The State Hermitage is the largest museum  of Russia, the collection of which numbers about 3 million exhibits, including works of painting, sculpture, graphic and applied art, archaeological finds, coins and medals.The collection has been formed in the course of three centuries. Today it occupies several buildings.

The Peter and Paul Fortress protected the newly-born city of St.Petersburg from the enemies. It later was turned into a political prison in which many notables such as Dostoevsky, Gorky, Trotsky and Lenin's older brother Alexander were kept. The primary attraction within the fortress is the Peter and Paul Cathedral, begun by Peter as soon as the fortress had been constructed, though not completed until 1733. It is the oldest stone building in St.Petersburg — the city marks its birthday by the day when the cathedral's construction began. The Peter and Paul's Cathedral is a burial place of all Russian emperors and empresses from Peter I to Nicholas II.

The decoration of the Church on the Spilled Blood was the first time in Russia that mosaics were used to such a large extent to ornament the outer walls of a church. The mosaics on the exterior cover a total area of over 400 square meters. There is not a single painting inside the Church on the Spilled Blood: its walls are almost entirely covered with mosaics.

The museum is called an “encyclopedia of Russian art” – it preserves the most valuable artistic objects starting from the eleventh century. Displayed here are also rare ancient Russian icons, but the pride of the museum is a representative collection of easel painting of the eighteenth to twentieth century containing portraits, landscapes, genre scenes and other significant works by famous Russian artists of various trends.

The interiors of the Catherine Palace in Pushkin revive the most interesting episodes in Russian history and in the life of the imperial family, visibly embodied in formal portraits, personal belongings and photographs of the former owners. The numerous collections of paintings, watercolours, works of decorative and applied art and sculpture made the museum famous all over the world.

One of St. Petersburg's most famous and popular visitor attractions, the palace and park at Peterhoff (also known as Petrodvorets) are often referred to as "the Russian Versaille", although many visitors conclude that the comparison does a disservice to the grandeur and scope of this majestic estate. Peterhof is the kingdom of fountains. There are 144 fountains, all operating without the use of pumps by a combination of naturally generated water pressure and magic. Each fountain is unique and once you step in the area of the kingdom of fountains you will be surprised by this splendid oasis, a reminder of the beauty that man can create.