Nevsky
Prospect is one of best known streets in Russia and definitely the main avenue
of St Petersburg. Cutting through the most historical part of the city, it
runs from the Admiralty to the Moscow Railway Station and then, after a slight
turn, to the Alexander Nevsky Monastery. In the very first days of St
Petersburg it was the beginning of a road to Novgorod, but was soon decorated
with some fine buildings, squares and bridges. Getting wider as it goes, Nevsky
becomes most beautiful where it has Kazan Cathedral on one side and the Dom
Knigi book store (former Singer sewing machine company HQ) on the other,
with a wonderful view down Kanal Griboedova to the picturesque
Russian-style Church of Our Savior on the Spilled Blood. In addition to the many
churches of different denominations (which prompted the French writer Alexander
Dumas to call Nevsky "the street of religious tolerance") there are
many more attractions around. Just a stone's throw from Nevsky, right by the
Grand Hotel Europe, there are Arts Square and the Russian Museum. Further down
the road, the largest department store in the city - "Gostiny Dvor",
the National Library of Russia (second largest in the country), the monument to
Catherine the Great, Anichkov Bridge with its beautiful statues and much more.
Nevsky is a prime place for shopping, entertainment and nightlife.