Photo: Maxim Marmur/ AFP/Getty Images
Great expectations
Possibly the greatest city in Europe, cheaper than anything in western Europe, and most of eastern Europe, it is Venice with fewer tourists, an amazing network of canals that transform into a city.
The sites are manifold and, for the discerning traveller, largely free. Like most of Europe's great historical cities, simply walking around St Petersburg is a tour guide in itself, free of charge.
The two major sights, however, are the Hermitage and the Summer Palace, just outside of the city, an equal to Versailles in every way.
Food, beer and accommodation are all cheap, although Russian backpacking is certainly not the comfort equivalent of its European neighbours - expect interesting service and less English than anywhere else in Europe. All of this is made up for by sheer atmosphere.
The sites are manifold and, for the discerning traveller, largely free. Like most of Europe's great historical cities, simply walking around St Petersburg is a tour guide in itself, free of charge.
The two major sights, however, are the Hermitage and the Summer Palace, just outside of the city, an equal to Versailles in every way.
Food, beer and accommodation are all cheap, although Russian backpacking is certainly not the comfort equivalent of its European neighbours - expect interesting service and less English than anywhere else in Europe. All of this is made up for by sheer atmosphere.
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