When most people think touring Russia, their first thought is Moscow and all the culture and history that city provides. Many people only think about enjoying St. Petersburg tours as a distant second if at all.
This is a shame, especially since any veteran traveler will tell you that St. Petersburg, Russia is Russia’s capital of culture. It’s an iconic Russian city with everything from famous authors to famous cats. Best of all, you can spend three days in St. Petersburg without a visa, so it’s a perfect Russian city to visit if you only have a couple of days.
Visit Museums
St. Petersburg is unparalleled in the number of museums it has, especially fine art museums. The State Russian Museum, for instance, has the world’s largest collection of Russian works. The museum occupies 40 hectares (about 99 acres) and contains works by artists such as Alexander Ivanov, Karl Brullov, and Ivan Aivazovsky, among several others.
However, if you want one of the best museums in all of Russia, and the second-largest museum in the world, try the Hermitage Museum. This museum was founded by none other than Catherine the Great and, today, its collection contains over three million works of art and cultural artifacts, such as Tsar Nicolas II’s private library and Empress Maria Alexandrovna’s ruby red boudoir.
See the Drawbridges
St. Petersburg contains 12 drawbridges, nine of which raised on a regular basis. These bridges are huge, and they’re the only bridges in the world which get lifted regularly, outside of England’s London Tower Bridge. Even better, they’re scheduled regularly, so you can make plans to see the bridges get raised and lowered.
Take a Literary Tour
St. Petersburg has been home to some incredible Russian writers. Dostoevsky wrote Crime and Punishment in the city and made it an important supporting character. The city also influenced such greats as Sergei Dovlatov, Vladimir Nabokov, and Anna Akhmatova.
When you go on a literary walking tour of St. Petersburg, you can visit areas Dostoevsky’s protagonists visited, check out Alexander Pushkin’s apartment, and even pay your respects at writers’ graves in the Literatorskie Mostki, a special section of the Volkovskoe Cemetery.
Go to a Show
The fun doesn’t stop in St. Petersburg simply because the sun goes down. St. Petersburg features several incredible theaters that feature ballet and opera. Enjoy a show at the Mikhailovsky Theater or take in a performance of the world-famous Mariinsky Ballet Company. You can also enjoy a performance at the lavish St. Petersburg Philharmonia or enjoy something a bit more contemporary at the Oktyabrsky Grand Concert Hall.
Check Out Dancing Bear Tours
If you want to go on the best tours in St. Petersburg, Russia, contact Dancing Bear Tours today. Their experts will put together a fantastic excursion of St. Petersburg that you’ll be talking about for years to come.