Saint Petersburg       Copyright © 2009 Euroest Travel. All rights reserved. Few cities can offer so many stunning attractions and intriguing moods as St. Petersburg - City of the Tsars. From the vibrant colours of spring, through the sunny summer days and endless twilights of the famous White Nights, the brilliant golden sun of autumn, and into the crisp and brittle brightness of a St. Petersburg winter, the City casts its own unique spell over visitors. Created by Peter the Great, St Petersburg combines its fascinating Russian heritage with a distinctly European outlook. Considered the cultural heart of modern day Russia, St. Petersburg is rapidly regaining its reputation as one of the Great Cities of Europe.  Within easy reach of the capitals of Europe and Scandinavia St Petersburg now offers visitors luxury accommodations, expert destination management companies and international travel services. Founded by Tsar Peter the Great on May 27, 1703 as a "window to Europe", it served as the capital of the Russian Empire for more than two hundred years. St. Petersburg ceased being the capital when the government moved to Moscow after the Russian Revolution of 1917. With about 4.8 million inhabitants in its metropolitan area, Saint Petersburg is Russia's second-largest and Europe's third-largest city largest metropolitan area, a major European cultural center, and the most important Russian port on the Baltic. The city has a total area of 1439 square km, which makes it the second biggest city in terms of area in Europe, after London. Among cities of the world having populations of over one million people, Saint Petersburg is the northernmost. The city center is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Russia's political and cultural center for 200 years, the city is impressive even today, and is sometimes referred to in Russia as "the Northern Capital" (северная столица, severnaya stolitsa). It is the administrative center of Leningrad Oblast (itself a separate region) and of the Northwestern Federal District. The Constitutional Court of Russia is scheduled to move from Kitai-gorod in Moscow to the Senate and Synod buildings on the Decembrists Square by 2008, returning to Saint Petersburg a part of the role of a national capital, acting as a judicial capital while Moscow retains its status as administrative and legislative capital of Russia. Saint-Petersburg seasons Winter The first snows fall in November. The Neva starts to freeze in great ripples of ice. The    City takes on a new romantic quality as snow shrouds its famous landmarks and buries its parks in an icy mantle. Made more temperate than Moscow by the waters of the Finnish Gulf, the snows come and go before setting into a thick white cloak soon after New Year. This is the time for Troika rides in the countryside and steaming bowls of Borscht. Restaurants in the main hotels offer choices of Russian and international cuisine and bars and restaurants throughout the City provide a good choice of traditional Russian home cooking and international options. Ballet and Opera are a major part of the City's winter attractions. The works of Russia's most talented musical sons Tchaikovsky, Stravinsky and Rimsky-Korsakov are at their best performed here in their cultural homeland. The Russian festive season combines two Christmases and two New Years! So there is plenty to celebrate! As Russia re-discovers Yuletide traditions, long forbidden and forgotten, the big celebration is still New Year. That is when Father Frost alias Father Christmas, comes to town and the City puts on its glitziest face and parties until dawn. Spring As the snows melt and the first blossoms peep from St. Petersburg's many beautiful parks, the City casts off its winter mantle      and embraces the spring sunlight. The last of the winter ice flows dramatically down the Neva and out to sea. The haunting notes of St. Petersburg's street  musicians can again be heard as the days grow ever longer and the City of the Tsars is filled with a vibrant sense of re-birth. Spring is an ideal time to visit The Hermitage - the magnificent former residence of the Tsars and home to one of the world's greatest art collections.Ahead of the summer crowds, you can gaze in relative privacy at works of art by a multitude of famous artists from Rubens to Van Gogh. Immerse yourself in the intrigue of pre-revolutionary Russia with a visit to Yusupov Palace, home to the once mighty Yusupov family and site of Rasputin's infamous murder. Or take a trip into the countryside and visit Paul's Palace at Pavlovsk- one of the finest examples of restoration work in Russia. After viewing the treasures of the Palace, enjoy the spring sunshine in the picturesque landscaped gardens which surround it.   Summer St. Petersburg's Summer starts in early June and runs right through to the end of August. Long summer days linger late into the night providing a haunting quality to the light as it caresses the ornate facades of Peter's City. The languorous evenings are ideal for lazy boat rides through the canals. As you glide gently under picturesque bridges and pass through the subdued elegance of the City's streets, St. Petersburg reveals its beauty from a new and more subtle perspective. Enjoy summer picnics in the parks, on the sandy beaches north of the City, or by secluded wooded lakes in the surrounding countryside. A typical Russian picnic comprises home grown cucumbers, tomatoes and fresh herbs, freshly baked bread, cold meats and the classic grilled Shaslik, not to mention plenty of Vodka and Russian Champagne! The famous White Nights with their legendary midnight sun, fall in June each year, lending the City an intriguing and exotic mood, St. Petersburg celebrates with an international music festival. The programme includes performances by the famous Mariinsky Ballet and Opera Company and concerts at the Philharmonia. Autumn Golden Autumn as the Russians call it, heralds days of crisp bronze sunlight and the first chill promise of winter. The leaves turn to burnished gold on the trees throughout the City's parks as St. Petersburg's residents enjoy the last days of sunshine. This is a quieter, more relaxed time to visit St. Petersburg and its many fabulous sights and exceptional museums. Just behind the statue of St. Petersburg's favorite poet Pushkin, and a stone's throw from Nevsky Prospect, lies the Russian Museum. The Museum's treasure trove of art tells the enigmatic story of Russian history as seen through the eyes of Russia's most prominent artists. Out in the countryside, Catherine's Palace in Pushkin embraces the autumn light with its golden spires and luxurious interiors. Perhaps the grandest of St. Petersburg's many palaces its eighteenth century baroque style reflects the glamour and glitz of those heady imperial days.   St. Petersburg   - Panoramic city tour* - City tour + Hermitage* - Peterhof  (car)* - Peterhof (hydrofoil) - Pavlovsk (Palace & park)* - Pushkin (Catherine Palace & park)* - Pushkin & Pavlovsk* - St. Isaac Cathedral - Peter-and-Paul Fortress - Yussupov Palace - Resurrection-on-the-Blood (Savior) Cathedral EUR 55 EUR 95 EUR 113 EUR 120 (hydrofoil both ways included) EUR 93 EUR 98 EUR 120 EUR 40 EUR 35 EUR 42 EUR 40 Note:  the sign * means that  the cost of the comfortable car with the driver for tour transportations is included, other tours prices include entrance fee and  guide  services. Additional payment for the car = EUR 25 per hour, minimal order 4 hours. List of the excursions in St. Petersburg for minimum 2 persons. The price is indicated in EURO  per  person. The excursions can be ordered  beforehand via our e-mail: info@euroest-travel.com  Or via FAX: +7 812 572 58 11 Saint Petersburg’s hotels prices(click to download pdf)