St. Petersburg is the grand city of the czars

By Rick Steves, Tribune Content Agency on May 5, 2015

The Neoclassical Kazan Cathedral suffered one of the biggest indignities. This grand church, modeled on St. Peter's in Rome, was for years used as a "Museum of Atheism." Now once again a place of worship, the cathedral draws lines of the faithful who come to kiss the church's namesake: the Our Lady of Kazan icon, the most important in Russian Orthodoxy.

The oldest church in St. Petersburg, the early Baroque Peter and Paul Cathedral, is intimately linked with the Romanovs. A Swiss-Italian architect designed the golden-spired building for Peter the Great in the early 1700s. Peter's marble tomb is here, surrounded by the Romanovs who came after him, including Catherine the Great.

With the Bolshevik Revolution in 1917, angry mobs ransacked the church and desecrated the Romanov tombs. The age of czar rule was decidedly over. Only years later would a small chapel in the church be dedicated to the much-romanticized family of the final czar, Nicholas II.

Nowadays, the legacy of the Romanovs is finding new life among Russians, who have developed nostalgia for the art and architecture of those imperial days. They, and the tourists who visit St. Petersburg, have come to appreciate the remarkably harmonious cityscape conceived by Peter the Great and added to by his successors. From the grand mansions lining its wide boulevards to the impressive palaces of the czars, the city does full justice to the vision of its founder.

IF YOU VISIT...

SLEEPING: M-Hotel's 61 rooms are tucked away in a quiet courtyard just south of the main drag, Nevsky Prospekt (moderate, www.mhotelspb.ru). The Pushka Inn offers tasteful rooms in the heart of downtown, just steps from the Hermitage Museum (splurge, http://www.pushkainn.ru/).

EATING: Zoom Cafe has a lively atmosphere and a fresh menu at good prices (just off Griboyedova Canal, at Gorokhovaya Ulitsa 22, tel. 612-1329). Russian Vodka Room No. 1 is a fancier option with classy food and service, plus 200 types of vodka (Konnogvardeisky Bulvar 4, tel. 570-6420).

GETTING AROUND: Almost everything you'll want to see is either along Nevsky Prospekt or a few blocks to either side. To cross the river or go to more distant sites, use the city's excellent subway system.

RUSSIAN VISAS: Visitors from the United States and Canada must obtain a visa in advance to enter Russia (www.russianembassy.org). Exceptions are made for travelers arriving by cruise ship.

TOURIST INFORMATION: www.visit-petersburg.ru.

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(Rick Steves (www.ricksteves.com) writes European travel guidebooks and hosts travel shows on public television and public radio. Email him at rick@ricksteves.com and follow his blog on Facebook.)