There are lots of places that you should visit during your trip to St. Petersburg; museums, parks, historical sites, religious areas, cultural centers, and many other recreational centers that are waiting for you to be discovered on your tour to St. Petersburg. However, various public places in St. Petersburg tour are not explicitly included on your tour to Russia program. Still, you will visit them on your trip to Russia, such as city squares. There are several city squares in St. Petersburg that are important in many ways, such as housing several major tourist attractions or connecting vital places. Here are our top picks of the most famous city squares in St. Petersburg, which starts with the oldest and the main one, the Palace Square.
Palace Square
Palace Square is the main city square of St. Petersburg, which because of the attractions inside it, you will visit it on your tour to Russia. Palace Square is the oldest square in the city. However, because of its importance, it became the main square of the city. If you want to compare it, the Palace Square for St. Petersburg is like Red Square for Moscow. Both of these places have seen many historical and vital events throughout history. For more than two centuries, the Palace Square had housed the Tsar’s main resident in St. Petersburg, the Winter Palace. It also houses the Hermitage Museum, which is the most major St. Petersburg attractive places in Russia tour. Francesco Rastrelli, with his magnificent Winter Palace, Carlo Rossi, by designing the General Staff Building, Alexander Briullov with his Guard Corps Headquarters, and Auguste de Montferrand by creating the Alexander Column had been participated in designing and developing the Palace Square. It is one of the most major public places in Russia tour, which you will visit during your tour to Petersburg, mainly because of the State Hermitage Museum.
Arts Square
Arts Square, formally known as the Mikhailovsky Square, is one of the finest architectural masterpieces of Italian architect Carlo Rossi. Arts Square is one of the major cultural centers of St. Petersburg that you will visit during your travel to Russia. It houses some of the major attractions of St. Petersburg tour, including the Mikhailovsky Palace or the headquarter of the State Russian Museum, Mikhailovsky Theatre, Russian Museum of Ethnography, Theatre of Musical Comedy, and the monument to Alexander Pushkin. While the site of the Arts Square was entirely undeveloped throughout the 18th century, Carlo Rossi was commissioned to build a palace for Mikhail Pavlovich, youngest son of Emperor Paul I, at the beginning of the 19th century as well as developing the area as a whole. The Arts Square has been hosting the Arts Square winter festival since 2000, which is a cultural event in which many classical music artists will perform their songs. If you have decided to visit Russia during winter, it’s one of the festivals that you should consider participating in if you like classical music. You can also learn more about winters in Russia, and other major events that happen during winter in Russia on our weblog at the Star Travel Group.
Senate Square
Although Senate Square had emerged in St. Petersburg at the beginning of the 18th century, it was Carlo Rossi, who had given the current magnificent look to the square. After Peter the Great’s plan to gather its government in the Twelve Collages failed due to various reasons, the senate had relocated to the Senate Square during Catherine the Great’s reign. Catherine the Great also commissioned French Etienne Maurice Falconet to create one of the most impressive monuments to the founder of St. Petersburg, Peter the Great, in 1768. However, the Bronze Horseman had erected on the Senate Square in 1782. The entire Senate Square went under reconstruction by Carlo Rossi in 1829. By the end of 1834, he had expended and reconstructed the Senate Building, which made it possible for it also to house the Synod, the body of the Russian Orthodox Church. He also expanded the square and redecorated most of the place as well as nearby streets. Carlo Rossi also created a magnificent triumphal arch that connected the two wings of the Senate Building. The most vital point in the history of Senate Square is the event of the Decemberist uprising in 1825. If you want to learn about that event and other attractions of St. Petersburg near the Senate Square on your tour to Russia, you can visit our weblog at the Star Travel Group website.
Theatre Square
Theater Square is another cultural center of St. Petersburg, in which you can find the most famous theatre in St. Petersburg tour, the Mariinsky Theatre, as well as St. Petersburg Conservatory. The Theatre Square has been the center of the theatrical life of St. Petersburg throughout history by housing the Stone Theatre, the building of the Italian circus troupe Gverry, and the Mariinsky Theatre. During the imperial days, upper-class citizens of St. Petersburg, from military officers, members of the imperial family, members of the noble families of St. Petersburg, and high-class members of St. Petersburg society would often visit Theatre Square to go to the Stone Theatre, and later the Mariinsky Theatre. If you visit this square on your tour to Russia, you will also find several other attractions inside this square, including several magnificent architectural masterpieces and monuments to some of the greatest Russian composers in the small park of Theatre Square.
Ostrovsky Square
Ostrovsky Square is another architectural masterpiece from the Italian Carlo Rossi. Ostrovsky Square is one of the most beautiful public places inside the St. Petersburg that you can visit during your Russia tour. It houses Alexanderinsky Theatre, which is the oldest theatre company in St. Petersburg and probably the second most famous one after the Mariinsky Theatre. These two theaters are the best places for people who want to see a Russian ballet performance during their tour to Russia. The Ostrovsky Square also houses one of the impressive monuments to Catherine the Great, who has always been one of the most beloved empresses in Russia because of her efforts to improve the life and culture of Russian people. Ostrovsky Square is also one of the important links between some of the vital locations in St. Petersburg tour, including Nevsky Prospect, Fontanka River Embankment, Ploshchad Lomonosova, and Carlo Rossi street. The Theatre Museum, which is one of the State Museum of Theatre and Music, also locates on this square. You can learn about the State Museum of Theatre and Music and all of its branches that you can visit on your tour to Russia on our weblog as well as information about other attractions in Russia tour.
Although these were the most famous squares that you will visit during your tour to Russia, there are also several other places in St. Petersburg that you should visit if you have time on your Russia tour, including the Victory Square, which houses the Monument to the Heroic Defenders of Leningrad; the Field of Mars, which is another monumental complex in St. Petersburg tour; Exchange Square or as its more well-known name, Strelka, and many other places. We at the Star Travel Group have gathered all the necessary information about these places and other Russia attractive places on our weblog, which is accessible through our website. We recommend our tourists reading our tips and pieces of advice before starting their travel to Russia.
