Saint Petersburg

Overview

Saint Petersburg, founded in 1703, has its centre on islands of the Neva River delta, divided by waterways and linked by huge drawbridges. The historic centre and suburbs including Peterhof have been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1991.

The Winter Palace on Palace Square, beside the Admiralty and the Bronze Horseman, houses the Hermitage Museum. The Church on the Spilled Blood, a nineteenth century building, is an internationally recognised icon of the city. Further sights include Mars Field with its Memorial to the Revolutionary Fighters and Eternal Flame, Smolny Cathedral and Peter the Great's Cabin.

Good to know

• Outside winter, the 9 low bridges are drawn at night to let boats through.
• Vasilyevsky Island becomes unreachable at certain times of the night while the bridges are drawn.
• Most sights cluster inside the Obvodny Canal, along the south embankment of Vasilievsky Island and in the southern half of Petrogradsky Island.

Every statement above comes from Wikivoyage: Saint Petersburg (read 12 Sep 2026), available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence, shortened and reworded here. Check details that matter to your trip before you travel.