We had arranged our tours of St Petersburg before we left Australia with a Russian tour company. It was highly recommended on the internet sites and fulfilled the expectations - we had two very full days with plenty of walking and stairs! The weather was beautiful for this part of the world - about 22degrees with clear skies.

Our first day was essentially in the city;

1. a. City Familiarisation Tour. Visit the main drag - Nevitsky(?) Prospect with trams, trolley buses, Macdonalds, Starbuck’s and Temepok(Russian Maccas)
   

2. b. Heritage Museum.
   

1. (1)Extraordinary collection art, sculpture in baroque and rennaissance rooms - very extravagant. It appears as if Catherine the Great was a fanatical interior decorator as differentiated from an art collector. She had representatives throughout Europe who would buy art collections based on the colours required to complement the room design and colours. Consequently there is a very eclectic collection of art and sculpture.
   

2. (2)The Heritage Museum is housed in 5 palaces and has been the collection centre of the works of art that were stored or stolen during the Second World War.
   

3. (3)One observation; the parquetry and inlaid floors were not protected from the thousands of tourists that visit the museum every day.
   

4. d. Church on the Blood. A Russian Orthodox church built on the site of the assassination of one of the Czars. A Medieval design with 7000 square metres of mosaics.
   

5. e. Typical Russian lunch at an Italian Restaurant. Cabbage salad (Coleslaw?), Cabbage and carrot soup, overcooked chicken breast(rubber chicken?) and a spud with ice cream for desert.
   

6. f. St Isaac’s Cathedral. Nearly all the cathedrals in St Petersburg were designed by Italians who imported western Europe designs into Russia. During the Second World War much of the valuable art, sculpture and furniture was stored in the basement of this cathedral. The cathedral has a golden dome that was used by Nazi bomber pilots as a reference/navigation point and would probably be the last to be destroyed.
   

7. g. One Hour Boat tour . A different view and perspective of the city
   

8. h. Visit the Fortress and the Church of St Peter and Paul. This is where the czars and some of their relatives are buried.