At only 300 years old this city was renamed Petrograd and Leningrad before recently returning to it's original name. It's been described as the most beautiful city in the world, although frankly it's a little difficult to tell under the snow and slush ! What is apparant though is the amount of petty crime here, with pickpockets and muggings a speciality.
With numerous beautiful palaces, the centrepiece is the glorious Hermitage Museum which occupies five different buildings and houses a wonderful art collection from around the world.
This must be balanced with the incredible and moving survival of the citizens during WW2, when they endured a German siege lasting 872 days, with almost 800,000 dying.
Built on 44 islands, St Petersburg has the deepest subway in the world which snakes underneath the many waterways, frozen or not.
