The Hermitage is the main treasury of the Northern Palmira, the largest art museum in the world, holding about three million works of art and world culture monuments. The collection of the museum includes paintings, graphics, sculptures and art ware, archeological findings and numismatic material.

The history of the Hermitage started in 1764, when the empress Catherine II acquired works of art for her private collection from the Berlin merchant J. E. Gotzkowsky. Since then, already for 4 centuries, the Hermitage has been a magnet for all the art lovers of the world.

The exposition of the museum follows the development of world art starting from the Stone Age up to the end of the XX century. In the museum one can see the works of such great masters as Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, Titian, Caravaggio, Rembrandt, Rubens, Van Gogh and many others.

St. Isaac's Cathedral, dedicated to the patron saint of Peter I, St. Isaac of Dalmatia, is a unique architectural monument. The golden dome of St. Isaac's Cathedral is one of the kind not only in Russia, but also in Europe. It took more than 100 kg of gold to gild the dome.

The construction of this cathedral took more time than for any other cathedral in St. Petersburg, namely 90 years. This cathedral bears the signs of three Russian emperors' rule. With its height of 101.5 m this cathedral is the fourth largest in the world. Its golden dome can be seen practically from every part of the city. The colonnade of the dome drum of St. Isaac's Cathedral is one of the favorite places for city visitors. Having gone 43 m up, you can see the magnificent panorama of the historical center of St. Petersburg.

The Palace Square is a unique architectural monument, the main square of St. Petersburg. The magnificent architectural ensemble of the square is one of the most extraordinary ensembles of the world. The author of this architectural miracle, C. Rossi, founded his creative concept on the glorification of Russia's exploits in the war against Napoleon in 1812.

The Palace Square ensemble includes: The Winter Palace – the former imperial residence where now the Hermitage museum is located; the building of the General Headquarters, the main military administration body in Russia before the revolution, two buildings of which are united with the Triumphal Arc; the guard corps headquarters. In the center of the square one can see the unique Alexander column, built in 1830–1834 under the project of A. Montferrand. The size of the monument, which is the highest triumphal column in the world, is truly amazing: its height equals 47.5 m and it weighs more tan 600 tons. This grandiose monolith granite block holds itself in place without any fittings, by the means of its own weight. The column has a figure of an angel with a cross at the top.

The Palace Square has been included into the UNESCO World Heritage list and is the favorite place of the citizens of St. Petersburg and the visitors of the city.

St. Petersburg has an enormous number of rivers, pools, canals, and, most important of all, unique bridges that give the city a special atmosphere. The Venice of the North has 342 bridges, each of which has its own features and history.

Bolshoy Obukhovsky bridge is the longest (2884 m) bridge over the Neva and has been included into the Guinness World Records due to its unique structure. The Peter the Great Bridge with the mechanisms shaped as lighthouses and the Trinity bridge with its perforated metallic ornament are considered the most beautiful ones. The opening Palace bridge situated in the center of the city is considered the most famous bridge and the symbol of St. Petersburg.

There is no point in listing off all the bridges – you have to see them, walk along them, and maybe even go on a boat tour on the Neva to choose your favorite bridge in St. Petersburg.

The Church of the Saviour on Spilled Blood is the only Orthodox cathedral in the world that has a mosaic decoration of 7065 m2 in area. The exterior walls and the whole interior space of the church, from the basement to the main dome, is covered with an incredible mosaic carpet of icons and ornaments.

The Cathedral of the Resurrection of Christ was built on the place where the Russian emperor Alexander II was fatally wounded on March 1, 1881. This gave the cathedral its second, more commonly used name – the Church of the Saviour on Spilled Blood.

The five domes of the cathedral with the area of more than a thousand m2 are covered with gilded copper sheets and 22 000 tiles glazed with colored jeweller's enamel. The decorations of the cathedral were made of different kinds of Italian marble and semi-precious stones. The Holy Doors were made of silver on a metallic frame, with enamel decorations on a golden background. The Church of the Saviour on Spilled Blood is a unique monument of Russian architecture and monumental decorative art of the end of the XIX century.

The tradition without you cannot imagine St. Petersburg is the daily firing of the cannon from the Naryshkin of the Peter and Paul fortress, the symbolic heartbeat of the Northern capital.

The history of the Peter and Paul fortress started on May 27, 1703, on the small Zayachy ("Hare") island where the fortress was founded. It was the first building of the future city and was originally called St. Petersburg. Years later the new capital of the empire emerged beyond the fortress walls, leaving the place to be the counting point of the history of the Northern capital.

The modern ensemble of the Peter and Paul fortress consists of ten monuments of art and architecture, including the Peter and Paul cathedral after which the fortress was named, the burial place of the royal family, the Mint, the Commandant's house, the Treasury, the Neva pier etc. The territory of the Peter and Paul fortress also holds one of the biggest history museums in Russia, the City history museum, and the Museum of Cosmonautics and Rocket technology.

Peterhof is a unique architectural and artistic palace and park ensemble, a one of the kind city of fountains built in the XVII century. Peterhof has been included into the UNESCO World Heritage list and was recognized as one of the 7 miracles of Russia in 2008.

The fountains of Peterhof are a true engineering miracle: pumps have never been used here to drive water to the fountains. Water comes here by a natural way, from the Ropsha hills along the Shinkarka river bed. Peter I noticed this natural phenomenon in 1720. At present Peterhof has 173 functioning fountains and 3 fountain cascades.

Peterhof used to be the official summer imperial residence. The seashore paradise was built as a grandiose triumphal monument, glorifying the magnificence of Russia that had won the approach to the Baltic sea in the Northern war.

The private museum named after Carl Gustav Fabergé is dedicated to the collection of Russian jewellery and decorative art of the XIX and XX centuries. At present the collection of the museum holds about 4000 pieces and is one of the best in the world due to its composition, unique character and the highest quality of items, many of which used to belong to the members of the imperial family and other royal families of Europe.

The most valuable and famous objects in the collection of the museum are 9 Easter eggs made for the emperor by the company of Carl Gustav Fabergé. The palace where the Fabergé museum is located is unique as well. The Naryshkin-Shuvalov Palace is an architectural monument, a luxurious palace where the members of famous noble dynasties of the Russian empire used to live. The palace once held grand and solemn receptions in which the emperor Alexander I took part and where all the high society of St. Petersburg would gather.