Located on small Hare’s Island (Zayachy ostrov) the Peter & Paul Fortress is the historical core of St. Petersburg. It was founded 27.05.1703 by order of Peter the Great and the history of St. Petersburg began.
During the tour you can see Fortress walls, bastions, buildings, visit the Cathedral of St.Peter & St. Paul ( architect D. Trezzini ). The spire of the cathedral bell tower covered by gilding is the highest architectonic construction of the city ( the height is 122,5 m). The cathedral with its impressive interior was not only the church, it was the burial place of the Russian Emperors. Almost all of them including Peter I & Nicholas II were buried in the cathedral.
Besides you can visit the old prison where a lot of political prisoners of tsar Russia were incarcerated. In the end of the tour don’t forget to take a picture near the most original monument to Peter I sculptured by Mikhail Shemyakin.
St. Isaac’s Cathedral
The cathedral is 101,5 meters high and can contain about 12 thousand people. This masterpiece of the French architect A.Montferrand dominates in the city sky. Its dome covered by gilding is the 4th in the world.
During the tour you can see the cathedral interior amazing by its magnificence. Different sorts of marble, Russian half – precious stones (lazurit, malachite), mosaics & paintings decorate walls & vaults of the cathedral. By visiting museum you can go up along a circular staircase to an altitude of 43 m from where a grandiose panorama of the city center can be seen.
The Hermitage
It is the largest museum in Russia and one of the most famous museum all over the world. During the tour you can see Ancient Greek & Roman sculptures, masterpieces of European painters such as Leonardo da Vinci, Raphael, Titian, Veronese, Rembrandt (Danae and Return of the Prodigal Son), Velazques, Rubens, Cranach, Poussin, Caravadggio, Van Dyke, Canaletto and others.
The Hermitage is also proud of its collection of the impressionists, post – impressionists: Renoir, Manet, Monet, Degas, Cezzanne, Seural, Matisse, Van Gogh, and representatives of avant-garde: Picasso & Kandiinsky.
The museum has rich collections of porcelain, armor, furniture; the interiors of the most rooms & grand halls of Winter palace & Small Hermitage are like museum exhibits.
is famous all over the world as Russian capital of fountains. About 200 fountains including the Grand cascade, the largest in the world, are the main sights of the favourite residence of Peter the Great.
You can enjoy the fountains every day from the middle of May until the beginning of October.
Walk in the park with fountains during that period is combined with excursion to the Grand Palace – the masterpiece of Petersburg architects of the 18th century.
During the rest of the year the tour to Peterhof includes visit of the Grand Palace.