Saint Petersburg, a city of contrasts

Saint Petersburg is located in northwestern Russia and, with a population of five million, is the second largest city in the country.




Saint Petersburg is the city where I live and the city that I love. From pompous palaces to the shabby buildings with communal apartments, the cultural center and the modern Krestowski Island, I enjoy the contrast and diversity of Saint Petersburg. The suburbs of the city are where I like it the most.

We begin our tour with a walk through the Catherine Palace – one of the city’s oldest parks. It was created in the year 1711 by order of the Czar, Peter the Great. Today it is a romantic idyll that takes us on a short excursion to Strelna, a suburb of Saint Petersburg.

In Strelna there is a magnificent park and the palace of Constantine, where the 2013 G20 summit took place. It is also the location of a 203-year-old German settlement.

We continue on to a Bavarian restaurant in the city of Peterhof, around 29 km from the center of Saint Petersburg. After we eat we will visit the imposing Peterhof Grand Palace with its famous fountains and water games. We will also visit picturesque Alexandria Park.

Waiting for us next is Lomonosow, a beautiful city with one of the oldest palaces around Saint Petersburg.

The last stop on our tour is Kronstadt, a town on Kotlin Island. There we can visit the Naval Cathedral and check out Fort Alexander and Fort Constantine,

Tired but happy we go to the café at Fort Constantine and there we end our tour.

Sent in by: Natalia from Russia
Edited by: Kerstin Boljahn