At one point in my life, I may have given the title of Europe’s most beautiful city to Venice or Paris, but I couldn’t possibly say that now I’ve been to St Petersburg.
Elegant yet statuesque, if St Petersburg were a woman she’d bring even Casanova down onto his knees.
I’m convinced, if it weren’t for the arduous task of getting a Russian Visa, we’d all be clamouring to get a closer look at her majestic beauty.
Though I think Putin is doing an awfully good job at deterring people too…
Peter the Great: the founder of St Petersburg
St. Petersburg is considered by those who visit as Europe’s most beautiful city, if not the world, due to its unique blend of Russian history, European architecture, and scenic waterways.
Founded by Peter the Great in 1703 on the banks of the Neva River, the city was designed to reflect his vision of a “Window to the West,” combining European architectural styles with Russian grandeur.
Italian, French, and German architects were commissioned to build iconic structures and palaces in baroque, neoclassical, and art nouveau styles, giving the city an elegant, European-inspired aesthetic.
Wherever you look, the streets are filled with impressive monuments and buildings. The Tsar Empire was determined to make an impression on the outside world and no expense was spared.
Catherine the Great
Another important person in the city’s history was Catherine the Great. To avoid any confusion, Catherine the Great was not a blood relative of Peter the Great, nor was she his wife. She was born Sophie of Anhalt-Zerbst, a German princess, and married Peter III, who was Peter the Great’s grandson through his daughter Anna Petrovna.
Catherine adopted Russian culture and the Orthodox faith upon her marriage. She worked tirelessly to align herself with the legacy of Peter the Great, sharing his vision for reforming and modernising Russia. When she took the throne after a coup against her husband, Peter III, she continued and expanded upon Peter the Great’s efforts to modernise and westernise Russia, solidifying her position as one of Russia’s most impactful rulers.
Alongside her leadership qualities, Catherine was a woman with a taste for extravagance. She made it one of her life’s missions to promote the beauty and opulence of St Petersburg. By no means was this an easy task, but after visiting the city with my own eyes, it’s safe to say I think she succeeded.
Further reading: An Art Lover’s Guide to St Petersbug
The demise of the Tsar empire
Beauty in St Petersburg has not come without brutality. Not even the royals possessed immunity. In the case of Tsar Alexander Il, who was assassinated in 1881 in the spot where the Church of Our Savior on Spilled Blood now lies.
The church is a vision of golden spires and gilded domes. Ecclesiastical art and breathtaking gold leaf fills in the interior from wall to ceiling.
Still, in the face of adversity, St Petersburg can, like any good woman, be characterised for her enduring strength.
Filled with pleasures for those who court beauty and culture. It’s impossible not to feel a sense of awe and reverence as you walk down streets laden with dramatic sculptures and imposing buildings. The only place I’ve been before that possesses a similar sense of drama is Rome.
Nevsky Prospekt
With strict geometric lines and perfectly planned architecture, it’s easy to find your way around this lady. Though if at any point you do lose your way, simply navigate yourself back to Nevsky Prospekt. You will soon find your orientation again. Similar to its Baltic neighbour of Stockholm, you’ll discover a trail of picturesque bridges crossing over the grand Neva River.
For a quintessential romantic activity, why not make your way down one of the piers and hop on board a boat to revel in the city from the water?
The captivating beauty of St Petersburg
Whether you travel here alone, or with a friend or lover, it’s difficult to bypass the romanticism of St Petersburg. Quite often we call beauty a subjective, but I doubt I’d find anyone who has travelled to St Petersburg who would deny its beauty.
With all this attention on appearances, I should really draw attention to what lies beneath the picture-perfect facade. The most captivating aspect of St Petersburg, in our image-obsessed day and age, is her combination of beauty and substance.
She’s got a thousand different layers, each alight with something new and surprising. Whether your interest lies in her literary legacy, ornate architecture, rich art collection or turbulent history, there’s a trifle of things to discover. You’ll never get bored.
Further reading: 10 Best Things to Do in St Petersburg
22 responses
Looks stunning, Shing. Another one on the list! Any feel for what extent the city’s palaces, churches, etc needed reconstructing post-War? Just wondering if what we’re looking at is, in fact, relatively new!
Yeeeah! Certainly the most ornate city in Europe. I think it suffers a little from isolation – as you say, it’s difficult to get the visa and it doesn’t get as much coverage in the press, as, say, Venice or Istanbul. But, I’d probably agree – it is truly monumental. In answer to Rob above – when the Germans laid siege to Leningrad (as was), they never took the city centre itself. While there were occasional air raids (most of the bombardment was via land-based artillery), the city got off relatively light. Hence, most of the historic buildings were relatively undamaged. Catherine’s summer palace, though, at Tsarkye Selo (about 10km outside ‘Piter’), was occupied by the Germans and stripped. That needed renovating. The Spilled Blood was pretty much closed by Stalin before the war anyway in his purge against religion full stop, and that was renovated back to its original glory in the 60s-80s, but yeah, could have been a lot worse, all told.
Thats truth, when I visited Peterhof (Peter the Great’s summer palace – the beautiful garden with palaces and golden-looking fountains), there was a man in our group saying he had already visited the place back in the 80s and it was completely damaged by the Germans, windows shattered etc. and he was amazed how much better everything looked, Russians really did their job.
@Susanne @Rob Thanks for the info and history lesson, guys! 🙂
Thanks for all the answers guys – and great question Rob!
A bit of a correction, both the Grand Palace(main palace of whole complex of palaces in the lower park of Peterhof, and Catherine Palace in Pushkin were essentially totally destroyed. The palaces seen today took decades to rebuild based on drawings and architects notes and historical references. One wall was partially standing from the the Grand Palace, and was used as a platform for mobile artillery and tanks inside what was the palace. 1/3 of the housing in the western part of USSR was destroyed in the war and many towns ceased to exist because no one was left alive. The scale and viciousness of the war had no equal in history and those of western Europe and especially the US had no clue the level of brutality. 1,000,000 soldiers died trying to defend Leningrad at the outskirts and another 700,000 civilians died of the 3,000,000 inhabitants at the beginning of the siege. Approximately 1,000,000 escaped in the winter over the frozen lake to the east, mostly children. Of those 2,000,000 who stayed, a little over 1/3 died from starvation or bombardment. Not a family survived in tact, 26,000,000 died defending the invasion. That is why Russians take the threat of NATO movement to the east onto the borders so seriously, they lived invasion and it is burned into every living person’s psyche. They know war is coming from another invasion.
Stalin was not a friend of St Petersburg, he was suspicious of the writers, scientists, artists and so before the war, in the 30s many of the intellectuals and artists were sent to labor camps in Siberia or just disappeared. So after the war, little money was provided for rebuilding. The people, independently, volunteered for labor teams to travel by train to Pushkin or Peterhof and started the decades long process of salvage and reconstruction. After Stalin’s death in 54, federal money came to St Petersburg so pace of the work increased. about 300 historic buildings and parks were rebuilt and the process continues today. Every few months a new palace or building of historic significance is opened again.
As an American who has lived in St Petersburg 15 years, I find it fascinating, beautiful and cultured, and a heck of a lot of fun. I have far more personal freedom here now than in later years in the US, and it is easier to live a nice life here without being wealthy. No place of the 87 countries I have visited is art and culture so accessible to all people, not just for the wealthy. I think it one of the easiest places to meet friends, it is very social and well educated, in fact the most educated city on earth.
St. Petersburg is my biggest crush. There is no other city in the world I’d dream so much about visiting again!
Haha I’ve a huge crush on Russia too!
I love the way you compared the city to a strong woman. St Petersburg is certainly beautiful- I couldn’t believe the architecture either.
Ahh have you been to St Petersburg too Katie? The architecture is often hard to believe!
It certainly looks interesting and the art on the ceilings is amazing. The city looks quite large and there must be a lot of walking – keeps you fit tho’. Not sure I’d be allowed into Russia (an old Cold War thing), know I’d be jailed in North Korea without hesitation.
“….Not sure I’d be allowed into Russia (an old Cold War thing), know I’d be jailed in North Korea without hesitation.” – I’m intrigued, please share your stories Ted!
It’s an extremely interesting place, history peels from the walls Ted! A lot of the main attractions are within walking distance but you have to get a bus or train to some other attractions as well.
Ted, no problem. The last cold war was between the US and USSR. Russia is much more open and in many ways having more personal freedom than the US or UK.
‘Love the post Shing and now you make me all the more eager to visit Russia. I’m still sceptical about paying all that dough just for a visa as a British person, so I might just do the 72 hours no-need-for-a-visa- if-you’re on-a-cruise thing when I’m ready lol!
As for the most beautiful city in Europe? You’re killing me Shing! There’s just so many! Rome, Paris, London, Heidelberg, Riga, Krakow, Prague, the list goes on….lol!
The 72 hour free visa might be the way to go Victoria – it’s certainly less hassle! Whilst 72 hours isn’t enough to see everything you’ll still be able to see many of the highlights if you plan wisely!
I’ve never been to Heidelberg (very curious now though) but yes to Rome, Paris, London, Krakow and Prague! I really need to visit Riga too…
I so hope to finally visit Russia this year, it’s been in my mind for way too long! And while I’ve been thinking mostly of Trans-Siberian railway I think I’d add St. Petersburg to my itinerary – it’s not really on the way but so stunning!!! I just love how you showed it!
Argh I’ve been dreaming of the Trans-Siberian railway too Kami! You’ve travelled so much within Eastern Europe, it’s about time you visit Russia 😉
I stumbled onto this blog on travel and was interested in the comments. I visited St Petersburg the first time in 1976, and visited many times until the late 90s. Then, I made the decision, on my flight home to just north of San Francisco, to give all my possessions away and move away.I did, I gave everything away except 1 house, 1 car, and somethings in a storage unit and found myself on Nevsky Prospect with two suitcases, about $6000 in cash and no idea where to live, how to support myself or even know the language. That was 15 years ago.
St Petersburg is unique, I could have moved to any of the 87 countries I have visited but none felt like home to me. My own culture had drifted far from me and I felt the region that my family had called home for 370 years was just not me anymore. St Petersburg has been inspiring, fascinating, harsh, elegant, but most of all has been fun. Making friends in such an outgoing social city was a snap. I just did things I was intrigued by, so was doing them surrounded by young people, mostly in their 20s and early 30s and was never accepted by my “real” peers as fully as the people here. First off, it can be a little intimidating in that it is the most educated city in the the most educated country in the world. I don’t even know anyone over 20 who does not have a university degree. Striking up a conversation with a 21 year old in a pub is an entirely different experience than anyplace I have been. They have broad educations they know a lot about the world and fit in just about anywhere they travel to.
The one word that seems to sum up the city is “Art”. The people of all ages are immersed in the arts every day. Sure there are grand art galleries but that is just the tip of the iceberg. Dance, singing, visual arts, theater, 354 museums, and much more, and all ages participate, usually every day. Going to world class ballet for example and looking from from the $200 floor seat to the upper balconies and it is all kids, from 6-7 to 20, all free. A typical conversation by a couple 13 year olds might be trying to decide whether to go to a death-metal concert or a new staging for an obscure ballet or opera they just discovered in archives. To a westerner it seems strange to have such access to the art. Even in London and NYC where they brag about being Theater Capital of the World because they have never been here to St Petersburg. We have 330 drama theaters in walking distance from my apartment in the city center. Moscow has even more.
It is fun, engaging, smart, balanced, exciting and beautiful and those just describe the people….OK, the Women.
Regarding Visas, they are not so hard to get, just fill out the on-line form, and send that plus an invitation(an official document from a hotel or tour operator that is federally licensed, if anyone is having problems, contact me. In several of the businesses I started have been in incoming tourism, mostly intense 2 day cultural tours for cruise ship passengers so have all the federal licenses.) For Americans, their visa treaty allows for a 3 year multiple entry visa but most countries are limited to 3 months for a single visit on a business visa(which does not have to be for business, it just means a business invites you, up 1 year in duration but only 3 months in-country per 6 month period) or 30 days on a tourist visa. There is an alternative that requires no visa; book a ferry from Helsinki or Tallinn-Stockholm and arrive by ferry, for 72 hours visa free with no paperwork. That is very popular with people from the UK, Scandinavia and Northern Europe. If you have any questions about how to get by here really really cheap, or elsewise, let me know.
Your photos are really good…can you describe how you took them….DLSR, post processing, lenses? I am somewhat of a photographer….it is hard not to be here.
After 15 years, still in love with the city, every day it surprises and makes me happy to just walk around, regardless of weather
Read all the comments and article, so pleased to hear such inspired words about my native city.
Hi, such beautiful pictures of St petersburg. can you please name the pink like church and the lake with the beautiful surroundings please? Tnx
Stan, great posts, and thank you for your insights. Super refreshing to hear a Westerner perspective after submerging into culture for a decade and a half. Russians rarely brag about the war and their contribution. I feel that whatever they say is being completely ignored by the western educated crowd anyway, so they don’t bother. Great to hear you found yourself in the city and enjoying all it has to offer. I go back every couple of years, love it.
Stan, great posts, and thank you for your insights. Super refreshing to hear a Westerner perspective after submerging into culture for a decade and a half. Russians rarely brag about the war and their contribution. I feel that whatever they say is being completely ignored by the western educated crowd anyway, so they don’t bother. Great to hear you found yourself in the city and enjoying all it has to offer. I go back every couple of years, love it.