Stepping off the plane at onto the concourse at St Petersburg airport I have to confess I was slightly apprehensive about the following four days. I knew very little about Russia, apart from the tired stereotypes, and had decided to go on this escorted holiday on a whim.
However, what was to unfold in the following four days was one of the most enjoyable and interesting holidays I had been on in a long time.
St Petersburg, the imperial capital of the Tsars, was founded in 1703 by Peter the Great. It is located on the Neva River at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea. It is the second largest city in Russia after Moscow with a population of around 4.9 million people.
I began my time in St Petersburg with an organised sightseeing tour of the city. The tour took in all that St Petersburg has to offer including the Hermitage, Peter and Paul Fortress, St Isaacs’s Cathedral and the church of the Holy Blood. The tour was a great way to acclimatise yourself with the city and earmark places to visit later on in the trip.
One of St Petersburg’s most popular tourist attractions is The Hermitage museum. One of the largest and oldest museums in the world, The Hermitage was founded by Catherine the Great in 1764 and has been open to the public since 1852. The museum is home to 3 million cultural artefacts including works of art by da Vinci, Raphael, Rembrandt, Monet and Michelangelo. Our tour guide had booked the tickets in advance which meant we avoided the lengthy queues and had more time to enjoy all the museum has to offer.
On the third day of my trip to St Petersburg, I decided to visit the Peterhof. The Peterhof is a magnificent collection of palaces, gardens and fountains originally imagined by Peter the Great and completed by Catherine the Great. Spending a day wandering around the 1,500 acres of landscaped gardens and numerous palaces I could see why the Peterhof is often described as the Russian Versailles.
On my final day in St Petersburg I visited the Peter and Paul Fortress. The fortress was built in 1703 by Peter the Great. The Peter and Paul Fortress was originally the base of imperial military power which later became a political prison. Some famous inmates include Dostoyevsky and Trotsky.
St Petersburg is a truly outstanding place to visit on a short break. There is a wealth of things to do, from exploring the majestic Baroque buildings to spending a day in one of the largest museums in the world.
