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      St. Petersburg is one of the most beautiful cities in the world. Founded by Tsar Peter I (the Great) as Russia’s “window on Europe,” it bears the unofficial status of Russia’s cultural capital and most European city. The city’s harmonious mix of western European and Russian architecture, but its beauty is really a brand all its own. The lavish interior of the grandiose and skyline-dominating cathedrals, mysterious palaces and squares present a unique monument of the Russian culture. Magnificent architectural ensembles, beautiful courtyards, splendid parks, unique museums is a mecca of cultural, historical, and architectural landmarks.

St. Petersburg is the city on the water. It is located on the delta of the Neva River, at the head of the Gulf of Finland. The city spreads across 42 islands of the delta and across adjacent parts of the mainland floodplain. The rivers and canals make up 10 per cent of the city’s total area. There are about 90 rivers and channels and about 20 artificial canals on the territory of St. Petersburg. It is not for nothing that St. Peterburg is called the Venice of the North. The short but full-flowing tributaries and canals of the Neva River that stretch to the Baltic coast are inseparable from St. Petersburg’s panorama. Many of the city’s most famed architectural ensembles and sites stretch along the Neva’s historic embankments. Each night during the White Nights, the bridges spanning the Neva are raised to let boat traffic through. Incredible pleasure to pass under under figured bridges, which for a long time stay symbols of the city. Walk on Neva and channels — wonderful travel giving an opportunity to grasp and appreciate the subtle atmosphere of the Venice of the North, to breathe in the air of this mysterious land of Neva fogs...    

                           
                           

Peterhof is perhaps St. Petersburg's most famous and spectacular Imperial estate. Nestled on the shore of the Gulf of Finland (part of the Baltic Sea), Peterhof is a tremendous complex of the attractive area and palace luxury. The Grand Palace, filled with fascinating and elaborate interiors, sits on top of a high seashore ridge overlooking the vast Lower Park adorned with fountains, statues and pavilions. There are three major cascades and over 120 fountains in the park. The most impressive is the Grand Cascade, located directly below the Grand Palace and featuring an impressive golden statue of Samson grasping the mighty jaws of the lion.
 

The Catherine Palace is a remarkable example of Russian baroque architecture. Named after its creator, Empress Catherine, and designed by Bartolomeo Rastrelli, Palace is over 1,000 feet long. The facade with the height of more than 300 m is embellished with columns, figures of the atlantes, cartouches with coat of arms and openwork balcony railings. The suite of the golden parade halls with the widely known Amber Hall impresses the contemporaries. The Catherine Park, adjacent to the palace, owes its foundation to Peter the Great. The park is decorated with a beautiful lake and canals, on the banks of which the emperors and empresses, all the nobility of the imperial court, spent their time. The park is complemented by beautiful statues, pavilions and grottoes of renowned sculptors and architects, famous picturesque flower-grass lawns of St. Petersburg designers.