Enchanting St. Petersburg

St. Petersburg really livens up in the evening. Even when it's cool outside, people are out on the streets. There are several places where you can dance in the open air. Usually there's a brief introduction by a dance instructor. Then the party can begin.

The city beach in Russia's "northern capital", as the Russians themselves often call St. Petersburg, has its own distinctive charm. It smells of water, the biting wind never lets up, but local residents don't notice that anymore. On the other side of the Neva, the Church of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ, one of the most beautiful churches in Russia, can be seen.

Tsar Alexander II was assassinated on this spot in 1881. His son, Alexander III, had a church built here in order to pray for his father. The Church of the Resurrection, also known as Church of Our Savior on the Spilled Blood, has already been used as a theatre and concert hall. After 27 years of renovation, it became a museum in 1997.

For many Russians, the streets of St. Petersburg awaken memories of literature. The heroes of works by such famous writers as Dostoevsky, Tolstoy and Pushkin lived here. Sometimes they described their characters’ daily wanderings in such detail that we can still follow them today, re-living their stories for ourselves.

As in other large European cities, you can also travel slowly through St. Petersburg. Almost everywhere in the city center, there are horse-drawn carriages for downtown tours.

In Russia, it's said that in founding St. Petersburg, Peter the Great opened the window to Europe. His palace in Peterhof was laid out accordingly. It was located on the Gulf of Finland, and ships could travel via the Marine Canal up to the palace and pay tribute to the tsar.

The Grand Cascade in front of the palace consists of 64 fountains and 255 sculptures. The latter serve as allegories. For instance the sculpture in the center, depicting Samson fighting a lion, symbolizes the victory over Sweden in 1709, as the Swedish flag has a lion in its coat of arms.

Any visit to St. Petersburg should include the world-renowned Mariinsky opera and ballet theatre. The building erected in 1860 (on the left) was given a new extension (on the right) in 2013. Many Russian operas and ballets had their premieres here, including Tchaikovsky's "Nutcracker."

The park is one of five landscape gardens and lies about 30 kilometers (18 miles) south of the city center. It was designed as an English garden at the behest of Catherine the Great.

The not exactly modest summer residence of the tsars lies in the center of the park. Remodeled several times since 1717 and extended by Catherine the Great, the Catherine Palace became one of the Russian tsars' main residences.

There's probably nowhere else in the world where you see as much gold as in the Russian palaces. The architect responsible for their magnificent interior decoration was Francesco Bartolomeo Rastrelli, who also designed Peterhof Palace and the Winter Palace in St. Petersburg.

One of the most notable churches in St. Petersburg was built in the early 19th century, using St. Peter's Basilica in Rome as a model. The Russian field marshal Mikhail Kutuzov, hero of the war against Napoleon during the French invasion of Russia, is buried here.

It's one of the world's largest and most important art museums. Together with the Winter Palace, the Hermitage is considered heart of the city center, which is a UNESCO World Heritage site. If you decide to visit all its exhibitions, brace yourself for a 25-kilometer hike.