Things to see and do in st petersburg Russia

The State Hermitage museum fully lives up to its brilliant reputation. It has the enormous collection of more than 3 million exhibits including masterpieces by Leonardo da Vinci, Rembrandt and many more. The museum starts its history from collections of works of art which were gained by Russian empress Catherine II in private capacity

The palace of the great Russian empresses of 18th c. largely decorated with gold. The resultant palace, completed in 1756, is nearly 1km in circumference, with elaborately decorated blue-and-white facades featuring gilded atlantes, caryatids and pilasters. In Elizabeth's reign it took over 100kg of gold to decorate the palace exteriors, an excess that was deplored by Catherine the Great when she discovered the state and private funds that had been lavished on the building.

The gem of the palace is the Amber room, a chamber fully decorated in amber panels backed with gold leaf and mirrors. To create this extraordinary chamber, Rastrelli used the panels of amber mosaic originally destined for an Amber Cabinet at Konigsberg Castle and presented to Peter the Great by Friedrich-Wilhelm I of Prussia, and surrounded them with gilded carving.

This spectacular palace on the Moyka River has some of the best 19th-century interiors in the city, in addition to a fascinating and gruesome history. The palace’s last owner was the eccentric Prince Felix Yusupov, who claimed to have led the plotters in first poisoning, then shooting, then beating Rasputin with clubs and throwing him into the icy Malaya Nevka River, where the Mad Monk eventually died of hypothermia.

Today, this grandeur building (one of the most prominent architectural gems of the Russian "Northern capital") hosts government and diplomatic meetings, international conferences and symposia.

The Mariinsky Theatre has played a pivotal role in Russian ballet ever since it was built in 1859 and remains one of Russia's most loved and respected cultural institutions. It’s still St. Petersburg's most spectacular venue for ballet and opera.

The first store in Saint-Petersburg designed in modern style. This is St Petersburg's most elegant grocery store, selling plenty of branded goods from blends of tea to caviar and handmade chocolates as well as delicious freshly baked breads, pastries and so on. You can drop in to enjoy the atmosphere and have a cup of coffee.

Focusing solely on Russian art, from ancient church icons to 20th-century paintings, the Russian Museum's collection is magnificent and can easily be viewed in half a day or less. The collection includes works by Kazimir Malevich, Mark Shagal and many more.

The Alexander Nevsky Monastery – named for the patron saint of St Petersburg – is the city's most ancient and eminent monastery where the members of the royal family, government and public figures, representatives of culture and art, are buried.

Housing a cathedral where the Romanovs are buried, a former prison and various exhibitions, this large defensive fortress on Zayachy Island is the kernel from which St Petersburg grew into the city it is today.

The golden dome of St Isaac’s Cathedral dominates the St Petersburg skyline. Its obscenely lavish interior is open as a museum, although services are held in the cathedral throughout the year.

One has to overcome more than two hundred steps to get onto St. Isaac's Cathedral colonnade. Truly magnificent views are opened on the Neva River, Isaakiyevskaya and Palace Squares, Admiralty, the Winter Palace, the Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood, and other. When it’s sunny it’s possible to admire bright shine of the main dome and domes of five belltowers: 100 kilograms of pure gold were used for their gilding.

This five-domed dazzler is St Petersburg’s most elaborate church with a classic Russian Orthodox exterior and an interior decorated with some 7000 sq metres of mosaics. Officially called the Church of the Resurrection.

One of the most impressive elements of the church is the extravagant shrine constructed on the spot where Alexander II was fatally wounded, which has maintained a special place within the church's interior.