Our new intern’s snowy tour through SPb
It’s a very well known fact that walking tours are the best way to see a new city, and Liden and Denz provide an excellent tour that lasted around two hours, taking in the sights from theatres and museums to the headquarters of the Russian version of Facebook!
Having been to St Petersburg before, I was looking forward to seeing the beautiful architecture and historical buildings again, but this time everything was covered in snow, adding even more splendour to an already stunning city.
The tour started with the area around the language centre and included the Dom Kino, the original hall of Soviet directors, the radio station with its open studio where many a famous Russian has been interviewed for St Pete’s main radio station, before heading onto Nevsky Prospect, the world renowned main street of Russia’s European city.
Nevsky Prospect is also home to Gostiny Dvor, the huge shopping centre, and hidden gems tucked away amongst the shops, such as the blue Armenian cathedral shown here.
From there we looped around to see the Russian Museum full of modern and contemporary art, under the watchful eye of the statue of Pushkin.
From here it’s just a short walk to my favourite place (so far!) in St Pete, the Church of the Saviour of the Spilt Blood, a long name for a truly spectacular church in prime location next to the canal and the Michaelovsky Garden. I love seeing this church as it’s so decorative that you pick out extra details every time you visit it, and inside is just as beautiful, with mosaics covering the walls and ceilings, even up into the individual domes you can see from the outside.
Our final stop on the tour was the Hermitage, possibly the most famous place in St Petersburg. At this time of year, the Hermitage lives up to its other name, the Winter Palace, as it used to be the (aptly named) winter palace of the ruling family. Nowadays, it’s a massive museum with artwork, sculptures and the infamous Fabergé eggs.
The tour finished on Nevsky Prospect, where our lovely guide Dasha pointed out the headquarters of Russian Facebook, one of the often overlooked sights! All in all, a fantastic tour that’s making me even more excited to be living here for the next few months!
Jade Mitchell-Ross is an English student, currently on an internship while at the same time studying Russian at Liden & Denz
