Nevskiy Prospekt is the main street of St. Petersburg and begins at Palace Square by the Winter Palace. The "Avenue of the Neva" ends at St Lazarus (Lazarevskoye), St Petersburg's oldest cemetery, where some of Russia's greatest soldiers, scientists, artists and industrialists are buried.
The River Neva loops around the area so both ends of the avenue are close to it. It is not quite a straight line. To speed construction, Nevskiy Prospekt was built by two teams working from opposite ends. There is a kink where they met in 1715.
At 4.26 km or nearly 3 miles, it's longer than it looks on the map, and many street blocks stretch to 250 metres or more. The section of the avenue from Palace Square to the Moscow railway station contains the most interesting monuments, churches and stores, so if you get a chance to walk it, this is the part of concentrate on.
Start at Gostiny Dvor department store, where there is a convenient metro station. Head towards the spire of the Admiralty.
After a block, there's a breathtaking view up Griboyedov Canal to the Church of the Resurrection. It is built on the spot where Czar Alexander II was assassinated in 1881, and is better known as the Church on Spilled Blood.
Kazan Cathedral, with its great colonnade, is on the left as you continue. Next comes a bridge over the River Moyka, a narrow stream compared with the great River Neva. After one more block, turn right off Nevskiy Prospect and enter Palace Square under its Triumphal Arch.
From the square turn left and walk along Admiralty Prospekt until you reach St Isaac’s Cathedral. Opposite it, behind the Alexander Gardens, is Senate Square with its Bronze Horseman statue.
If you are on a coach tour of the city, this is where you'll want to be picked up again. The whole walk is 2½ km (1½ miles) if you don't stray along the way.
