St. Petersburg
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1. St. Isaac's Cathedral
AdmiralteiskyThe grandly proportioned St. Isaac's is the world's third-largest domed cathedral and the first monument you see of the city if you arrive by ship. Its architectural distinction is up for debate; some consider the massive design and highly ornate interior to be excessive, but others revel in its opulence. Tsar Alexander I commissioned the construction of the cathedral in 1818 to celebrate his victory over Napoléon, but it took more than 40 years to actually build it. The French architect Auguste Ricard de Montferrand devoted his life to the project, and died the year the cathedral was finally consecrated, in 1858. The interior of the cathedral is lavishly decorated with malachite, lazulite, marble, and other stones and minerals. Gilding the dome required 220 pounds of gold. At one time a Foucault pendulum hung here to demonstrate the axial rotation of the earth, but it was removed in the late 20th century. After the Revolution of 1917 the cathedral was closed to worshippers, and in 1931 was opened as a museum; services have since resumed. St. Isaac's was not altogether returned to the Orthodox Church, but Christmas and Easter are celebrated here (note that Orthodox holidays follow the Julian calendar and fall about 13 days after their Western equivalents). When the city was blockaded during World War II, the gilded dome was painted black to avoid its being targeted by enemy fire. The cathedral nevertheless suffered heavy damage, as bullet holes on the columns on the south side attest. The outer colonnade beneath the dome affords an excellent view of the city, especially at twilight and during the the famous White Nights. To one side of the cathedral, where the prospekt meets Konnogvardeisky bulvar, is the early-19th-century Konnogvardeisky Manège, gracefully designed by Giacomo Quarenghi and decorated with marble statues of the mythological twins Castor and Pollux. This former barracks of the Imperial horse guards is used as an art exhibition hall.
4 pl. Isaakievskaya, St. Petersburg, St.-Petersburg, 190000, Russia812-315--9732Sight Details
Rate Includes: Cathedral 350R; colonnade 1200R, Closed Wed. -
2. Senate Square
AdmiralteiskyOne of St. Petersburg's best-known landmarks, a gigantic equestrian statue of Peter the Great, dominates this square that from 1925 through 2008 was known as "Decembrists' Square," a reference to the dramatic events that unfolded here on December 14, 1825. Following the death of Tsar Alexander I (1777–1825), a group of aristocrats, some of whom were army officers, staged a rebellion on the square in an attempt to prevent the crowning of Nicholas I (1796–1855) as the new tsar, and perhaps do away with the monarchy altogether. Their coup was suppressed with much bloodshed by troops who were loyal to Nicholas, and those rebels who were not executed were banished to Siberia. Although the Decembrists, as they came to be known, did not bring significant change to Russia in their time, their attempts at liberal reform were often cited by the Soviet regime as proof of deep-rooted revolutionary fervor in Russian society. In the center of the square is the grand statue called the Medny Vsadnik (Bronze Horseman), erected as a memorial from Catherine the Great to her predecessor, Peter the Great. The simple inscription on the base reads, "To Peter the First from Catherine the Second, 1782." Created by the French sculptor Étienne Falconet and his student Marie Collot, the statue depicts the powerful Peter, crowned with a laurel wreath, astride a rearing horse that symbolizes Russia, trampling a serpent representing the forces of evil. The enormous granite rock on which the statue is balanced comes from the Gulf of Finland. Reportedly, Peter liked to stand on it to survey his city from afar. Moving it was a Herculean effort, requiring a special barge and machines and nearly a year's work. The statue was immortalized in a poem of the same name by Alexander Pushkin, who wrote that the tsar "by whose fateful will the city was founded beside the sea, stands here aloft at the very brink of a precipice, having reared up Russia with his iron curb."
Pl. Senatskaya, St. Petersburg, St.-Petersburg, 190000, Russia -
3. Siniy most
AdmiralteiskyThis bridge spanning the Moika River is so wide (about 325 feet) and stubby that it seems not to be a bridge at all but rather a sort of quaint raised footpath on St. Isaac's Square. The "Blue Bridge" is named for the color of the paint on its underside.
Pl. Isaakievskaya, St. Petersburg, St.-Petersburg, 190000, Russia -
4. St. Isaac's Square
AdmiralteiskyIn the center of this square in front of St. Isaac's Cathedral stands the Nicholas Statue. Unveiled in 1859, the statue of Tsar Nicholas I was commissioned by the tsar's wife and three children, whose faces are engraved (in the allegorical forms of Wisdom, Faith, Power, and Justice) on its base. It was designed, like St. Isaac's Cathedral and the Alexander Column, by Montferrand. The statue depicts Nicholas mounted on a rearing horse. Other engravings on the base describe such events of the tsar's reign as the suppression of the Decembrists' uprising and the opening ceremonies of the St. Petersburg–Moscow railway line.
pl. Isaakievskaya, St. Petersburg, St.-Petersburg, 190000, Russia -
5. St. Nicholas Naval Cathedral
AdmiralteiskyThis turquoise-and-white extravaganza of a Russian baroque cathedral was designed by S.I. Chevakinsky, a pupil of Bartolomeo Francesco Rastrelli. It's a theatrical showpiece, and its artistic inspiration was in part derived from the 18th-century Italian prints of the Bibiena brothers, known for their opera and theater designs. Canals and green spaces surround the wedding-cake silhouette, a forest of white Corinthian pilasters and columns and flanked by an elegant campanile. Inside are a lower church (low, dark, and warm for the winter) and an upper church (high, airy, and cool for the summer), typical of Russian Orthodox sanctuaries. The interior is no less picturesque than the outside. This is one of the few Orthodox churches that stayed open under Soviet power.
1/3 Nikolskaya Pl., St. Petersburg, St.-Petersburg, 190068, Russia812-714--6926 -
Recommended Fodor’s Video
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6. The Building Of The Admiralty
AdmiralteiskyThe spire of this lovely golden-yellow building is visible throughout the city and is one of St. Petersburg's most renowned emblems. The first structure on this site was a shipyard of Peter the Great, followed by an earthen fortress that guarded the port; after this came the first Admiralty, made of stone and topped by the spire that's endured to grace each successive structure. As you walk through the park in front, you'll see various statues, mostly of artists such as the composer Mikhail Glinka and the writer Mikhail Lermontov; the figure accompanied by the delightful camel is of Nikolai Przhevalsky, a 19th-century explorer of Central Asia.
Admiralteisky pr., St. Petersburg, St.-Petersburg, 190000, Russia -
7. Vladimir Nabokov Museum-Apartment
AdmiralteiskyVladimir Nabokov (1899–1977), best known in America for the novel Lolita, was born and lived in this apartment until his 18th year. Judging from Nabokov's works, in which the author often describes his building in detail, it seems he had warm memories of his first home. When in exile, Nabokov lived in hotels or rented apartments in different cities but never owned his own home. When asked why he didn't want to settle into a permanent home, he would answer, "I already have one in St. Petersburg." On view are family photos; the writer's drawings and various editions of his books; some of his belongings; and his collection of butterflies, which was previously kept at Harvard University. Visitors can watch a tape of a 1962 interview with Nabokov, in English.
47 ul. Bolshaya Morskaya, St. Petersburg, St.-Petersburg, 190000, Russia812-315--4713Sight Details
Rate Includes: Free, Closed Sun., Mon. -
8. Yusupov Palace
AdmiralteiskyOn the cold night of December 17, 1916, this elegant yellow palace on the banks of the Moika River became the setting for one of history's most melodramatic murders. Prince Yusupov and others loyal to the tsar spent several frustrating and frightening hours trying to kill Grigory Rasputin (1872–1916), who had strongly influenced the tsarina, who in turn influenced the tsar, during the tumultuous years leading up to the Bolshevik Revolution. An extended tour given once daily at 1:45 pm shows off the rooms in which Rasputin was (or began to be) killed, as well as a waxworks exhibit of Rasputin and Prince Yusupov (who was forced to flee the country when Rasputin's murder was uncovered). Another tour (scheduled on the hour) takes you through the former reception rooms of the second floor. Both tours are in Russian only, but an audioguide tour is available in English, French, German, Italian, Finnish, and Spanish or you may phone ahead at least ten days in advance to arrange an English-language tour. The palace's underground tunnel where Rasputin was actually poisoned is ostensibly off-limits, but you may be able to view it if you avail yourself of the bathroom facilities on the lower level of the mansion. On a lighter note, the showpiece of the palace remains the jewel-like rococo theater, whose stage was once graced by Liszt and Chopin; concerts are still presented here, and also in the palace's august and elegant White-Columns Room (concert tickets usually have to be purchased just before performance time).
View Tours and Activities94 nab. Moika, St. Petersburg, St.-Petersburg, 190000, Russia812-314--9883Sight Details
Rate Includes: 700R, Daily 11--5
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