Dvortsovaya Pl (Palace Sq)

It is no secret where St Petersburg’s heart lies. Although it’s no longer the hub of the city, there can be little doubt that the vast expanse where Nevsky pr meets the Neva River and Dvortsovaya nab is simply one of the most striking squares in the world, still redolent of imperial grandeur almost a century after the end of the Romanov dynasty. For the most amazing first impression walk from Nevsky pr, up Bolshaya Morskaya ul and under the triumphal arch. The square’s most impressive building is the incredible green, white and gold Winter Palace (Zimny Dvorets), a rococo profusion of columns, windows and recesses, topped by rows of larger-than-life statues. A residence of tsars from 1762 to 1917, it’s now the largest part of the State Hermitage Museum. In the centre of the square, the 47.5m Alexander Column was designed in 1834 by Montferrand. Named after Alexander I, it commemorates the 1812 victory over Napoleon. On windy days, contemplate that the pillar is held on its pedestal by gravity alone! Curving an incredible 580m around the south side of the square is the Carlo Rossi–designed General Staff Building of the Russian Army (1819–29). The two great blocks are joined by a triumphal arch over Bolshaya Morskaya ul. The arch is topped by the Chariot of Glory, another monument to the Napoleonic Wars. On Bloody Sunday (9 January 1905), tsarist troops fired on workers who were peaceably gathered in the square, sparking the 1905 revolution. And it was across Dvortsovaya pl that the much-exaggerated storming of the Winter Palace took place during the 1917 October Revolution.