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The Venice of the North

St. Petersburg architecture

St. Petersburg was founded by Peter the Great in 1703 as Russia's 'window to the West' and served as the Russian imperial capital for over 200 years. The Hermitage Museum, housed in the Winter Palace, is one of the largest and most visited art museums in the world, containing over 3 million items in its collection. The city's 342 bridges cross 93 rivers and canals, giving it an aquatic character that inspired its Venetian nickname. The June White Nights — when the sky never fully darkens — draw visitors from around the world.

  • 5Landmarks
  • 1721Oldest · Peterhof Palace
  • 122 mTallest · Peter and Paul Fortress
  • 5Architects

Before you go

  • Fly intoPulkovo Airport (LED)

    Pulkovo Airport is Russia's second-busiest airport and serves as the main gateway to one of the world's great cultural capitals. The current terminal opened in 2014 with a distinctive design featuring a soaring glass roof over the departures hall. The airport connects to the city center by metro in about 40 minutes via Moskovskaya Station, and express buses run frequently.

  • CurrencyRussian Ruble (₽)
  • LanguageRussian

    Russian is the official language and is spoken across the cultural, political, and social life of the city. St. Petersburg has a particularly strong literary and artistic tradition — it is the city of Dostoevsky, Gogol, Tchaikovsky, and the Ballets Russes. The city's intellectual culture means education and the arts carry particular prestige. English is widely spoken in the museum and tourism sectors, though Russian is almost exclusively used in daily life.

  • Getting aroundSt. Petersburg Metro

    St. Petersburg's metro is one of the deepest in the world — several stations are over 80 meters underground, due to the soft marshy soil of the Neva Delta requiring foundations well below the water table. The stations are famous for their elaborate Soviet-era mosaics, chandeliers, and marble interiors that were designed to be 'palaces for the people.' The metro has five color-coded lines and runs until 1am. Marshrutkas (shared minibus taxis) supplement the metro for surface-level travel.

5 landmarks in St. Petersburg

  1. Winter Palace
    Photo: Godot13, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

    Winter Palace

    Palace Square 2, St. Petersburg 190000, Russia

    The official residence of the Russian emperors from 1762 to 1917, built by Bartolomeo Rastrelli in the Russian Baroque style. Its 1,500 rooms form the main component of the State Hermitage Museum — one of the world's largest and most visited art museums.

    Built
    1762
    Architect
    Bartolomeo Rastrelli
    Style
    Russian Baroque
    Height
    22 m (72 ft)
    Stories
    4
    Today
    Part of the Hermitage Museum
  2. Church of the Savior on Blood
    Photo: Je-str, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

    Church of the Savior on Blood

    Naberezhnaya kanala Griboedova 2B, St. Petersburg 191186, Russia

    A Russian Orthodox church built between 1883 and 1907 on the exact spot where Tsar Alexander II was assassinated in 1881. Its interior is covered with over 7,000 square metres of mosaics — among the largest mosaic collections in the world.

    Built
    1907
    Architect
    Alfred Parland
    Style
    Russian Revival
    Height
    81 m (266 ft)
    Stories
    1
    Today
    Museum & tourist attraction
  3. Peter and Paul Fortress
    Photo: Godot13, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

    Peter and Paul Fortress

    Petropavlovskaya Krepost 3, St. Petersburg 197046, Russia

    The original fortress from which St. Petersburg was founded by Peter the Great in 1703, built on Zayachy (Hare) Island in the Neva River. The Peter and Paul Cathedral inside the fortress became the burial site of all Russian Tsars from Peter the Great onward.

    Built
    1724
    Architect
    Domenico Trezzini
    Style
    Baroque
    Height
    122 m (400 ft)
    Stories
    2
    Today
    Museum complex & historic site
  4. Mariinsky Theatre
    Photo: Nikolai Bulykin, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

    Mariinsky Theatre

    1 Teatralnaya Square, St. Petersburg 190000, Russia

    Russia's most celebrated opera and ballet theatre, founded in 1860, where Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake, Sleeping Beauty, and The Nutcracker all premiered. The Mariinsky has become one of the world's most internationally active opera and ballet companies.

    Built
    1860
    Architect
    Alberto Cavos
    Style
    Eclectic (Italian Renaissance influence)
    Height
    26 m (85 ft)
    Stories
    5
    Today
    Active opera and ballet theatre
  5. Peterhof Palace
    Photo: Ninara from Helsinki, Finland, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

    Peterhof Palace

    Razvodnaya Ulitsa 2, Peterhof, St. Petersburg 198516, Russia

    Often called the Russian Versailles, the Grand Palace and its spectacular system of fountains and gardens on the Gulf of Finland were built by Peter the Great between 1714 and 1721. The Lower Gardens contain 64 fountains powered entirely by gravity through an 18th-century hydraulic system.

    Built
    1721
    Architect
    Jean-Baptiste Le Blond, Bartolomeo Rastrelli
    Style
    Russian Baroque
    Height
    13 m (43 ft)
    Stories
    3
    Today
    UNESCO World Heritage Site & museum

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