a fire that started in the scaffolding caused the 83m-high central cupola to collapse - it was a major setback to reconstruction efforts. Nonetheless, the renovation continues, and the smaller renovated cupolas act as a shining example of what is to come.
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Twelve Colleges
Marked by a statue of scientist-poet Mikhail Lomonosov (1711-65), the 400m-long Twelve Colleges building is one of St Petersburg's oldest buildings. It was originally meant for Peter's government ministries, but it is now part of the university, which stretches out behind it. Within these walls populist philosopher Nikolai Chernyshevsky studied, Alexander Popov created some of the world's first radio waves and a young Vladimir Putin earned a degree in law.
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Vladimirsky Cathedral
This fantastic, five-domed cathedral, ascribed to Domenico Trezzini, is the namesake of this neighbourhood. Incorporating both baroque and neoclassical elements, the cathedral was built in the 1760s, with Giacomo Quarenghi's neoclassical bell tower added later in the century. Apparently Fyodor Dostoevsky was a parishioner here (convenient, as he lived around the corner).
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Winter Palace Of Peter I
Opened as a part of the State Hermitage Museum in 1992, this palace on the Neva was the principle residence of Peter the Great, and indeed he died here in 1725. When Giacomo Quarenghi constructed the Hermitage Theatre on this site between 1783 and 1789, he preserved parts of the palace and grounds. Between 1976 and 1986, excavations beneath the theatre stage uncovered a large fragment of the former state courtyard, as well as several suites of palace apartments.
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World Of Water Museum
The handsomely restored complex of 19th-century brick buildings between Tauride Gardens and the Neva River house St Petersburg's water treatment company Vodokanal and its on-topic museum. The 1st floor has an interesting multimedia exhibition about what goes on underground St Petersburg. The upper floors of the water tower contain historical exhibitions, including the construction of waterways in the city and the water system during the blockade.
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Yelagin Island
This entire island is basically a giant park, a delightful car-free zone that is a fantastic place to wander. It was landscaped by the architect Carlo Rossi, so you can expect the loveliest of settings. The centrepiece is the Yelagin Palace, also by Rossi, which Alexander I had built for his mother Empress Maria. The very beautiful restored interiors of the main house include old furnishings on loan from the Grand Europe and Astoria Hotels.
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Yelagin Palace
The centrepiece of Yelagin Island is Yelagin Palace, which Alexander I had built for his mother Empress Maria. The very beautiful restored interiors of the main house include old furnishings on loan from the Grand Europe and Astoria Hotels; don't miss the stupendous 1890s carved-walnut ensemble in the study and the incredible inlaid-wood floors.
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Yelizarov Museum
This unique building (known locally as the 'boat house' due to its uncanny similarities externally to a large cruise liner) was built in 1913 at the height of St Petersburg's lust for Style Moderne. It would otherwise be unremarkable were it not for the fact that Lenin's wife's family lived here and the great revolutionary himself laid low here before the revolution while organising the workers.
