Things to see and do Route de la soie

The Arctic Circle is not far away, and this Arctic and Antarctic Museum, unique in the world and with its old-fashioned charm, will convince you of this by sharing with you the fascination of the ice pioneers who set out to conquer the ice pack from St Petersburg. Founded in 1930, its collections follow in the footsteps of simple walrus fishermen venturing into the icy horizons, then in the wake of the first polar ships, hardly more sophisticated, on which the scientists attracted by the North Pole embarked. You will see Amundsen's Gjoa or Nansen's Fram, or the Russian ships of Lomonossov or Rossanov. To reach the poles, man will have tried everything. This museum proves it to us with, for example, this curious device made of wood, metal and canvas suspended above the entrance, aboard which Paninin had the audacity to embark on the adventure. Finally, the visitor will learn that the North Pole is not only a land of adventure but an immense region inhabited by peoples with cultures rich in tradition; from the Nenets to the Yakuts, from the Tungus to the Chukchi, you will become familiar with the little-known art of the people of the Great Siberian North and their animal and plant environment. Not the most modern museum in the city, but its somewhat outdated setting gives it a touch of poetry. Don't miss the highlight of the show: every half hour, when the public is large enough, the museum employee in charge of looking after the collections gets up and turns off the lights. After a second of darkness, lights appear in a niche dedicated to this purpose: the Northern Lights. There is little information translated into English, so you have to go there with your eyes and mind wide open for non-Russian speakers, but it's a good opportunity to take the hand of your children or partner and go back to childhood.

Another interesting fact concerns the location of the museum, in the former Church of St. Nicholas, which was rebuilt in 1934-1936 and later turned into a museum. Even today, its curved ceilings and granite columns evoke mixed feelings. It must be said that the Russian Orthodox Church has not lost hope of recovering the building (as happened with St Isaac's Cathedral); the last request for restitution of the building and eviction from the museum was rejected in 2016. The battle is therefore won for the time being, but for how long?

Holy places generally have a well-dosed mixture of mysticism and supernaturalism. While Sultan Mehmed II, the Conqueror (Fatih), savours the fall of Constantinople, his tutor sees in his dreams the location of a tomb where Abu Ayub al-Ansari, one of the Prophet Mohammed's faithful companions and standard bearers, would be buried. He died during the first siege of Constantinople in 670 and was buried by his army not far from the land walls, in a place that was gradually falling into oblivion. As a result, the Eyüp Mosque is one of the most important holy places in Islam. The Conqueror is therefore doubly rewarded: a mythical city with his record of achievements and a divine sign that solidifies the foundations of his reign! The complex has undergone transformations over the years. It consists of a mosque, a mausoleum, a medersa, a refectory hospice and a double hammam. The current mosque was built between 1798 and 1800, at the time of Selim III. The rectangular mihrab(niche), which projects outwards, is covered with a half dome. The courtyard of the mosque is bordered by a peristyle overhung by thirteen domes. This courtyard, with its plane trees where storks come to make their nests and the hundreds of pigeons that fly around, is one of the backdrops of the city's typical scenography. The chambers of the medersa are located on the side parts of the courtyard. The refectory building is arranged around two spaces also covered with domes. The mausoleum of Eyüp Sultan is an octagonal stone monument, surmounted by a dome and a brass gate allows pilgrims to see the gold inlaid shrine that contains one of Islam's relics: a footprint of the prophet Mohammed's foot found in the seraglio's treasure of Topkapı The blue and white ceramic tiles and stained glass windows in the mausoleum are from the 16th century. A calligraphic frieze circles the inner drum of the monument. In its centre, there is a large chandelier and a blue carpet. Other tombstones or sarcophagi of historical value are located in the cemetery. At the same time, great viziers and ordinary citizens of the Ottoman Empire wished to be buried alongside the saint, giving birth to the great cemetery of Eyüp. The first mosque built after the Ottoman conquest of the city, it is a popular and revered place of pilgrimage.

The place of the Constitution is the heart of the city and the best place to find when you discover Athens. The Evzones, dressed in traditional uniform, raise custody before the tomb of the unknown soldier, who is before Parliament ("Vouli"). Change in custody takes place every hour.

It was in the 17th century that a Place de la Liberté was created on a strategic site between the Pentes de la Croix-Rousse and the Presqu'île. In the heart of Lyon and power, the Place des Terreaux houses two emblematic places - the town hall and a former convent converted into a fine arts museum - and an equally emblematic monument: the Bartholdi fountain named after its sculptor (the same as for the Statue of Liberty). The square, redesigned by Christian Drevet and Daniel Buren, has been entirely restored but retains a "mineral" appearance.

Everyone knows its name. Famous for its basilica, but also for its Roman theatres. From its 300 m high, it dominates the Saône-Rhone confluence. A strategic location which therefore explains that, on the orders of the Roman senate, Munatius Plancus established a colony there. Palaces and various buildings were built around the forum, Lugdunum was born; the emperors often stay there and christianity settled there.

The fall of the Roman Empire has caused change in spaces's occupation, the inhabitants have settled in the valley, along the Saône and the slopes cover vineyard and farmings. A basilica was built on the hill of Saint-Just and religious congregations settle. Fourvière became "the hill where people pray". To reach the hill, there are several possibilities: to climb in the "thread" (the funicular) to the metro station "Old Lyon" or to visit the various montées: the montée des Epies in the southern part, leaving the church Saint-Georges, joins the montée Gourguillon which was the only entrance in Lyon in the east and ends in the Saint-Just district; the montée Chemin-Neuf, that of Chazeaux, that of Change. You can also rush into the montée Saint-Barthélemy which is one of the oldest roads linking the city to the hill; the bravest will prefer to climb the 244 steps of the montée Garillan.

A mythical temple on the famous Acropolis of Athens, the Erechtheion is one of the most sacred on the hill and in the entire city. To the north of the Acropolis, a jewel and masterpiece of Ionic art, the very elegant Erechtheion was erected in the ^5th century BC at the very place where, according to legend, Athena and Poseidon fought for the possession of Athens. It is next to this temple that the sacred olive tree of Athena would have grown and that there was the salt water well, a gift from Poseidon, whose trident would have left a mark on the northern wall of the building. The architect of the Erechtheion remained unknown, but he was able to exploit the irregularities of the ground to build a complex of several buildings on different levels. In this temple were worshipped several deities: Athena Polias, but also Poseidon and others still linked to the legendary history of Athens, such as Erechtheus to whom the temple owes its name. The temple is decorated with four porticoes on each side: the one on the southeast side, certainly the most famous, is the Caryatids. The Doric columns are replaced by female figures of perfect grace when you know the weight that weighs on their heads. In fact, it is their thick hair and the many folds in their clothing that reinforce the structure and allow the whole thing to remain standing.

The ones you see on the monument are only casts: of the six korês, only five are visible in the Acropolis Museum, the sixth being in the British Museum.

Built as early as 381, the former Major is one of the oldest churches in Marseille. In the 19th century, its two bays were amputated and the cathedral of Sainte-Marie Majeure, consecrated in 1893, was added to it. The Romano-Byzantine style reminds us that Marseille was a trading port with the Orient. It is the largest French cathedral built since the Middle Ages. The interior decoration is splendid. To be seen, the four evangelists by Botinelly, Christ and St. Veronica by Carli, the onyx Ciborium and the altars by Cantini, as well as the tomb of Mazenod in the chapel.

"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!).

This site allows you to discover the remains of the colossal temple of Zeus Olympian: 15 erected columns that are still very impressive. It must be said that the Olympiion was the largest temple ever built in Greece! Begun by Pisistrate in the 6th century BC, it was completed 600 years later by Emperor Hadrian before being destroyed by the Barbarians. The setting sun bathed the surviving columns in a magnificent golden hue, and we can understand this stylite hermit who, in the 17th century, chose the top of one of them to install his cabin!