Choose from 78 Fun Things to Do in Russia
Russian Vodka Museum
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St Isaac's Cathedral
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Lenin's Mausoleum
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Pavlovsk Palace
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Jewish Museum and Tolerance Center
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Mariinsky Theatre
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Moscow Zoo
In the old area of the zoo, visitors can find animals such as bears, large cats and elephants, as well as the popular dolphin aquarium and penguin pool. A footbridge crosses Bolshaya Gruzinskaya street and leads to the new area, which is home to the primate house, the children’s zoo and several cafes. Renovations to the zoo in the 1990s added features like waterfalls and streams to give it a more natural feeling.
With an emphasis on the children’s education and entertainment, the zoo is an ideal destination for families visiting Moscow.
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Novodevichy Convent and Cemetery
The largest and most important church in the convent is the five-domed Cathedral of the Virgin of Smolensk. It was finished in 1525 and contains impressive icons dating to the 16th and 17th centuries. Almost as impressive as the Cathedral is the red and white Church of the Assumption, built in 1680.
The Novodevichy Cemetery sits adjacent to the convent and is one of the most prestigious resting places in all of Russia – as well as the third most popular tourist destination. Over 27,000 people are buried there, including Russian and Soviet notables such as writers Anton Chekhov and Nikolai Gogol, poet Vladimir Mayakovsky, former Soviet leader Nikita Krushchev and former Russian president Boris Yeltsin.
For those interested in locating particular graves, a map is available at the entrance.
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St Petersburg Cruise Port
- Book a shore excursion to avoid the hassle of securing a Russian tourist visa in advance of your trip.
- Most St. Petersburg shore excursion tours include pickup and drop-off at the St. Petersburg port.
- Tours to the royal palaces outside the city center can take upwards of 8 hours given the travel time involved.
- Private guided tours of St. Petersburg ensure you won't miss any of your must-see sights.
Russian State Library
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Peter and Paul Cathedral
The Peter and Paul Cathedral is an orthodox cathedral and burial place of Russian emperors dating as far back as Peter the Great.
As the oldest cathedral in St. Petersberg, it is considered one the tallest orthodox cathedrals in the world and also one of the most remarkable achievements of the baroque era, with a rectangular base, and containing an enormous bell-tower and landmark needle, all resembling western European architecture.
The bell-tower is the tallest in the world and contains a carillon composed of 51 bells totaling a weight of 33,422 pounds (15,160 kg) and ranges in such of variety of notes that it is not outside of the range of any piece of music.
Atop the cathedral also is one of St. Petersburg’s most important symbols, its golden spire, sitting 404 feet (123 m) above ground level.
Located at Petropavlovskiy Sobor and near to the reka Neva, the Peter and Paul Cathedral sits in what is called the Peter and Paul Fortress, which also houses a the recommended museum.
Across the eastern bridge you can take bus 46 to Troitskaya ploshchad and across the west bridge you can take the 6 and 40 trams to nearby Zoologicheskiy pereulok.
Menshikov Palace
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Peterhof Palace and Garden (Petrodvorets)
- Peterhof Palace is a must-see for fans of Russian history, architecture, and all-around opulence.
- Audio guides and AudioPen guides are available in four different languages.
- Most parts of the palaces and gardens are accessible to wheelchair users, and free wheelchair rental is available.
- There is free Wi-Fi in the Upper Garden and Lower Park.
Izmailovo Kremlin
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Valaam Monastery
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Peter and Paul Fortress
No visit to St Petersburg is really complete without spending a few hours at the site where it all began – the Peter & Paul Fortress. This is the original citadel of the city, built on Hare Island near the north bank of the Neva River between 1706 and 1740. And this is where you can get a feel for St Petersburg’s more than 300 year old history, from royal tombs to prison blocks to historical museum exhibitions.
The Peter & Paul Fortress was originally built to protect Russia’s new capital from a possible Swedish attack, but it never really served that purpose. Instead, it soon became a prison for high-ranking and political prisoners, beginning with Alexey, the son of Peter the Great. In 1872, a new prison within the walls of the Trubetskoy Bastion was built and over the next forty years, it held thousands of prisoners who were considered to be enemies of the state. These political prisoners included the likes of Feodor Dostoevsky, Leon Trotsky and Maxim Gorky and then, after the Bolshevik Revolution, members of the Tsarist government. The prison was turned into a museum in 1924 and today you can walk through the corridors, visit some of the cells and view documents and photographs that tell the story of Imperial Russia’s main political prison.
The most visible landmark within the Peter & Paul Fortress is the Peter & Paul Cathedral, whose spire stands more than 400 feet tall and features an angel at the top holding a cross. Built between 1712 and 1733, the cathedral was one of the first in Russia to be decorated with paintings and icons. The iconostasis was carved by Moscow craftsmen in the 1720s and contains 43 original icons from the 18th century. The bell tower of the cathedral is the world’s largest Orthodox bell tower and at the base of the tower lay the tombs of the Romanov monarchs. Every tsar and tsarina from Peter the Great to Nicholas II is buried within the Peter & Paul Cathedral, except Peter II and Ivan VI. Connected to the main cathedral by a corridor is the Grand Ducal Mausoleum, built between 1896 and 1908 to serve as a burial place for non-reigning members of the Romanov family.
In the Commandant’s House within the fortress, you will find displays exploring the early history of St Petersburg in the 18th and 19th centuries, including paintings, maps and layouts and pieces of graphic and applied art. Another section of the house aims to provide insight into the daily life of St Petersburg citizens in the 19th century. Exhibits reflect themes such as commerce and banking, life in an apartment house, transportation and city fashion.
After visiting the main sites within the fortress, spend some time walking along the top of the fortress walls for superb views of central St Petersburg, including the massive St Isaac’s Cathedral. If you are visiting St Petersburg in the summer, save some time to relax on the sandy beaches along the shores of the Neva. Finally, keep an eye out for temporary exhibitions that often provide even greater insight into St Petersburg’s vast history.
St Basil's Cathedral (Pokrovsky Sabor)
St. Basil’s actually consists of 10 separate churches. When the building was first constructed, eight side churches surrounded the main Church of Intercession. A 10th church was added in 1588 over the grave of the local saint, Basil. While the cathedral was built to celebrate the capture of Kazan by Ivan the Terrible, its side churches were designed to represent major events in Russian spiritual life in the second half of the 16th century.
The cathedral was confiscated from the Russian Orthodox community during Soviet times and now operates as a division of the State Historical Museum. It has been part of the Moscow Kremlin and Red Square UNESCO World Heritage site since 1990. Today, visitors can stroll through the galleries connecting the many churches while marveling at frescoes, oil paintings and Russian icons, many of which date to the 16th and 17th centuries.
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Museum of Wooden Architecture & Peasant Life
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St Petersburg Palace Square (Dvortsovaya Ploshchad)
Palace square was also the setting for some of Russia’s most significant historical events including the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917 and the 1905 massacre Bloody Sunday, where peaceful protesters were gunned down while trying to present Tsar Nicholas II with a petition .
Although the buildings surrounding the square were built in different eras, they were all built to scale, giving the square a beauty in symmetry.
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The square is a single architectural ensemble, in the northern boundary is the Winter Palace, to the south the General Staff building, a two story arch mounted by the chariot of victory, and installed in the center is the 156 feet (47.5 m) high and 500 ton granite Alexander Column. It also connects key city areas such as Nevsky Prospekt and Palace bridge, which leads into Vasilievsky Island.
As Palace Square is considered one of the biggest hubs in the city, it is easily accessible by the metro to Admiralty and by other modes of transportation at Nevsky Prospekt.