The Peter and Paul Fortress is where St Petersburg started. In 1703 Peter I laid out this six-bastion fort on Hare Island to guard the Neva's mouth against Sweden. The military role faded quickly, but the fortress became the burial place of the emperors and a political prison.
⛪ Peter and Paul Cathedral
The main building is the cathedral by Trezzini, with a 122-metre spire — the tallest church structure in St Petersburg. Inside is the Romanov burial vault from Peter I to Nicholas II, whose family was reinterred in 1998 in the Catherine Chapel.
🔒 Trubetskoy Bastion: the prison
Inside the Trubetskoy Bastion is the Museum of Political Prison 1872–1921. Cells are reconstructed and the exhibition covers inmates from Nechaev to Gorky and Lenin's brother Alexander Ulyanov. Atmospheric and grim.
💰 The Mint
The Mint still operates; interior access is not public, but tours cover the grounds. A separate museum of printing forms stands nearby.
🪂 Naryshkin Bastion and the noon gun
The signal cannon on the Naryshkin Bastion fires at noon — an old St Petersburg tradition revived in Soviet times. Watch from below or from above with a bastion ticket.
💳 Tickets
Combined ticket 750 ₽ covers cathedral, prison and bastion; the territory is free. Via spbmuseum.ru.
🚕 Getting there
Gorkovskaya metro, ten minutes on foot across the Ioannovsky Bridge. For a return, RideClu, especially tired or with children.
🛏 Where to stay
Apartments on the Petrograd Side and near Gorkovskaya are bookable on Tutkakdoma.
If this is your first time in St Petersburg, bear two things in mind. Distances between the main sights are short, but autumn daylight is brief and rain arrives on no schedule. Plan your route around the lit half of the day, allow half an hour of buffer between stops, and bring a thermos and gloves for the evening. Dress in layers and wear non-slip soles — the embankments and bridges are windy, and courtyards stay wet after rain.
On the ground, walking is easiest between adjacent blocks, with short taxi hops when it gets dark or wet. If you are travelling as a group or with children, arrange the evening transfer back to your flat ahead of time — late-night fares spike. Flats in the centre go fast at weekends: book a week ahead for Nevsky, the Petrograd Side or Vasilievsky.
St Petersburg rewards half-day visits rather than one long marathon. Pick a theme — a single museum, a district, a walk — and give it time. After the active part, a warm cafe, a bookshop or a swimming pool is as much part of the ritual as the sights themselves, especially in November.
Verified against spbmuseum.ru on 22 October 2026.
Cover photo: Richard Mortel from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, CC BY 2.0, Викисклад
