VirtuosoLife - January/February 2008 - (Page 52) DESIGN TOUR The Hermitage, star of Palace Square. and Dostoyevsky, Pavlova and Diaghilev, Tchaikovsky and Shostakovich flit through the shadows and come to life in brilliantly lit interiors. Visual overload is the greatest hazard for the visitor – Russians, past and present, love ornament to excess. That’s certainly true of the wildly extravagant Yusupov Palace and the flamboyant Church of our Savior on Spilled Blood. Here are ten memorable sights, ranging from the center out, to stimulate the mind and the eye. Palace Square This is the embodiment of autocracy: a huge parade ground flanked by the Winter Palace and the General Staff Building and centered on the column that commemorates Alexander I’s victory over Napoleon. The art collections of the Hermitage, which rival those of the Louvre and the Met, flow into both buildings; standouts range from Scythian gold and da Vincis to some of the greatest canvases of Cezanne and Matisse. Griboedov Canal The canal winds across one of the city’s many islands from the Moyka to the Fontanka rivers. Stroll its borders or take a boat to admire bridges guarded by lions and griffins, glimpses of churches, and the now gentrified skid row that Dostoevsky wrote about in Crime and Punishment and The Gambler. Decembrists’ Square This square is dominated by the equestrian bronze of Peter the Great scaling a huge rock, a sculpture that Pushkin brought to life in his poem “The Bronze Horseman.” The neoclassical Admiralty and Senate buildings, two of the most impressive monuments in the city, flank the square. DOING IT » In March, Exeter International leads dance aficionados on a Mariinsky-focused trip through Saint Petersburg that includes a backstage peek at the famed theater and seats at several performances during the International Ballet Festival. During the six-day trip travelers also get an inside look at the Amber Room workshops of Catherine Palace and accommodations at the Rocco Forte Hotel Astoria. Departure: March 19, 2008; from $4,900, including accommodations, activities, and some meals. Griboedev Canal provides a watery thoroughfare. its rightful name and splendor (it helps that Putin grew up here). Palaces and hotels have been restored, adventurous shops and restaurants are multiplying, and there is a spirit of rebirth. The city is 300 years young. Most people visit Saint Petersburg during the white nights of June, but January may be a better choice: The city looks beautiful under snow, the days are often sunny and dry, the cold is easier to combat than the heat of summer, the monuments are far less crowded, and the arts scene is in full swing. Though the days last only six hours, the major buildings are illuminated, and the ghosts of Pushkin 52 V I RT U O S O L I F E (PALACE SQUARE) FotowoRLd, (GRIBoEdoV CANAL) SERGE BoGomyAko/ALAmy
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