Glorious St Petersburg 1

Massive tour day today with our guide Alisa. I am using Toursbylocals which had great reviews. Each guide has a bio and various tours they have designed.
If you have limited time and want to see alot then its the way to go. With Mum's mobility issues its a must.

Most will customise your tour if requested.

So in the morning we saw many of the key sights: Vasilyevsky Island, Peter & Paul Fortress and Cathedral (where tsars are buried including the last Emperor Nicholas II and his royal family) St Issacs Cathedral, Kazan Cathedral, Church on Spilled Blood, Palace Square and Nevesky Prospect which is the main street. Also generally just looking at the beautiful buildings, canals, bridges and statues.

When the remains of Nicholas II and his family were found and DNA verified they were buried in the church with the other former tsars in 1998 with various world figures attending including Yeltsin. Most of the remains of the family were found in 1979. In 2007 the remains of the son and a daughter were found making the family complete.

In 1981 the Russian Orthodox Church made them Saints and in 2008 the Supreme Court of Russia determined that the royal family were victims of political persecution.Read more