DK Travel : St Petersburg

From the pre-revolutionary grandeur of the Hermitage and the Mariinskiy Theatre to the ubiquitous reminders of the country’s Soviet period, St Petersburg is a city where eras, and architectural styles, collide. Blessed with some of the world’s most magnificent skylines, the city has been the inspiration for many of Russia’s greatest writers, from Gogol to Dostoevsky. Known throughout the country as “The Venice of the North”, Russia’s second city is a place of wonder and enigma, of “White Nights” and long, freezing winters.

Alexandro-Nevsky Monastery

The Alexandro-Nevsky Monastery was founded in July 1710 by Peter the Great.

One of the major attractions of the monastery is the graveyards which contain the graves of many of the great names of Russian culture, including many composers and authors. The Tikhvin Cemetery contains many of the most famous graves: In the far right-hand corner from the gate is an impressive bust of Tchaikovsky over his grave, while close by are Rubinshtein, Mussorgsky, Rimsky-Korsakov and Glinka. Dostoevsky lies further back along the wall, towards the gate.
Canal Tour

I recommend highly to take a canal tour of the city. When I did it, we chose one at random and it was an amazing look at the city, monuments, and buldings. The Church of the Spilt Blood is an incredible sight from the canal as it looms above you.
Cruiser Aurora

This magnificent ship is accessible every day except Monday and Friday. It was launched in 1900 and now has an amazing history behind it. Although it is now a museum the atmosphere is one of adventure and intrigue as you are transported back through it's life.
Fountain Man

An ordinary man sitting on a bench in a park in the famous Peterhof (Petrodvorets) palace complex outside St Petersburg. But it is him who randomly sets up the 'surprise' fountain with water spurts splashing on passers by.
Le Petit Prince statue

This tiny but stunning statue is situated in the inner yard of the St Petersburg university building (Universitetskaya naberezhnaya, 9) near Kunstkamera.
Palace Square

Dvortsovaia Ploshchad' (Palace Square) is the heart of the city, and there's no better place to start your historical and architectural exploration.

Made infamous in 1905 when it was the epicenter of Bloody Sunday - where the tzarist palace guards opened fire on demonstrators - it now provides a unique window into the Russian past.

On the norther edge is the Winter Palace, built in the Baroque style in 1700s. The classical white-and-yellow building to the south used to house the Imperial Army General Staff. Former Royal Guard building and Admiralty Gardens round off the square, and through the classical Arch to the south you can reach the Nevsky Prospect.
The Bronze Horseman

The Bronze Horseman is an impressive monument to the founder of St Petersburg, Peter the Great,stands on Senatskaia Ploschad' (Square), facing the Neva River and surrounded by the Admiralty, St Isaac's Cathedral and the buildings of the former Senate and Synod - the civil and religious governing bodies of pre-revolutionary Russia.

The monument was built by order of the Empress Catherine the Great as a tribute to her famous predecessor on the Russian throne, Peter the Great. Being a German princess by birth, she was eager to establish a line of continuity with the earlier Russian monarchs. For that reason an inscription on the monument reads in Latin and Russian: Petro Primo Catarina Secunda - To Peter the First from Catherine the Second.

This equestrian statue of Peter the Great, created by the famous French sculptor Etienne Maurice Falconet, depicts the most prominent reformer of the Russia state as a Roman hero. The pedestal is made of a single piece of red granite molded into the shape of a cliff. From the top of this "cliff" Peter gallantly leads Russia forward, while his horse steps on a snake, which represents the enemies of Peter and his reforms.

According to a 19th century legend, enemy forces will never take St. Petersburg while the "Bronze Horseman" stands in the middle of the city. During the Second World War the statue was not taken down, but was protected with sand bags and a wooden shelter. In that way, the monument survived the 900-day Siege of Leningrad virtually untouched.
The Hill Of Crosses,near Siauliai,Lithuania

Situated not far outside Siauliai,there is a small hill replete with 60,000 crosses of all sizes ,recalling the Lithuanians' belief in their fight against Godless communism.They stand there as witnesses of the unquenchable desire the Lithuanians had ,and still have, in their determination to be free and subject to no one other than their God and country
Tsarskoe Selo

Beautiful Palace and Parks, the place where the Sun of Russian Poetry studied (Litceum). One of the places which is worth seing at least ones in a life time.