Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
From 6-7pm, cathedral admission is free. The complex is open daily from 10am-10pm. The museums and cathedral
are open Thurs-Mon from 11am-6pm.
Admiralty (Admiralteistvo)
Overlooking Palace Square from a distance to
the west is the Admiralty, once a fortified shipyard. It is now a naval academy that
sadly is not open to the public. It's worth spending a few minutes admiring its 61m-
high (230-ft.) spire, topped by a weathervane in the shape of a ship. Stand on the plaza
beneath the spire and look toward the city: You're at the nexus of three major
avenues—Nevsky Prospekt, Gorokhovaya Ulitsa, and Vosnesensky Prospekt. This is
no accident, and is one example of the city's careful design. The building was one of
the first in St. Petersburg, built to feed Peter the Great's dream of making Russia into
a naval power.
St. Isaac's Cathedral (Isaakevsky Sobor)
St. Isaac's mighty, somber facade
rose only in the mid-19th century but has become an indelible part of St. Petersburg's
skyline since then. The church earned residents' respect during World War II, when it
endured Nazi shelling and its grounds were planted with cabbage to help residents sur-
vive the 900-day Nazi blockade. Its interior is as awesome as its exterior, with columns
made of single chunks of granite, malachite, and lazurite; floors of different-colored
marble. If the viewing balcony around the dome is open, it's well worth a climb for
the view of the city and of the cathedral from on high.
Isaakevskaya Ploshchad.
&
812/315-9732.
www.cathedral.ru. Admission $8 (£4) adults, $4 (£2) children. To climb
colonnade, an additional $4 (£2) adults, $2 (£1) children. Thurs-Tues 11am-6pm; colonnade closes at 5pm. Metro:
Nevsky Prospekt.
Russian Museum (Russky Muzei)
This museum should be on every visi-
tor's itinerary, even those who know or care little about Russian art. It's as much an
introduction to Russian history, attitudes, and vision as it is a display of artistic styles.
Housing 32,000 artworks from the 12th to 20th centuries, the museum is best viewed
with a tour guide or by using the English-language audioguide to ensure that you get
the most out of its collection before you drop from exhaustion. The most popular
rooms are in the Benois Wing, where works by avant-garde artists Malevich and
Kandinsky attract international crowds. The Old Russian Wing deserves a good look,
too, offering perspective on the evolution of Orthodox icon painting that helps you
better appreciate any cathedrals you visit later. Note the Art Nouveau paintings and
sketches of set designs for Diaghilev's Ballet Russe. Allow at least 2 hours.
4/2 Inzhenernaya Ulitsa.
&
812/595-4248
or 812/314-3448. www.rusmuseum.ru. Admission $12 (£6) adults, $6
(£3) students with ID, free for children under 18. English-language tour for up to 5 with official museum guide $65
(£35) plus entrance fee. Wed-Sun 10am-6pm. Metro: Gostiny Dvor or Nevsky Prospekt.
Blockade Museums
Two exhibits, both of them eye-opening and tear-jerking, trace
the city's experience enduring 900 days of siege and isolation by Nazi forces from 1941
to 1944. The
Memorial Museum of the Leningrad Siege
is the more commonly
visited, but no less impressive is
“Leningrad During the Great Patriotic War”
,a
permanent exhibit at the
St. Petersburg History Museum
in a riverside mansion. The
hall of children's photos and diaries is especially moving.
Memorial Museum of Leningrad Blockade. 9 Solyanoi Pereulok.
&
812/579-3021.
Admission $2.50 (£1) adults, $1
(50p) students and children over 7. Thurs-Tues 10am-5pm; closed last Thurs of each month. St. Petersburg History
Museum. 44 Angliiskaya Naberezhnya.
&
812/117-7544.
Admission $3.50 (£2) adults, $2 (£1) students and chil-
dren over 7. Thurs-Tues 11am-5pm. Metro: Nevsky Prospekt.
