INTRODUCTION

First-year psychology majors would classify Petersburg as a dysfunctional child. Forced into being by an overbearing father and subjected to various foreign influences at the whims of its stepmothers, it's faced abuse, neglect, scorn, and attempted murder, and suffers from an identity crisis brought on by name changes and from living in the shadow of big brother Moscow. And it's just gotten its driver's license and has started cruising down a highway where there's no speed limit and no place to get a decent cheeseburger for miles.

It is this strange energy that gives St. Petersburg its special allure. There are many reasons to visit St. Petersburg, a city filled with cultural, historical, and architectural treasures, and the people are hospitable and generous, often going to incredible lengths to make visitors feel welcome. But added to this is a certain dynamic that can only be found in a country firmly in the grip of a drastic and fundamental overhaul. Change isn't just in the air; it's on the walls, on people's faces, in their attitudes, and up their noses. St. Petersburg combines the excitement of Saigon, Johannesburg, and Tangiers with a setting reminiscent of Venice, Paris, and Amsterdam. There are few places on the planet as interesting and complex as this.

There are of course some minor infrastructural difficulties involved in travelling to St. Petersburg. This is to be expected in a country where for years tourism was the domain of a single state-run tourist monopoly that specialized in herding people from sight to sight, making sure they understood the proper ideological meaning of every one of them. Fortunately the monopoly went out with the ideology and the effects of several years of market competition in the tourist industry are indeed palpable.

Still, Rome was not built in a day, and it wasn't built in Russia, so you'll need to brace yourself for poor service, delays, disorganization, mysterious cancellations, and frustrating and pointless bureaucratic procedures. There are two ways to react to this: you can wig out and make things even more difficult for yourself and everyone around you, or you can accept it as part of the Russia Experience.

A positive attitude goes a long way here. If you find your tour bus has been hijacked to Bucharest, your beef stroganoff overcooked by about three weeks, or your visit to the Kirov Ballet cancelled and replaced by a recital of the Smolensk Bird-Watchers' Society Kazoo Band look on it as a character building experience.

ONE OF THE HIGHLIGHTS of St. Petersburg is the fantastic architecture and landscaping that abounds in the city center. The city was planned and built with the help of leading architects from all over the world, and the result is an eclectic mix of European and traditional Russian styles. Petersburg reminds some visitors of Rome, others of Paris, Venice, Vienna, or Amsterdam. Elements of all these cities are here, yet at the same time it resembles none. You can spend weeks wandering around the center of the city and still find something new at every corner. Though the most convenient way to see the major sights is by car or transport, a good walk around Petersburg's older regions will give you more time to take in the wondrous sights.

Situated in the centre of St Petersburg the State Hermitage Museum is housed in five magnificent buildings created by celebrated architects of the 18th to 19th century. The Winter Palace, former residence of Russian Emperors which was constructed between 1754 and 1762 after a design of Bartolomeo Rastrelli, occupies an important place amongst the other constructions of the overall Museum ensemble.

Put together throughout two centuries and a half, the Hermitage collections of works of art (over 3,000,000 items) present the development of the world culture and art from the Stone Age to the 20th century. Today the Museum is creating its digital self-portrait to be displayed around the world. Computer technologies enable the State Hermitage Museum to provide people from all over the world with wider access to information about the Museum and its treasures.

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