Saint Petersburg (Russia) Sights

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The Historic Center of Saint Petersburg and Related Groups of Monuments are UNESCO world heritage whc.unesco.org/en/list/540, so definitely worth your while. However, due to plans of the city to build a 403m high Gazprom skyscraper , UNESCO is considering to withdraw this listing. Most of citizens disputes against this plans, but local authority stays deaf to them.

The Hermitage Museum

• The Hermitage Museum/The Winter Palace www.hermitagemuseum.org is Saint Petersburg's prime attraction, a massive palace-cum-museum showing the highlights of a collection of over 3,000,000 pieces spanning the globe. The Hermitage is truly one of the world's great museums, with an imposing setting displaying priceless works by Rembrandt, Da Vinci, Michealangelo, Reubens and more. It is recommended, though not required!, to get a tour guide. They can charge as much as $100 but they can tell you more about the building and the items and take you directly to the items you want to see.

Ticketing is complex, but the Hermitage itself is 100 rubles for Russians and 350 rubles for foreigners. Students of all nationalities get in for free, but don't forget your student card with photo! Entrance is free on the first Thursday of every month. Bags aren't allowed in the museum (and while technically neither are cameras without the appropriate ticket, they never check the photo-permission tickets so it's not worth buying them), so stash them in the busy cloakroom.

TIP - Buy tickets on-line before you go. Same price as the local ticket ($18 including photos), you just walk straight to the front of the queue. Hand your booking confirmation and passport to the lady at the information desk. She will get the ticket office to check your details and issue the tickets. Easily saved us hours of time, June 2009.

• Russian Museum, Inzhenernaya Ul. 4 (Across Ploshad Isskustv from the Grand Europe Hotel), ☎ 595 42 48, www.rusmuseum.ru/eng. 10AM to 6PM daily ex. Tuesday. An extensive collection of Russian paintings and sculpture. The main building, the Mikhailovskiy Palace houses the main exhibits, and the Russian Museum also oversees the permanent and temporary exhibits at the Stroganov Palace, Marble Palace and Mikhailovskiy Castle. Tickets to each can be purchased separately or as a universal pass. Foreigners 350 RR, Russians 150 RR.

• Peter and Paul Fortress. You can go in for free, but to enter the church and exhibitions you need tickets. You can get a combo ticket for everything, or you can just enter the church. Other than the church, which is where the all of the Romanov Czars of Russia from Peter the Great (bar two or three) are buried, the other things on the island aren't terribly impressive, so it might be worth it to just see the church. Note that if you buy a combo ticket for everything, you still need to have a 'special ticket' for a lot of exhibitions within the fortress!

• The Admiralty, North end of Nevsky Prospekt (Next to the Hermitage). Not open to visitors, but worth seeing from the outside.

Bridges by night

• The bridges on the Neva www.petersburg-bridges.com. Open 2 times per night to allow boats to pass.

• Ethnographic Museum, (Next to the Russian Museum Mikhailovskiy Palace). An interesting and educational display of the traditions and costumes of various ethnic groups found in the lands of the former Russian Empire. Foreigners 350 RR, Russians 100 RR.

• Alexander Nevskiy Monastery. Located at the Eastern end of Nevskiy Prospekt next to the River Neva. The site also has the Tikhvin Cemetery which houses the tombs of some of the world's most famous composers; Tschaikovsky, Rimsky-Korsakov, Mussorgsky and Borodin, and also the author Fyodr Dostoevsky, along with many other famous Russian figures.

• Museum of Artillery, Combat Engineers and Signal Troops. Housed in old Arsenal fortress-like building near the Peter and Paul Fortress and surrounded by moat.

• Church of the Saviour on Spilled Blood, Canal Griboedova, 2a (Between Nevsky Prospekt and the Neva), ☎ (812) 315-16-36. 10am to 8pm daily ex. Wed. A traditional style Russian church built on the spot where Tsar Alexander II was assassinated in 1881. The interior is elaborately decorated with over 6000sqm of mosaics. Foreigners 300 RR, Russians 120 RR.

• Our-Lady-of-Kazan Cathedral (Казанский собор, Kazansky Sobor), Nevsky Prospekt and Canal Griboedova (Metro: Nevsky Prospekt). Impressive neoclassical exterior, richly decorated interior. Includes the tomb of Gen. Kutuzov, hero of the war of 1812. Free entry.

• Saint Isaac's Cathedral, St. Isaac's Square, 4, ☎ (812) 315-97-32. 11am to 7pm daily ex. Wed. Located near to the Admiralty. It was built in 1818 and is a major attraction in the city. It is the third highest cupola cathedral in the world. There are night time visits, too, and the view from the observation deck (separate fee)is one of the best views of the city, for those who are willing to climb 400 steps. Foreigners 300 RR, Russians 120 RR.

• Peter the Great's Cabin. Peter the Great's men built the small wooden cabin in a matter of days for him when he planned the city and it has been preserved in a small brick building in the district Petrogradskaya. It is located close to the Cruiser Aurora on Petrovskaya Naberzhnaya.

• whc.unesco.org/en/list/540
• Gazprom skyscraper
• www.hermitagemuseum.org
• www.rusmuseum.ru/eng
• www.petersburg-bridges.com