Ideally, at least two weeks in the city would give a good amount of time to see many of them without having to fill your schedule with monuments, cathedrals and palaces on a daily basis. If you’ve just got a few days, choose well as there are plenty of must-see sights you may have to miss.

Church of the Saviour on Spilt Blood: this really must be seen by anyone that visits St Petersburg given its status as one of the defining architectural icons of the city. The building marks the spot where Alexander II was assassinated in 1881, although construction took 24 years which is not surprising given the mind-boggling attention to detail employed inside and out. Ostensibly the structure is a Russian Orthodox church, but in truth its much more than that.

Alexander Nevsky Monastery: this sprawling compound houses a number of fascinating sights including two baroque churches built in the 18th century along with the Tikhvin Cemetery, the famous resting place of a number of celebrated Russians. Many of the most famous classical composers and musicians in Europe are buried in the cemetery, including Peter Tchaikovsky and Anton Rubenstein. The great Russian novelist Fyodor Dostoyevsky is also buried here.

Cathedral of our Lady Kazan: along with the cathedral of the same name in Moscow, this is one of the most celebrated Russian Orthodox places of worship in the country. Like many of the monuments in central St Petersburg, it is UNESCO-listed and makes for an impressive sight with its two elongated wings of dozens of colonnades.

Saint-Isaac’s Cathedral: at over 100 metres tall, this impressive cathedral was one of the largest in the world when it was built over 40 years up to the middle of the 19th century. The interior is at least as spectacular as the facade with numerous painted mosaics, pillars and detail in granite and marble.

The Aurora: is at first glance just an impressive battleship docked on the banks of the Neva river. Inside though a museum reveals its huge impact on Russian history. In 1917, crew on the ship refused to go to sea and then the firing of a blank sparked the beginning of the October Revolution in which the Winter Palace came under siege by the Bolsheviks, marking the beginning of Soviet Russia.