 Saint Petersburg is one of the biggest cities as in Russia as in the whole world. It is a very popular Russian travel destination and it is also in the top of ten world cities that travelers from all over the world visit the most. Saint Petersburg is a young city. It was built a little bit more than three hundred years ago, but by its beauty and rich history, it can argue with the greatest European cities.
A founder and probably the main architecture of this glorious city was Russian tsar Peter the Great. Generally, the genius design of the city was come to his head. The plan was brining to life by him and his followers.
 The story of Peter’s own foundation of the town has become legendary and epic. One popular description represents him as snatching a halbert from one of his soldiers, cutting two strips of turf, and laying them crosswise with the words, “Here there shall be a town!” Foundation stones were evidently lacking, and sods had to take their place! Then, dropping the halbert, he seized a spade, and began the first embankment….This occurred on the 16th of May 1703. (From Peter the Great by K. Waliszewsi).
 The first architectures of the great city were foreigners. They projected and erected buildings using European style but by touching the Russian reality, they started to reflect in their constructions the specific features of Russian culture. Authority, regimes, fashion, styles and tastes were changing during the three hundred years process of the city creation, but the interesting fact is that the powerful impulse that the tsar-founder gave to the city’s building did not die away after his death. Saint Petersburg was developing intensively and nowadays it is internationally recognized as one of the most beautiful cities in all of the world.
 Petersburg is a cultural capital of Russia and of course there are many places of interest are centered here. All of them are worth visiting. There are museums and palaces, parks and gardens, monuments and sculptures, galleries and theatres. Hermitage is the most famous and well known among all sights of Saint Petersburg. Hermitage is called a treasure of world’s art. It is a huge complex that consists of five buildings combined with passages. Hermitage consists of 350 halls with different expositions in it. Museum collections give visitors knowledge about creations of different countries and nations. They are monumental sculptures and unique fragments of antique fabrics, jewelries and arms collection, rock paintings, modern masterpieces and ancient monuments. In Petersburg, people say if you want to be acquainted with all hermitage collections, the whole life is not enough. It is just because every next meeting with one of the art masterpieces open for you something new and very special, even if you had already saw it some time ago. There are many beautiful churches and temples in Saint Petersburg too. The Spilled on the Blood is one of the youngest and most interesting masterpieces of architecture and always attracts tourist’s attention. Sparkling on the sun its multicoloured domes beckon from afar.
 Russian mosaic work decorates its facade and interiors, and standing in front of it one can hardly believe that it used to be a vegetable storage during the Siege of Leningrad, one of the darkest pages in the history of this divine city.
Saint Petersburg is a museum in the open air and whenever you decide to come here city is marvelous in every season.
Spring is an excellent time for Russian travel and it is a great time to visit Saint Petersburg.
 Spring usually comes late. It begins at the end of March. Then at once the nature revives and the city wakes up after winter hibernation! The most spectacular action in Petersburg during this period is bridges opening. Navigation gets started along the river Neva since the beginning of April. Every day more and more people, both tourists and Petersburgers hurrying up on the rivers embankment for feasting their eyes with this beautiful spectacle.
Certainly, summer is a glorious season for visiting the city on the river Neva. Probably, the weather will not please you with warm and sunny days but Petersburg “white nights” will create an illusion that day is endless, so you have loads of time to examine everything that you wish!
 Directly from the city centre boats and little ships will whirl you away on the fascinating trip through Petersburg rivers and channels. You will float under numerous bridges and, sliding by the most beautiful mansions, you will admire reflexions of their facades on the water. Then you will understand why Petersburg is often called the “Northern Venice.” Do not miss a chance to make one more water excursion by the steam-ship. It delivers you in a place which name is Peterhof or “Russian Versailles.” There you can admire magnificence of palaces and have a walk in the glorious garden famous for its fountains. This city on the bank of the Finnish gulf has been constructed as Peter's summer residence where the Russian tsar accepted the most honourable guests from Europe.
 In autumn the city is as gorgeous as in summer. Bright paints, foliage rustle underfoot, lonely yellow leaves floating in the water, as a goldfishes, trees are changing the colours and all nature is starting to wither, preparing for winter. All of this beauty gives a special charm for the city. The Petersburg parks and squares are magnificent at this time of year. Autumn is a time for trips to Petersburg suburbs. They are two remarkable places - Pavlovsk and Pushkin.
Pushkin is a little town of our Great Russian poet Alexander Pushkin. This place is where he studied and learnt a life with his friends. It is a place where the precious autumn nature with its red-yellow and gold –orange paints inspired a talented Russian poet on masterpieces again and again... Moreover, you can walk on the same footpaths, inhale that air and enjoy the mystery of this place as he did. Excursion to Pavlovsk will impress you also. There you can take a walk in the beautiful park and have a picnic on one of the glades. You can also feed birds and squirrels. Animals are not too timid and often eat directly from hands.
 Nevertheless, not only nature’s beauty attracts tourists to Pavlovsk and Pushkin. Beautiful palaces are placed here, which were tsar residents in the past. You can go through its numerous rooms and halls and look with great pleasure on decorations.
These two wonderful places are located in a half an hour of driving from the city.
In 1990 palace and park assemblies of Petersburg suburbs were included in the list of objects of the world heritage of UNESCO in Russia.
Be not afraid to travel Russia in winter! Reject all stereotypes that Russian winter is as cold as on Northern pole and polar bears hide behind each snowdrift. If you take a risk and will come to Saint Petersburg in the winter – you are the lucky beggar! Colds here the same as well as in any European capital but to see the city covered with snow – it is truly delightful! The white city under the grey sky looks mysteriously and majestic! For those who arrive in winter there is a unique chance to participate in an Old Russian entertainment – riding on a sledge or “Russian Troika.” The harnessed of three horses take you for a ride on the big sledge painted in traditionally Russian style. The fervent ring of the bells tied to a bridle, will be your accompanying music. You will receive much of pleasure and fun from this trip.
 A visit to Russian banya can become the excellent end of the day! The Russian banya is the place where you can taste Russian exotic and precisely get warm. It is famous for its healing force and since ancient times was a symbol of health, youth and beauty. Here you can steam with a birch broom and aromas of a tree and pitch will help you to relax.
The memories about a snow-covered city remain with you for a long time. The photos were made in the trip you can show to the relatives and friends with a great pride!
Saint - Petersburg is more than Russia.This thesis is welcoming you on our page and it is not accidently...Russia is one of the biggest country and thousand Russian towns and cities were scattered as small beads on a map of a huge Russian territory. Each of these places should be visited, because all of them are amazing and wonderful.
However, we suggest starting Russian travel from Saint Petersburg because it is a unique city. Petersburg is Russian soul - beautiful and immense, stately and charming, touching and mysterious under the grey-blue sky. All these feelings arise at you as soon as you get to this marvelous city. Petersburg captivates and gains hearts from the first sight. Here everyone can find something very special and everyone will leave to a city a piece of the heart in a sign for coming back here again. We promise to put a maximum of our efforts to make your trip unforgettable and we will help to open small and big secrets that Petersburg is still hiding.
The reproduction of paintings by Igor Romanov |
