This view across the river Neva was from an open window in the Hermitage and shows the Spit of Vasilyevsky Island with the Rostral Columns in front of the Stock Exchange.
There are several canals that criss-cross St Petersburg making orientation and getting back to our hotel easy.
St Isaacs looms up by this canal.
A particularly fine Art Nouveau department store, over 100 years old. In line with the prevailing attitudes to their architectural heritage, the ornate cupola was torn down in the 1930s in order not to spoil the view of the Admiralty tower. Last year the authorities realised the mistake of their vandalism & rebuilt the cupola.
Another local Art Nouveau landmark building. Dom Knigi means The House of Books. Opened in 1919, it was the first book shop in Soviet Russia.
Across the river Neva from the Winter Palace, is the Menshikov Palace, also part of the Hermitage museum complex.
These buildings house The Constitutional Court of Russia. Apparently it is supposed to keep a check on the President's powers.
There seem to be grand palaces in most streets in St Petersburg. This one belong to one of the wealthiest families, the Yusopov's.
Here in 1916 Prince Felix Yusopov and others made a hash of a job assassinating Rasputin.
When built in 1850 it was the first permanent bridge across the Neva and also the longest bridge in Europe. The grand Universitetskaya Embankment is on the other side with the Academy of Arts building behind Ann.
These Sphinxes (weighing 23 tons each) were once part of the tomb of Pharaoh Amenhotep III. In the 19th century, anything moveable was sold off to the European visitors, so little now remains of that temple complex, beyond the Colossi of Memnon.
