Snowy St Petersburg an ideal winter tourist destination

By Aliki Nassoufis Dec 6, 2011, 3:06 GMT

Saint Petersburg - Saint Petersburg isn't overrun by tourists during the long Russian winter. This makes hotel accommodation a lot cheaper, while the city's many churches look even more beautiful covered in a light blanket of snow.

The thermometer might register a temperature of minus 15 degrees celsius and snow may be falling, but that doesn't mean it isn't possible to explore what was once known as the City of the Tsars on foot.

Saint Petersburg is well worth a visit in winter when it's historic city centre, which was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1990, is particularly bewitching.

The River Neva and the city's many canals are all frozen over while its world-famous attractions such as the Hermitage, Saint Isaac's Cathedral and the Mariinsky Theatre are all covered by snow.

However, unlike summer - when Saint Petersburg's sights are packed with tourists - it is sometimes even possible to spend a moment alone in the famous Amber Room in the baroque Catherine Palace located in the southern suburbs.

Tour guide Sergey Marchukov begins his tour at the Peter and Paul Fortress, birthplace of Saint Petersburg, which for centuries was much fought over with Sweden due to its strategic location at the mouth of the Baltic. Peter the Great eventually drove the Swedes from the region and had the Peter and Paul Fortress constructed in 1703 to secure his conquest.

'This was just a swamp then,' explains Marchukov. 'Peter the Great and his successors absolutely wanted to make Saint Petersburg the most beautiful city in the country.'

Saint Petersburg sometimes feels like one large open-air museum but it is also has a vibrant nightlife. For any tourist feeling brave enough, there is a large hole cut in the frozen ice of the River Neva in front of the Peter and Paul Fortress. This is the plunge pool for the Walrus Club, a group of swimmers who jump into the icy water.

By contrast, visitors can also enjoy tea and cake in Cafe Singer and watch events on Nevsky Prospect, the city's main street, or warm themselves with a borscht or solyanka soup. There are also dishes on the menu from former Soviet republics such as Armenia and Ukraine.

Another great way to get out of the bitter Russian cold is to pay a visit to the Hermitage, the largest art museum in the world with nearly three million artworks in its collection although only around 65,000 exhibits are on view to the public at any one time.

However, it's not only the huge volume of art, including works from Monet, Renoir, Gaugin, Matisse and Picasso, that attract visitors to the Hermitage, the building itself is worth the trip.

There are also numerous interesting churches in Saint Petersburg, including Kazan Cathedral which was built between 1801 and 1811 to an enormous scale and boasts an impressive stone colonnade, encircling a small garden and central fountain.

Peter I wanted the cathedral to rival the Basilica of Saint Peter's in Rome and it was intended to be the country's main Orthodox Church.

Saint Isaac's Cathedral, the largest in the city, is located a few hundred metres away and has a viewing area that offers a panoramic view of the city. The 250 steps needed to reach the viewing area also help a tourist to warm up.