Hello everyone!
Saint Petersburg, the Venice of the North
I’m sure that, just like me when you were a kid, especially you ladies, you dreamed of becoming the Disney princess Anastasia, right? In any case, the Romanovs and all that history always made my eyes sparkle!
So, it was with great excitement that I headed off to Saint Petersburg with my boyfriend for a week.
When we arrived and, after quickly dropping our bags at the hotel, went out to explore the city, I was immediately won over by the beauty of this place. It’s a UNESCO World Heritage site and is often nicknamed “the Venice of the North.” The wide avenues leading to grand squares, the architecture itself, the canals, everything serves as a reminder that Peter the Great intended for this to be a city open to Europe.
Getting around Saint Pete
Getting around is no problem at all. You can certainly use taxis, but I’d recommend public transport instead: it’s more economical and very well-connected. You can mix and match between the metro, buses, and trams. Don’t be surprised by the metro: before you even reach your platform, you’ll feel like you’re descending into the center of the earth. The network is one of the deepest in the world because they had to avoid the marshy soil and dig through solid granite!
The list of monuments to visit is long. I’m going to share some of what we saw, but keep in mind there’s plenty more, and simply wandering around the city is enough to leave you in awe!
Points of interest to visit
The historic Zayachy Island
To start, I invite you to head to the heart of the city’s “founding” structure: the Peter and Paul Fortress, located on Zayachy Island. Named in honor of the apostle Peter (not Peter the Great), it was built at the beginning of the 18th century to defend against the Swedes. Inside, besides the ramparts (which look like those designed by Vauban in France) and the various buildings, you can visit the Peter and Paul Cathedral.
Major museums and cultural spaces
Culture lovers won't want to miss the famous Hermitage Museum, which lines the Neva River. You’ll have to choose from about 60,000 works out of the 3 million it houses; it’s particularly famous for its 31 Picasso pieces and over 25 by Matisse. Initiated by Catherine the Great, who had a particular love for painting, the museum enriched its collection over time, sometimes through the confiscation of private collections during the Soviet era! Plan for at least a good half-day to visit. And don’t just focus on the collections: look up to admire the Palace itself.
The city also boasts several grand squares. One of them is Arts Square: two museums, the Russian Museum and the Ethnographic Museum, a philharmonic hall, a cabaret, and an opera and ballet theater (Mussorgsky) surround it, which explains its name. In the center of the square, you’ll see a statue of the famous Pushkin. My sweetheart and I were able to catch a ballet (you have to book well in advance or, like us, queue up on the night of the performance and hope to get lucky with unsold tickets…). But that doesn’t quite compare to the magnificent and world-famous Mariinsky Theatre (formerly the Kirov, for the aficionados), which has seen so many famous dancers perform (Baryshnikov, for example).
Religious buildings
Of course, you can’t leave Saint Petersburg without seeing the famous Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood, right near the Griboyedov Canal. Visible from afar with its traditional Russian domes, it was built on the very spot where Tsar Alexander II was assassinated in 1881. And while we’re on the subject of churches, go see the Smolny Cathedral, also on the banks of the Neva. This former place of worship, with its stunning pastel blue colors, has now become a majestic concert hall. To finish on this note, Saint Isaac’s Cathedral is also worth the detour, if only because it’s one of the largest in Europe. It reaches over 100 meters in height.
And many other must-sees
Very close to the Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood, you’ll certainly notice a surprising building. What looks like some kind of winter circus is actually the Royal Stables, where the finest horses were protected from the elements and pampered by their grooms.
A rather unique visit would be the cruiser Aurora. Famous for having fired the cannon shot that signaled the attack on the Winter Palace, the seat of the provisional government at the time, during the Bolshevik Revolution of October 1917, it remains majestic despite its great age. To find it, just follow the sight of its three smokestacks as you leave the Hermitage Museum.
Obviously, there is still much to see, but I won’t give you an endless list. I truly encourage you to go there and discover the magic of the place for yourself. Have a great trip!
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