St. Petersburg Introduction Walking Tour (Self Guided), St. Petersburg

Russia's northern capital, Saint Petersburg is the country's second largest city where nearly every stone breathes history. It is named after apostle Saint Peter and traditionally dubbed by the Russians as “the Window to Europe” “opened” by Peter the Great on 27 May 1703 on the site of a captured Swedish fortress amid the swamp and the Neva River.

The city is integral with the birth of the Russian Empire and is also nicknamed the “Venice of the North” or “Russian Venice” for its numerous water corridors. Today's Saint Petersburg is a major port on the Baltic Sea and the northernmost metropolis in the world, representing a blend of the Western European architecture and Russian heritage manifested in a variety of venues, such as the Mariinsky Theatre of Opera and Ballet, The Winter Palace, the Kazan and St. Isaac's Cathedrals, and many more.

Over the course of two centuries the city served as the imperial capital, during which period its name had changed repeatedly: from the original Dutch-style Sankt-Pieter-Burch to the German-like Sankt-Peterburg to Petrograd (1914), Leningrad (1924) and finally Sankt-Peterburg (aka Saint Petersburg) again in 1991. Throughout all this time, however, locals have stuck with the shortest toponym – Piter.

Saint Petersburg is also known as "the Cultural Capital of Russia" for being a seat for the National Library of Russia and a home of the Hermitage, one of the largest art museums in the world. The Historic Center of Saint Petersburg and Related Groups of Monuments constitute a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The majority of first-time visitors prefer making their acquaintance with “The City of White Nights” (another nick for Saint Petersburg associated with its closeness to the north pole region due to which it doesn't get dark here in the early summer) from Palace Square, gradually making their way to the Nevsky Prospekt whose stir and commotion have been immortalized by the likes of Pushkin, Gogol and Dostoevsky. If you wish to explore these and other prominent locations of Saint Petersburg and to soak up its unique atmosphere on your own and in your good time, take this self-guided walking tour.