St. Petersburg, Russia (& Moscow)

We are definitely coming back to St. Petersburg. Two days of non-stop sightseeing was not enough to take in all this city has to offer. Peter the Great, the architect of this fantasy city, was truly a visionary. He accomplished the goal of westernizing Russia by building this very European inspired city.

This city is starkly different from Moscow which is more institutional and rigid in design. In the 90s, my family and I stayed in Moscow for nearly 2 weeks for my Uncle's ballet. His ballet debuted in a small theater next to the ornate Bolshoi Theater. We stayed at the Hotel Metropol next to the Kremlin in Red Square. The subways, parks, and buildings were all very impressive!

In St. Petersburg, we visited and recommend visiting: The Hermitage (unbelievable!); Yusupov Palace (site of Rasputin's assassination); St. Isaac's Cathedral (the largest Church in St. Petersburg); Peterhof Palace (built to rival Versailles with an outstanding gravity powered fountain system); Peter & Paul Fortress (Peter the Great reclaimed this land and built St. Petersburg's first building here on May 27, 1703); Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood (site of Tsar Alexander II's assassination); take a canal cruise along the Fontanka, Moika, and Neva Rivers and the Kryukov Canal.

Tip: since traffic is so bad in this city, you should utilize the Metro and public ferries. You can zip between Peterhof and downtown on a 25 minute ferry and save nearly 3.5 hours of traffic time otherwise!

Russian entertainment: