Peter and Paul Fortress

Peter I laid the fortress on Zayachy island in May 1703 and the city is dated from that day. It was never attacked, and its practical use became a prison: the Trubetskoy bastion held political prisoners for two centuries, including Dostoevsky, Bakunin, Chernyshevsky, Gorky and Trotsky, and the cells are open. At the centre stands the Peter and Paul cathedral, whose gilded spire of 122 metres was the tallest structure in the city for two hundred and fifty years and remains the tallest Orthodox bell tower; inside are the tombs of almost every Russian ruler from Peter I onward, including the remains of Nicholas II and his family, identified by DNA and buried here in 1998 in a ceremony the church did not fully endorse. A cannon is fired from the Naryshkin bastion at noon every day, a signal kept since the eighteenth century, and the beach below the walls is used by sunbathers and winter swimmers.

What you actually see

• The cathedral tombs - almost every Russian ruler from Peter I, including Nicholas II's family.
• The spire - 122 metres, the tallest Orthodox bell tower.
• The Trubetskoy prison - cells that held Dostoevsky, Gorky, Bakunin and Trotsky.
• The noon gun - fired daily from the Naryshkin bastion since the eighteenth century.

When to go

May to September for the grounds and beach. Two to four hours. Be at the Naryshkin bastion just before noon for the gun.

Honest expectations

Multiple separate tickets for cathedral, prison, bastions and museums, and the total adds up. Very crowded in summer. The Nicholas II reburial remains contested by parts of the church. The noon gun is loud and startles people.

Nearby

The Hermitage is across the Neva; the Kunstkamera and Strelka are east.