Saint Petersburg

My tour of the city started in nearby St Isaac's Square which is overlooked by St Isaac's cathedral...

 ...and a statue Peter the Great.

 In the distance is the golden spire of the Naval headquarters.

 The St Nicholas Naval Cathedral...

 ...and its separate belfry...

 and a picture of the front of the cathedral from a distance.

 One of several Egyptian statues along the embankment overlooking the River Neva.

 Another Sphinx.

 One of the two Lighthouses that stand at the widest point on the river which here is 1.2kms wide. The boats sticking out of the tower is a reference to a Roman practice of collecting parts of the defeated enemy's ships, here it was the Swedes who had been defeated during the Northern War which gave Peter the Great access to the Baltic and captured the land on which St Petersburg is built.

 

 The former Custms GHouse that was later the Stock Exchange and now is being refurbished to become part of the Hermitage Museum to display medals and coins.

 The Cathedral inside the Peter and Paul Fortress.

 A row or Matrushka dolls in a souvenir shop.

 A better view of the cathedral spire behind the walls of the P&P Fortress.

 The Aurora whose place in history is that it was a salvo from its gun that signalled the start to the 25th October 1917 revolution.

 The plaque on the forward gun to commemorate the event.

 Peter the Great's log cabin, built in two days for him overlooking the P&P Fortress. He liked to life simply and this is a three room cabin of the dining room...

 and the study. The other 'room' was the vestibule just inside the front door.

 The Hermitage or Winter Palace viewed from the square in front of it.

 The Alexander Column in the centre of the square made from six hundred tons of Finnish granite.

 The government offices opposite the Winter Palace.

 A detail of the statue above the main arch.

 Another general view.

 The Cathedral of the Spilled Blood to commemorate the assassination of Alexander...

 and a few more views of the cathedral.