Sightseeing tour of St. Petersburg is the most popular and in demand way of discovering the second capital of Russia. Guests Petersburg daily opt tours of this kind allow a few hours to cover the route, which gives an extensive presentation about the city from its inception to the present time. Not limited to topics and chronological framework, carefully designed itineraries include visits to the major sights – architectural, historical and cultural sites, places where significant events have occurred that are associated with famous people in St. Petersburg.
A bus tour around the city – is incomparable aesthetic pleasure, which give panoramic views from the windows of the bus, meeting with St. Petersburg and the comment of a competent guide who for the three hour trip allows you to penetrate into the heart of the city, learning milestones in its history.
Guided Tour
The start of the guided tours takes from the Moscow station – one of the oldest in the city, which runs from mid-nineteenth century. The exploration of the city for many visitors begins right here, coming down on one of the station platforms. Immerse yourself in a comfortable bus, city visitors can drive through the main streets of the city where every building, every stone lays up the chronicle of the history of St. Petersburg.
Nevsky Prospect, who presented to tourists in its present form with the developed infrastructure at the expense of narrative guide will transfer you to the past, will let you see the “backbone” of the city through the eyes of Peter the Great, Catherine II, Alexander Nevsky, Alexander Pushkin, F. M . Dostoevsky. The main street of the town, founded back in 1713 and extended for four and a half miles, is not only a witness to historical events but a place that keeps many secrets. Here in the borders of one avenue, you can see buildings of different architectural styles side by side.
The visitors guided tours goes along the city’s main architectural and historical buildings and monuments, which are making the city famous: Kazan Cathedral – Russian Orthodox Church of military glory, St. Isaac’s Cathedral – the largest church, one of the best examples of classicism, the Hermitage Museum – the residence of former rulers of the largest in Russian cultural-historical and art museums, the Palace Square, The Bronze Horseman – the monument to the great city’s founder, Peter and Paul Fortress – the core of St. Petersburg. In addition, the visitors guided tours in all its glory will appear Neva embankment, with its majestic bridges and ships with the historical past, including the cruiser “Aurora” – participant of war and revolution. The typical tour will end at the Alexander Nevsky Square.
Thus, a sightseeing tour of St. Petersburg – is a multifaceted tour, which is a blend of the best of several types of excursions: the historical, natural history, art history, architecture and town planning. Getting acquainted with the city will leave in your memory most vivid memories!
State Hermitage Museum
State Hermitage Museum – a unique world renowned monument of the constellation of the world of painting, sculpture, weapons, primitive and ancient culture, and much more.
For several centuries it has been famous for the presentation of the priceless collections of the world masterpieces. Today, the Hermitage is hosting around three million items, 400 rooms and five buildings. There are no random pieces, each room has a unique decoration and buildings themselves are architectural monuments: a collection of different types and genres of art are naturally woven into the interiors of the Winter Palace.
Hermitage Ensemble includes five buildings. They are located on the banks of the Neva: the Winter Palace, Small Hermitage, the New Hermitage, Old Hermitage and Hermitage Theatre.
The building of the Winter Palace was rebuilt several times. During construction the throne has been replaced by several emperors: getting started with Elizabeth, in the final stages of construction the ruler was Peter III, the final work has already been taken by Catherine in 1762.Architector of the building became the legendary architect Francesco Bartolomeo Rastrelli. The first exhibits appeared in the Winter Palace in 1764: it was a collection of 225 paintings by Flemish and Dutch artists who became Empress of the merchant Gotskovski. For paintings there are several special secluded room, called the Hermitage (from Fr. Hermitage – “retreat”). After some time the collection grew, and it was decided to construct a new building for the collection. Two years later, began the construction of the Small Hermitage, which ended in 1767. Old Hermitage and Hermitage Theatre were built in parallel, shall work in 1787, and saw the light of the New Hermitage already in 1851.
During this time the Russian emperors have gained not only a magnificent collection of works of art becoming the richest collectors, but specifically they bought all of the copies of the missing list .Because of this the walls of the Hermitage can see the entire history of art, from the primitive era and ending with the 20 th century. The excursion will take place on the most visible landmarks of that history. The guides will try to pull you so much that you want to go back here again and again. Bypassing all the rooms will be impossible only for one day, but probably for the entire adult life either. Initial tour of the Hermitage is its pride – the main hall, a gallery of 1812 hours of “Peacock”, European art, “Treasures” and many more.
For those who are already familiar with the tour of the Hermitage, there are a number of special thematic excursions aimed to have a specific tour to this or that topic. Guide will introduce you separately with only one artist, school, area or era. You can learn many interesting things about the exhibits relating to the period of the Romanov dynasty. For students of all ages there are organized special tours, which do not cause them to pay more.
You simply cannot leave St. Petersburg without visiting the Hermitage, without opening the door, where the treasures of the world’s greatest artists are hidden. And you just need to make your best for discovering them.
