Welcome To the e-travelguide to Hotels, guest houses and attractions in St Petersburg

Make the most of your time in St Petersburg, use the information provided on this web site by clicking on the links above to plan your visit.

St Petersburg, Russia’s second city, is one of Europe’s cultural gems. Whilst St Petersburg grows and capitalism permeates deeper into urban Russian life the city remains inexorably shaped by its colourful and often turbulent history. Moscow may be the seat of Russian government and the official capital but St Petersburg is undoubtedly the country’s cultural centre. The city is littered with imperial palaces, grand stately parks, monuments and statues; buildings of such magnificence that their construction was only possible because of terrible inequalities that existed in 18 th and 19 th century Russia. Today as the city undergoes renovation and reinvention St Petersburg is careful to preserve its history. Founded by Tsar Peter the Great in 1703 St Petersburg has been called a ‘Window on Europe’, standing at the edge of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea.

St Petersburg’s identity is somewhat confused and it’s unsurprising, the city having undergone repeated name changes (from Saint Peterburg to Petrograd, Leningrad and now St Petersburg), revolution and war all have played a huge part in shaping the environment and consciousness. Every architectural style adorns St Petersburg’s streets, whilst candy coloured palaces edged with gold, statues to great historical figures and Soviet themed cafes welcome visitors with a curious blend of grandeur and kitsch.

St Petersburg is composed of long straight boulevards and vast spaces. It is a city on water sitting on the grand River Neva from which emerges a series of rivers, canals and bridges, which form a navigable network around the historic heart of town. Nevsky Prospekt is the city’s main thoroughfare, a wide avenue where shopping, culture, gourmet restaurants and lively bars are all found. Nevsky leads to the vast Palace Square where the Winter Palace proudly stands, exhibiting the collections of the Hermitage State Museum, one of Europe’s most revered galleries housing a plethora of Russia’s cultural treasures. The city owes much of its most distinctive and recognisable architecture, including the Winter Palace, to the 18 th century Royal Architect Francesco-Bartholomeo Rastrelli. He was responsible for the creation of many of the city’s Baroque/Rococo masterpieces including the Stroganov Palace and just a short journey from the city the imperial palace of Pushkin. Artists, writers and intellectuals over the centuries have been enchanted by the magic of St Petersburg. Fyodor Dostoevsky, one of the greatest figures in Western literature made St Petersburg his home, his muse and a constant fascination allowing it to inspire his writing. Today his house is open as a museum documenting his turbulent relationship with the city.

As a tourist destination St Petersburg offers more than just historical sites, it is also home to majestic five star hotels, gourmet restaurants and designer shopping. A young population fuels the art and music scenes and St Petersburg consistently spawns some of Russia’s hottest young artists, filmmakers and musicians. Constantly difficult and eternally perplexing, yet always magical the city of St Petersburg takes visitors by surprise and captures their imaginations often compelling them to return without ever really knowing why.

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