Saint Petersburg: Canals, palaces, and the tallest building in Europe

[mikecolley]

As an American, it's very difficult for me to get a Russian visa without going through an authorized tour company. That means my pictures from Saint Petersburg are limited to areas where tours take you (mostly churches and palaces). I would have loved to have been able to walk around on my own because it's a very beautiful and fascinating city. But I did the best I could...and I did sneak off from the tour group a few times to get some random street pics.

The skyline of Saint Petersburg is dominated by the Lakhta Center. Completed in 2019, and measuring 462 meters (1516 ft), it is now the tallest building in Europe.





























































































































Peterhof Palace and Fountain Park















Church of Spilt Blood







Saint Catherine's Palace













Hermitage Museum











Vodka tasting

[maru2501]

great shots. was totally unaware of that building

[jg6544]

Nice thread. The Tsarist era buildings are still the best in the city. That supertall looks grotesquely out of place.

[Ex-Ithacan]

I enjoyed your tour & pics. Though I'm not a big fan of palaces, it's wonderful to see so much of the city (including palaces) restored after the being leveled in WW2. Thanks for sharing your trip.

[Coldrsx]

Absolutely stunning and near the top of my list.

[gatt]

this city look pretty amazing.

[Dinosaurus]

Awesome

[Cirrus]

Thanks for this. I'm fascinated by St Petersburg. Street-level photos of Russian cities are always appreciated. It's hard to wrap my head around exactly what they're like. They have these big wide car-dominated streets, with pretty European buildings lining them with tiny sidewalks that seem to often lack retail. From afar, Russian cities seem maybe as dysfunctional as American ones, and in similar-but-not-quite-the-same ways.

Get any photos of the trams? Saint Petersburg has one of the world's largest streetcar networks.

[mikecolley]

Originally Posted by Cirrus

Thanks for this. I'm fascinated by St Petersburg. Street-level photos of Russian cities are always appreciated. It's hard to wrap my head around exactly what they're like. They have these big wide car-dominated streets, with pretty European buildings lining them with tiny sidewalks that seem to often lack retail. From afar, Russian cities seem maybe as dysfunctional as American ones, and in similar-but-not-quite-the-same ways.

Get any photos of the trams? Saint Petersburg has one of the world's largest streetcar networks.

Thanks for the comment! I did not see any trams while I was there. I honestly did not know they had any. The traffic in Saint Petersburg is horrendous, so people rely heavily on the metro (unfortunately we didn't get to ride it). Unless they have dedicated lanes for streetcars, I imagine they wouldn't be very useful.

[Nightsky]

St Petersburg looks like a wonderful city, the most European looking Russian city, great pics! I followed the construction of Lakhta Center, it was a big surprise to me when I first heard of the project since St Petersburg is known as a lowrise city while Moscow is more known for skycrapers.

[IMBY]

Thanks so much for the memorable tour. I like the tall tower just standing alone with no competitors. Let's hope there's an observation deck at top. So glad that Hitler never leveled this city. He had dreams of leveling Moscow and creating a whole new city.

[xzmattzx]

Nice pictures!