Often referred to as the Venice of the North or the Paris of the East, St. Petersburg is one of the world’s most breathtakingly beautiful cities and Russia's intellectual and cultural capital.

Founded by Czar Peter the Great three centuries ago, on swampy islands at the mouth of the Baltic Sea, as Russia's "window to the West", St. Petersburg offers an unforgettable glimpse into the culture and history of Russia.

In St. Petersburg, Czars entertained in their sumptuous palaces, Lenin made his first public speech, Pushkin fought a fatal duel to defend his wife’s honor, Rasputin the “mad monk” was assassinated at the hands of Russian aristocrats, great writers and composers such as such as Dostoevsky and Shostakovich wrote their greatest works, and the cruiser Aurora fired the shot that signaled the start of the Bolshevik revolution. St. Petersburg is indeed a living museum!