Has anyone been to St. Petersburg (Russia)? Need advice.

I am thinking of going on a trip to the Baltics with a tour group because I am of Latvian ancestry. The tour starts out spending quite a few days in St. Petersburg. Of all the places in the world, I've never heard much about it and never thought about going there. Anybody been? Advice?

Spend more time at the Hermitage Museum than Bu$h. It has the greastest collection of Impressionis in the world!

The Hermitage Museum! Do not miss it. So many things to see. Google it and look around. There is a fun trip to the Winter Palace, itself a marvel to see, on a hydroplane on the Bay of Finland. Just a great place to vist. The canals are lovely as well.

It has been long enough that any advice I would have is probably very outdated. We were closely watched back then.

I read somewhere that it is more impressive in the winter.

We were there when it stayed light almost all night. We took a canal ride at midnight and it was as light as an afternoon. It is beautiful in the summer too. The parks are full of trees. Go to the ballet if you can too.

Moscow was very interesting but St. Petersburg was very European and a much more comfortable place to be.

There is a room in the Hermitage with nothing but Rembrandts. Just simply stunning.

It was very revealing to see the opulence the Tsars lived in while the people starved. Those palaces are like nothing I have ever seen before. I have not travelled Europe to compare but I was stunned. The entry to the Winter Palace was a man made river on a long slope with GOLD statues all up and down. Everything was gold, I think I remember that even the gold paint was mixed with real gold. Just beautiful. I envy you this trip, it was a once in a lifetime for me.

I bet it is a great city

alphabet. It really is easy and you'd be surprised at how many words are similar in Russian and English if you learn the alphabet. For example "pectopan" is the Russian word for restaurant - it's pronounced "rest-o-ran"

I speak and read and write Latvian, so I'm fine once I get there, but I'm afraid I don't know any Russian. I was in France this spring and so happy that I learned some basic French in the year before I visited. It really helped a lot. The Pimsleur's basic courses are amazingly easy and not that expensive. Maybe I'll get the Russian language CD's.

I think it used to be known as Stalingrad, and was where the Russians turned back the Germans in 1942. It was the former capital of Russia. That's a cool trip.

You're thinking the city that's now known as Volgograd.

I should hit the books.

And people used to "visit" his remains? That must have been a lovely sight.

You should really read at least a rough overview of Russian history before you go to St. Petersburg, so you'll understand what you're looking at when you're looking at it.

http://www.saint-petersburg.com/history/index.asp

Although just 300 years old, St. Petersburg has a rich and exciting history, full of dramatic events and major historical figures. Founded in 1703 by Emperor Peter the Great as his "window on the West", St. Petersburg enjoys a vibrant, cosmopolitan atmosphere and some of the most beautiful architecture in Europe. For those interested in culture and history, St. Petersburg is the perfect holiday destination.

(snip)

The lands along the Neva River have belonged to the Ancient Russian state since at least the 9th century AD. However, throughout history these lands have harbored a mixed population of Slavs, Finns and other ethnic groups. From the 9th century onwards this area was part of the Principality of Novgorod. The ancient city of Novgorod was an important center of domestic and international trade and craftsmanship. Novgorod merchants traded with Western and Northern Europe and later with the towns of the Hanseatic League and used the Neva River and Lake Ladoga to transport their goods.

In 1240, whilst most of Southern and Central Russia was fighting the Mongol invasion, a Swedish invasion landed on the banks of the Neva River. The Novgorod troops of Prince Alexander went out to meet the foe and on July 15, 1240 fought the Battle of The Neva (Nevskaya Bitva). The Russians successfully launched a surprise attack on the Swedes and were victorious. This battle became a symbol of Russia's dramatic fight for independence and Prince Alexander was given the name Alexander Nevsky (i.e. Alexander of the Neva) and was later declared a Saint of the Russian Orthodox Church for his efforts to protect Russia and its Christian faith. Later, in the 18th century, he was also proclaimed the patron saint of St. Petersburg - Peter the Great's great European city built on the banks of the Neva.

(snip)

During the course of the Northern War with Sweden, Russia's forces gradually moved from Lake Ladoga down the Neva River to the Swedish fort of Nienchanz. After an 8-day siege on May 1 1703, the Swedish garrison surrendered. To protect the newly conquered lands on the Neva delta Peter the Great needed a fortress, but Nienchanz was small and badly damaged. Looking for a site for his new fortress Peter the Great chose the Island of Enisaari (Hare's Island), which was known to the Russians as Zayachii ostrov. On May 16 1703 (May, 27 by the modern calendar) St. Petersburg's fortress (the Peter and Paul Fortress) was founded and that day became the official birthday of the city. Several days later a wooden Cabin of Peter the Great was built, and became the first residential building in the new city.

(snip)

Shortly after the Bolshevik leader Vladimir Lenin died, the city was renamed Leningrad (supposedly by public demand). During the years of the Revolution the population of the city had dropped dramatically and the city was slow to recover from the rigors and tragedies of the war.

In the late 1920s mass construction of cheap housing for workers became a very prominent feature of the Leningrad landscape. Many cultural centers, "palaces of culture", were built to provide the city's people with entertainment, clubs and other social activities. In terms of architecture most of what was built was rather modern and less than inspiring. The large apartments that had been constructed during St. Petersburg's Imperial era were turned into "communal" (shared) apartments, housing several families. Life was not easy in the socialist city of Leningrad, but the population was to suffer even greater hardships during WWII and the dramatic 900-day Siege of Leningrad.

(snip)

Less than two and a half months after the Soviet Union was attacked by Nazi Germany, German troops were already approaching Leningrad. The Red Army was outflanked and on September 8 1941 the Germans had fully encircled Leningrad and the siege began. The siege lasted for a total of 900 days, from September 8 1941 until January 27 1944. The city's almost 3 million civilians (including about 400,000 children) refused to surrender and endured rapidly increasing hardships in the encircled city. Food and fuel stocks were limited to a mere 1-2 month supply, public transport was not operational and by the winter of 1941-42 there was no heating, no water supply, almost no electricity and very little food. In January 1942 in the depths of an unusually cold winter, the city's food rations reached an all time low of only 125 grams (about 1/4 of a pound) of bread per person per day. In just two months, January and February of 1942, 200,000 people died in Leningrad of cold and starvation. Despite these tragic losses and the inhuman conditions the city's war industries still continued to work and the city did not surrender.

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I enjoy my trips much more when I know a bit about the history. That's why I'm picking some DU brains as a start. Appreciate the info. :)