Streets squares and districts to visit Russia

"There's nothing more beautiful than the Nevsky prospect, at least in St. Petersburg. Here, it is the origin of everything. How brightly it shines, this street, the princess of our capital! "Nicolas Gogol (The Nevsky Perspective).

More than 4.5 km long, the Nevsky Perspective, the main street of the city, stretches between the Admiralty and the Holy Trinity Lavra-Alexander-Nevsky. It is the real backbone of St. Petersburg. Conceived by Peter the Great, its layout was developed and laid out as early as 1712. A walk along the Nevsky River shows the diversity of St. Petersburg's cultural life: museums, theatres, concert halls and cinemas, libraries and numerous art galleries line up here. The Nevsky Prospect, which was the road leading to Moscow, developed rapidly as early as 1720. Even today, walking the Nevsky Prospect, "the princess of our capital", is a journey through time and art that you can make in 2.5 hours, punctuated by canals and bridges.

Behind the n° 24  by the Malaya Konyushchennaya street, totally restored and transformed into a pedestrian zone, a statue of Gogol, very successful, sadly looks at the eternal movement of the heroes of a novel never written.

Clad in granite, with large showcases and bronze decorations, the House of the Book (also known as the Singer Company building)at the intersection of Nevsky Prospect and the Griboedov Canal Quay, houses the offices and headquarters of the famous social network VKontake (also known as the Russian Facebook). This sublime modernist building is one of the emblematic buildings of the Nevsky Prospect and the city, one of the favorites of the premises. It also houses the city's largest bookstore, Dom Knigi (the House of Books) with its huge shelves, a true invitation to daydream and read. Why not sit comfortably on a sofa in the Café Zinger on the ^2nd floor, with a cup of tea and a breathtaking view of Notre-Dame-de-Kazan Cathedral? For the anecdote, the globe on top of the building had no other purpose than to circumvent a law according to which no building should exceed the height of the Winter Palace. The ensemble, grandiose or disproportionate, depending on which side you look at, of Notre-Dame-de-Kazan Cathedral is on the other side. On the canal, the neo-Russian style of Notre-Dame-sur-le-Sang-Versé is reflected in the water. Spanning the canal, the Kazanski Bridge is the third largest in the city. The Catholic Church of Saint Catherine built in 1783  : transition between classicism and baroque.

Built on the other side of the Nevski perspective, the pentagonal clock tower was built in 1804 for the municipal Duma. At  48, the Passage is one of the oldest and one of the city's department stores. Here were tested several innovations techniques : the first elevator and the first pipe! On the right side of the avenue, at  35, the department store Gostiny Dvor (the hotel business) was built in 1761-1785. Almost a century before the creation of the Bon Marché in Paris, this shopping mall was truly revolutionary and marked an important evolution in the history of urban retailing.

On the square now called Ostrovsky Square stands the Monument to Catherine II with its two-storey composition. Behind the monument, at the end of the square, one can see the facade of the Pushkin dramatic theatre with its white colonnade and the Apollo chariot above it. At the corner of the Fontanka Quay and Nevsky Prospect is the Anitchkov Palace. Le palais was presented by Empress Elizabeth Petrovna, daughter of Peter the Great, as a gift to her favourite and morganatic husband Count Razumovsky, a singer of peasant and Ukrainian origin. Placed at the corners of the bridge, the four horse tamers form a group of baroque-inspired male nudes. Similar sculptural groups were sent to Berlin to symbolize the friendship between the two capitals. At ^{XVIIIe siècle,} the Fontanka traced the border of the city whose gate was near the Anitchkov Bridge. À  The Nevsky perspective was largely built here during the 19th and early 20th centuries.

At Vosstaniya Square, the Nevskiy Perspective intersects the Ligovskiy Perspective. On the square was built one of the first metro stations, Ploschad' Vosstaniya. In the center of the square an obelisk was erected in 1985 celebrating the 40e anniversaire of the victory of the Great Patriotic War. The facade of the Moscow railway station (up to 1924  Nicholas station), from where the first Russian railway connecting the two capitals started 1851 le, overlooks the Vosstaniya square.

The Nevsky perspective continues beyond the square and forms a bend because the artery was built starting from both ends at the same time, but along different axes. The perspective ends at Alexander Nevsky Square. La partie south of the square is bordered by the Holy Trinity Alexander Nevsky Lavra. Starting from the Admiralty, a symbol of Russian maritime and military excellence, the promenade ends in front of one of the spiritual beacons of Russian Orthodoxy. You are now almost a St. Petersburger!

Practical: length 4.5 km, walking time 2.5 hours (without stops!).

The first square built on the edge of the Hermitage in 1700, it has been the preferred venue for parades and events of all kinds since that time. The staff building opposite the palace is a masterpiece by Rossi built between 1819 and 1829. The triumphal arch, with its chariot of Glory celebrating the victory over Napoleon's troops, cuts the building in its centre. In the centre, the Alexander Column, erected in 1830, is the largest of its kind in the world.

The Boulevard ring does not have parks as such, but rather wide landscaped green spaces that would definitely make the small Parisian parks pale in envy. The section at the Chistye Prudy metro station is particularly popular for Muscovite strolls, especially in spring and autumn when the trees are in bloom or undressing. The recommended route is to follow the "park" south towards the Moskva River until you reach the clean (or clear) pond that gives the district its name.

Inscribed on the UNESCO list of cultural heritage, the Kremlin is the jewel of Kazan. Built on a hill overlooking the Kazanka River, it was built to defend the Bulgarian state of Volga. It is at ^{XIIe siècle} that the first stone walls were built, before being destroyed 50 years later by the assault of the Golden Horde. When Ivan the Terrible took Kazan in 1552, the Kremlin underwent a complete metamorphosis, abandoning its oriental face with its mosques and minarets for a typically Russian architecture with its procession of cathedrals and domes. The last works were undertaken on the occasion of millénaire : the Church of the Annunciation was restored and a mosque was rebuilt. Today, it is the symbol of the model success story of Tatarstan, which has preserved its identity while integrating perfectly into the Russian Federation, even though the beginnings were chaotic (or at least, this is the official discourse).

The red brick tower of Suyumbike is among the most symbolically charged buildings of the place. With its 58 m, and its 7 floors, it is the highest tower in the Kremlin, but also the most emblematic. Legend has it that Ivan IV sent its emissaries to the Tatar Princess Syuyumbike to offer her the opportunity to become Tsarina of Moscow. She refused because of Moscow's numerous military raids on Kazan. Then, when the troops laid siege to the city, Syuyumbike accepted the marriage, provided that the Tsar was able to build a seven-storey tower higher than all the minarets in Kazan in seven days. The prince rose to the challenge and had the 58-meter high tower built. In the middle of the wedding feast, the bride expressed the desire to see her city one last time before leaving for Moscou : she climbed to the top of the tower and threw herself into the void. Less well known than the Tower of Pisa, the Syuyumbike tower is also 1.8 m high.

When Russia conquered Kazan at ^{XVIe siècle}, many mosques, including that of the Kremlin, were razed to the ground. The Qol Sharif Mosque, rebuilt in 2005, tried to follow the plan of the original mosque by erecting many minarets. Tulips, a motif inherited from Bulgarian traditions, symbolize rebirth and prosperity. This mosque is not strictly speaking reserved for worship. It is above all a research centre and a centre culturel : it houses a museum of the Islamic Culture of the Volga, a library and a museum of ancient manuscripts.

Located opposite the Hermitage on the other side of the Neva. One of the most beautiful views of the city! Discover two rostrales columns of red colour, symbolizing the glory of the Russian navy, and statues representing the four Russian rivers: La, Neva, Volga and Dnieper. The columns, conçes by Thomas de Thomon to serve as a lighthouse for vessels entering the port and haites of 32 metres, are decorated with proues of metal vessels (called "rostra" in the Romans).

This street, which became pedestrian during the jubilee works, is considered the " l'Arbat " of Kazan, with its restaurants, small shops, beautiful facades and fountains, it offers a very pleasant place to walk. We come here to stroll, shop, listen to street music. Note the 1930s publishing house with its constructivist style in issue no. 19. At number 78, the Bogoiavlenie church and its bell tower. At numéro 5 it's the beautiful Nikolski Cathedral.

The Manege Square commands the entrance to the Red Square from Tversakaya Street. It overlooks the Manege building itself and a large Stalinist building in which a shopping mall was installed in the 1990s. The underside of the square also houses the galleries of an underground shopping mall, which explains the many small glass pyramids seen on the surface.

It is a favourite meeting place for Muscovites and was also the site of the 2010 anti-police uprising.

The Theatre Square is undoubtedly one of the most beautiful and central places in Moscow. Muscovites are very demanding when it comes to shows, ballets and operas. It must be said that there are many good theatres here. There are no less than three theaters in this square. The architect Ossip Bové was the one who designed it. It is also him who drew the plans of the Bolshoi, the Maly and the children's theatre before it was rebuilt by B. Freidenberg (as well as the TSOUM). A picture with the fountains overlooking the Bolshoi is a must.

On the left of the Hotel Intourist, two blocks away, you can see the monument to Youri Gagarin on the boulevard of the same name. On the left bank, there is the Irkutsk railway station and the Faubourg Glazkovo, with wooden houses and clay streets. Later on, on the left, the huge Polytechnnique Institute (20 000 students) and the Academic Precinct, an annex of the Russian Academy of Sciences, take care of the country's future elites.

It is a unique monument, with a prestige and history dating back thousands of years, and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The Golden Gate of Vladimir copies the lost gates of Kiev and Constantinople. The gate in Vladimir dates back to the 13th century, when the city was at the height of its power and could one day claim to rule the Slavic world, but today it seems a bit overrated. Originally, the gate was flanked by two huge oak leaves hung on large hinges. It is to the golden plate that covered the leaves that the door owes its name.

Geodesic point of the mileage count.

It borders the lake on 500 m. The square and the old town are walking on foot in about two hours. There are beautiful wooden houses Rue street and Gorki street. In the market square you will find the residences of the rich Merchants and the Church of the Dormition of 1730, whose intimate character gives it charm.

Сe a new and beloved eco-district has been built on the site of a former cable factory with a breathtaking view of the Gulf of Finland. There is a mix of shops, bars and restaurants, a concert hall (Morze), an open-air ice rink in winter, a skate park, tattoo studios, beauty salons, etc. The list is getting longer and longer, so it will take at least a few hours to discover this beautiful place that brings the island of Vasilyevsky back to life.

Close to the Mariinsky, the small triangular island of New Holland at the end of the Moska Canal and bounded by the other Admiralty and Kryukova canals, has undergone a complete metamorphosis. This island used by the army has become a new eco-district of contemporary cultural life in St Petersburg. Created in the 18th century by the national navy, which used it as a warehouse area, the island of Novaya Hollandiya was also used as a storage area and water reservoir during the Soviet period. The complex had been somewhat abandoned since the beginning of the 21st century.
The official launch of the project took place on 27 August 2016 with many concerts and performances on the main stage of the park. Many historic buildings have been renovated, but the most interesting and lively of them is certainly the former prison, now called Boutilka (the bottle). This round-shaped building houses a dozen cafes on the ground floor, shops and showrooms on the ^first floor and a health and beauty area on the ^third floor. In winter, the green park is transformed into a beautiful skating rink. Free concerts, lectures, masterclasses and charity vinyl markets frequently take place on the main stage and in the inner courtyard of the Boutilka. The ^2nd floor houses Imagine, a beautiful vinyl record shop that also houses the studio of the official New Holland radio station: nhi.fm. To be visited without hesitation!

The old Arbat is a place where past and present meet. Tsoi's Wall" has been almost a permanent contemporary art event since its appearance in 1990 following the death of the musician and founder of the Soviet rock band Viktor Tsoï in a car accident.

The famous protest band Viktor Tsoï has left behind a rich rock heritage for its many fans who come today to remember its music and poetry, look at the graffiti on the wall (and sometimes contribute to it) and meet their fellow sufferers.

Moscow's Tsoi Wall itself has an unusual history. In the tense and uncertain atmosphere of the last year of the Soviet Union's life, on the day of the fatal road accident, a sober "Tsoï is dead" appeared on the façade of one of the posh houses on Arbat Street in the city centre. Someone objected that "Tsoï is alive", since it still exists, at least on this wall. Since then, the discussion has not stopped, with a great deal of technically illegal but tolerated graffiti. The place has gradually become a wall of homage to the artist, and candles and photos of him can be found in the vicinity. In 2006, the object was sabotaged by members of the Art Destroy45 movement, but the activity of his fans simply picked up again. Today, this Rock'n'Roll place is not only Victor Tsoi's mausoleum but also the mausoleum of the Russian punk movement that used to meet there.

Next to the new building of the Russian Academy of Sciences there is a small observation deck located at a comfortable height of 60 meters above the ground. It offers a magnificent view of the banks of the Moskva River, the skyscrapers of the Moscow City Business Center and the spire of Moscow State University. On the left you will see the domes of the Cathedral of Christ the Savior, on the right - the towers of the Kremlin surrounded by its cathedrals. Besides there are few visitors.