SAINT-PETERSBURG

Founded in 1703 by Peter the Great as a window onto Europe, Saint Petersburg was conceived with a deliberate sense of order and perspective. Built on a network of islands at the edge of the Baltic Sea, the city developed around water, grand avenues and monumental façades that still define its atmosphere today.

Often described as Russia’s cultural capital, Saint Petersburg bears the imprint of its imperial past, and of the twentieth century. Heavily damaged during the Second World War and later reconstructed, the city carries layers of memory beneath its classical exterior. Beyond its palaces and museums, it reveals itself in quieter details: courtyards hidden behind wide boulevards, long winter evenings, and the pale light of the White Nights in summer. Visiting Saint Petersburg is less about spectacle than about sensing how history and daily life continue to intersect.