This is an orientation tour of the city, which has played a critical role in the history of Russia.

   St. Petersburg was named after its founder, Peter the Great and was built according to a master plan, allowing for the strict arrangement of streets and architectural ensembles for which the city is famed. Drive around Vasilievsky Island, the largest island in the Neva Delta before taking a photostop at the great fortress of St. Peter and St. Paul, one of the first buildings begun by Peter the Great in his new capital in 1703. Continue to the beautiful Winter Palace and learn a little of the history of the famous Aurora cruiser, the Summer Gardens, Nevsky Prospect, the main thoroughfare of the city, and the Church of the Spilt Blood. See the massive splendor of the 19th century architecture of St Isaac's Cathedral, and Etienne Falconet's statue of the Bronze Horseman. Commissioned by Catherine the Great in 1782, it is a symbol of the city and its birth as a child of Peter the Great's strong will. Finally travel down the beautiful Neva Embankment.