English for tourism and cultural science - страница 9

Open: Friday-Tuesday from 11.00 am to 6.00 pm.

Dostoevsky tour (by bus, with a guide/interpreter; duration – 4 hours).

Dostoevsky Walk. You will see ‘the other side’ of St. Petersburg – old slum areas around the Hay Market, a maze of small lanes and courtyards, straight out of the writer’s novels. Sites from “Crime and Punishment”.

Dostoevsky Museum. Arranged according to the original interior design of the great writer’s last apartment. On display there are documents, photographs and personal belongings of the writer. The exhibition outlines Dostoevsky’s life and work.

Open: daily except Mondays and last Wednesday of every month, from 11.00 am to 5.00 pm.

The Neva and the Bridges (by boat; duration – 1,5 hours)

Nevsky is crossed by three canals which are an integral part of St. Petersburg's beauty. There are a great number of rivers and canals in the city – it is a city "on water". That is why it is often referred to as "the Northern Venice" or "the Northern Amsterdam". There is no pleasure like taking a wonderful boat trip along the rivers and canals of the "bridge city".

Oh, the bridges! They will take your breath away. There are about 342 bridges in the city, and among the most beautiful ones are the Palace Bridge, the Trinity Bridge, the Foundry Bridge and the Bridge of Peter the Great across the Neva river, and the Anichkov Bridge across one of the canals – the Fontanka river. It is situated right in the Nevsky Prospect and is considered to be the most romantic place in St. Petersburg! The Anichkov Bridge is so famous and loved by all for its four beautiful sculptures of men and horses! They are so expressive and dynamic that you would think they are alive! And each of the sculptures is different!

Shipping season is from April 19 to September 30; bridges open from May to late October according to a special schedule.

Museums (in the city)

The Hermitage Museum (on foot, duration – 3 hours).

The Hermitage Museum is Russia’s best gallery of world art, one of the most prominent art museums in the world and definitely the main tourist attraction of St. Petersburg.

The museum was founded in 1764 when Catherine the Great purchased a collection of 255 paintings from the German city of Berlin. Today, the Hermitage boasts over 2.7 million exhibits and displays a diverse range of art and artifacts from all over the world and from throughout history (from Ancient Egypt to the early 20th century Europe).

The Hermitage’s collections include works by Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, Raphael and Titian, a unique collection of Rembrandt and Rubens, many French Impressionist works by Renoir, Cezanne, Manet, Monet and Pissarro, numerous canvasses by Van Gogh, Matisse, Gauguin and several sculptures by Rodin. The collection is both enormous and diverse and is an essential stop for all those interested in art and history.

The experts say that if you were to spend a minute looking at each exhibit on display in the Hermitage, you would need 11 years before you’d seen them all.

Open: Tuesday-Sunday from 10.30 am to 5.00 pm.

Russian Museum

The State Russian Museum is the world’s largest museum of Russian art. It is located in the very center of St Petersburg, just of the city’s central magisterial, Nevsky Prospect. The museum is housed in the former Mikhailovsky Palace, a stunning monument of Empire architecture.