St. Petersburg

St. Petersburg is a planned city, founded in the 18th century by Peter the Great as a new capital, part of his drive to westernize Russia. St. Petersburg was designed to be an Eastern Amsterdam, mimicking the greatest commercial city of the day, and to this day retains a unique atmosphere in Russia with its canals, western-style churches and palaces. Just outside of the city is the magnificent palace of Peterhof with its stunning formal gardens, while reminders of a more recent history also abound - the Hermitage Palace was the site of some of the first shots of the Russian Revolution, while the city endured the epic Siege of Leningrad between 1941 and 1944.