Enjoy the grandeur of St Petersburg

Parks, palaces, cathedrals and fortresses are typical of the grandeur of Russia's former capital, Saint Petersburg.

The city is an ideal place for first-time visitors to Russia to get a feel for the vast country as well as see the many sights of one of Europe's most lavish cities.

Saint Petersburg also makes a good destination for day trips to other Russian cities, such as Novgorod, an ancient Russian capital dating back to the ninth century.

As Russia's second biggest city, Saint Petersburg is also one of Europe's largest, covering an area 13 times the size of Paris.

However, Saint Petersburg has been designed to be big and makes use of all the space with long, straight boulevards, large gardens and parks, numerous palaces, monuments and decorative sculptures.

Its well-deserved nickname – the 'Venice of the north' – it gets from the hundreds of canals, embankments and bridges that run off the river Neva, which Saint Petersburg has been built around.

One of the top sights in the city is the Cathedral of SS Peter & Paul, which dates from the 18th century and is Saint Petersburg's oldest church.

Famous for its extremely thin and tall spire – the second highest in the city – it has an intensely decorated Baroque interior that contrasts with its plain exterior

At the church, holidaymakers can also see the site where many pre-Revolutionary Russian leaders from Peter the Great onwards are buried.

The extravagant graves of the former rulers and their families are worth seeing for their monoliths carved from delicate and valuable stones, some of which took 17 years to make.

Like much of Saint Petersburg, the church is situated by the river, and can be seen from the water with one of the many boat tours available.

It is worth noting that the river freezes over through autumn and winter, so if you're planning to take to the water, then a visit between May and September is best.

Not far from Saint Petersburg is Novgorod. Surrounded by churches and monasteries, the old city was a centre for Orthodox spirituality.

Its medieval churches and monuments are a contrast to the lavish 18th century architecture of Saint Petersburg, and the city can be visited as part of a day trip from Saint Petersburg.

For more information on Saint Petersburg see petersburgcity.com, and for Novgorod see http://www.novgorod.ru.

Tour operators to Russia include Exodus, Just Russia, Bales Worldwide and the Russian Travel Company