When Peter the Great founded the city in 1703 he envisaged a capital to rival London, Paris and Rome. It would be hard to argue he did not succeed; its reputation soon grew as one of Europe’s most beautiful cities. Despite being only three hundred years old St Petersburg has an enthralling history. It is a city of magnificence and revolution. Its art and architecture are of a wondrous richness: the Hermitage is arguably the single greatest museum of its kind in the world, equalled only perhaps by the British Museum and The Louvre. For the performing arts, St Petersburg has few equals and a visit to the Mariinsky Theatre for opera or ballet is a rite of passage for the music and dance enthusiast. Like Venice, St Petersburg lies on the water and wandering the private palaces of the city by private boat is a regular favourite of our clients.