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St. Petersburg, Russia
St. Petersburg is a city of haunting magnificence, the Venice of the North and the Babylon of the Snows. Founded by Peter the Great, the impreror of Russia in 1703 on a swamp, to become one of the most powerful and beautiful port city in Europe, it has kept its importance and is now often referred to as the Northern Capital of Russia. Its winding canals, arched bridges, wide prospects and leafy islands only add more grace to the diversity of its architectural styles - the baroque Winter Palace, the classical Kazan Cathedral and Mikhailovsky Palace, the eclectic St. Isaac's Cathedral and the pearls of Art Nouveau on Petrograd island. Do not forget to visit the enormous art collections at the State Hermitage Museum nor the beautiful palaces of Tsarskoye Tselo and many others.
Interesting facts about St. Petersburg, Russia
1) St. Petersburg was known as Petrograd from 1914 to 1924 and Leningrad from 1924 to 1991.
2)
The Neva River in St Petersburg is the shortest and deepest European river.
3) The Hermitage is one of the world's largest museums containing three million works of art from the Stone Age to the Modern
Day.
4) Queen Victoria's granddaughter married the last Czar, Nicholas II.
3) The odd numbers in St. Petersburg are on the right-hand side of the street, the even numbers on the left.
Please also see Russia Travel Tips and St. Petersburg photo gallery.