The Peter and Paul Fortress was constructed by the order of Tsar Peter the Great to protect the delta of the Neva River from the Swedish fleet. Today it is situated in the heart of the city on a little island called Hare Island. The main attraction of the Fortress is the Cathedral of St. Peter and St. Paul, which is the burial place of the Russian Tsars. All the ruling Romanovs starting with Peter the Great and up to Nicholas II are buried there.

We recommend you to take a guided tour around the Fortress and the Cathedral during which you will hear a lot about the history of the city and the Romanovs family, including thrilling, almost detective stories of how they managed to ascend the throne or loose their power, and the tragic story about the murder and the burial of the family of Nicholas II, the last Russian Tsar, and strange as it is see some recent tombs of the members of the Royal family.

Besides the Cathedral we can:

Visit the former prison for political convicts – a place where people who struggled against the Royal power in Russia were kept under investigation.
Visit the Grand Ducal Mausoleum to see the burials of the Grand Dukes and the exhibition devoted to the history of the Romanovs family and its surviving descendants.
Have a walk around the territory of the Fortress to see the Boat House, The Mint, the Monument to Peter the Great, the Neva (or the Death) gates.
Have a walk along the rampart of the Fortress to view a magnificent panorama of the Neva River and take pictures of the beautiful architectural ensemble of the Neva embankment.

More information about the Peter and Paul Fortress you can find here.

The tour of the Peter and Paul Fortress takes about 2 hours. Then you can see it in full detail. If the duration of your visit to St. Petersburg does not give you such a possibility, we recommend including the visit to the Peter and Paul Fortress into the city tour. In this case we reduce the time of the visit to 30-40 minutes.

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Watch a video of our tourists about visiting the Peter and Paul Fortress with a guide from the Best Guides Team:

From our clients' reviews:

Peter and Paul fortress tour

...Great trip! The burial place of the Romanovs. Amazing. The prison was very interesting and there is a large gate that opens onto the Neva that makes for a great photo. My guide Anna was really knowledgable. She spoke perfect English. (Elizabeth C, NY)

Peter and Paul fortress and cathedral tour

...This is magnificent and imposing fortress. Within it's imposing walls it houses a beautiful Cathedral and also what would, in it's early days, have been a prison for both dissident and political prisoners. All in all a geat afternoon spent in this famous and historical fortress. Cathedral with it's dozens of artefacts and tombs of some of Russia's most famous leaders are a "must" for the visitors. Likewise you can make a tour of the internal part of the prison including the cells, punishment block and get a real feel for the life endured by the inmates. (Kudamah W., Basrah, Iraq)

Peter and Paul fortress what to see

...When you visit Petersburg you must visit the Peter and Paul fortress, walk around it, visit its cathedral and for sure walk over the walls and enjoy the view of Neva river. You can also visit other museums and exhibitions like the tunnels, the fortress prison (Trubetskoy) where some of the communist leaders spent some times during the imperial period. The museum of horror is also funny and worth visit. (Teodora, Bucharest, Romania)

Tour of the St Peter and Paul cathedral St Petersburg

...Definitely worth the price for a private tour of the St Peter and Paul fortress. We explored the fortress, cathedral and prison. Maria was wonderful, so highly educated and witty. Great insight into Russian history. Loved the insight that she shared as we toured the cathedral. I truly liked walking through the prison, seeing the multitudes of political prisoners who have called it home over the years. Great guide! (Leanne Family, Wokingham, United Kingdom)