A Walking Tour of St. Petersburg

Begin at ploshchad Dvortsovaya (Palace Square). Extending the length of the western side of the square, with its back to the river, is the Winter Palace, which houses the legendary State Hermitage Museum. In the center of the square is the Alexander Column, commemorating the Russian victory over Napoléon in 1812. Dominating the eastern side of the square is the General Staff Building, formerly the army's general staff headquarters and now part of the Hermitage. Next to it is the Headquarters of the Guard Corps; leave by its right-hand side and cross the Pevchesky most, or Singing Bridge, to enter one of the most charming parts of the city, enchantingly threaded by the Zimnaya Kanavka, or the Little Winter Canal. On the opposite side of the Moika River, head for the moving museum honoring the great Pushkin, the Alexander Pushkin Apartment Museum, a short walk from the corner of Nevsky prospekt and naberezhnaya Moiki.