Saint Petersburg Things to Do Tips by hslowe

Palace Square is bordered by the gigantic yellow General Staff Building (shown here) on one side and the Hermitage on the other. It's a strange and wonderful feeling to stand in the middle of this vast open space, while realizing it was the site of a revolution that shook the world.

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If you get lost you can always orient yourself by the tall gold spire of the Admiralty, a lovely yellow building which houses the naval college. (Ladies, you'll see a lot of cute navy guys hanging around this area...and their uniforms are pretty cool.)

There's a nice park in front of the Admiralty and the Neva river behind. The Bronze Horseman is off to the left rear of the complex, through yet another park. I enjoyed this part of town a great deal.

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While not a "typical" style Russian Orthodox Church, St. Isacc's is quite beautiful and should be seen if only for its impressive enormity. The scale of this building will blow you away.

I especially liked the optical illusion in the main dome, in which a painted dove (representing the Holy Spirit) seemed to float above you so realistically.

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The Russian Museum features exclusively Russian art and was my favorite museum in the city. I thought that the building was in much better shape than the Hermitage and I liked the art better (a matter of personal taste). If you appreciate Orthodox icons, the Museum's collection will amaze you. I was literally brought to tears seeing these ancient icons in person.

A tip--remember your cloakroom number well. You'll probably get lost in these veritable catacombs that are the cloakrooms--they all look alike and the mirrors that line the walls don't help lessen the "maze" effect.

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The Kunstkamera is a lot of fun. Built by the fascinating Peter the Great as his musuem of anthropology and ethnography, it also has a famous collection of biological abnormalities (lots of three-headed babies and the like).

I went in thinking the "freaks in jars" was all I'd see, but the anthropology collection is also quite good, with interesting exhibits detailing cultures from around the world.

The story goes that Peter the Great tested the stomachs of potential ambassadors by showing them through this musuem. If they made it through without hurling, they were in.

He also attracted visitors off the streets by offering free shots of vodka. Unfortunately this tradition does not persist. : (

It doesn't take a long time to see the Kunstkamera but it is well worth a stop inside.

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Because it was built on the spot where Tsar Alexander II was assassinated in 1881,
this church is popularly known as the Church on Spilled Blood. (It's also called the Church of the Resurrection, Church of the Savior on the Blood, Resurrection of Christ, Assumption, and Church of the Redeemer. But somehow everyone always understands what you're talking about.)

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The interior of the church is decorated with different marbles and several zillion mosaic tiles.

After the October Revolution the church was closed, briefly used for a propaganda exhibition, and then for potato storage before being allowed to fall into decay. The Communists saw it as an "inappropriate" symbol of Christianity in a largely atheistic society.

Restoration took over 25 years.

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The Neva is the heart of St. Petersburg. It's mpossible not to feel some amount of poetic inspiration when you gaze on the granite embankments, the bridges, and the ships passing by. I imagine seeing the drawbridges open in unison at 2 a.m. during the White Nights is an unforgettable sight.

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It cost about 300 R ($10) to take a canal trip trhough St. Petersburg's beautiful waterways. I highly recommend doing this, even though none of the boat companies offer English-language commentary. It doesn't matter--you still get to see the city from a vantage you wouldn't otherwise enjoy.

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Another view of the Alexander Column in Palace Square. The column commemorates Russia's victory over Napoleon. It weighs 600 tons and is totally free-standing. Natalia says that the peasants were afraid to walk under it when it was first installed, but it hasn't fallen over yet.

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