Peter and Paul Fortress

Peter and Paul Fortress

Zayachy Island
  • Cultural & Historical
  • Museum
Recommended for: Culture

Peter the Great began the massive Peter and Paul Fortress, the first building in his new city, in 1706. The citadel has a dark history as a prison - no one every escaped - and execution grounds. Revolutionary figures like Trotsky, Gorky and Lenin's older brother were jailed there. Now a museum, the fortress has a display of torture methods used, but it also offers a collection of architecturally interesting buildings including the Russian mint and a cathedral where Romanov tsar are entombed, beginning with Peter the Great himself. There's a fee for entering the fortress, but walking around its walls is free. Nearby are places to board a tour boat or sun on sandy beaches. Gorkovskaya is the metro stop.

Peter and Paul Fortress, Saint Petersburg, Russia

Courtyard St. Petersburg Vasilievsky

  • International brand
  • LGBTQ-friendly
Pyshechnaya
1.4 km
Pyshechnaya

  • Bakery
  • Sweets

This throwback café takes a mostly student and working class crowd back to the Soviet Era of simple pies and sandwiches served in a no frills space at pocket change prices, washed down with a glass of milk....
  • Café or Bistro
  • Russian
Bushe
1.4 km
Bushe

  • Bakery
  • Snack
The Blue Oyster Bar

  • Bar
  • LGBTQ
Priscilla Queen of the Desert

  • Nightclub
  • For Men
Bunker
2.7 km
Bunker

  • Cruising
  • For Men