The former capital of Russia has seen some dramatic changes in its 305-year history. Founded in 1703 by Peter the Great, St Petersburg has been described as the Venice of the North for its winding canals and grand Italianate architecture, yet the city narrowly escaped destruction during WWII.

Extensive restoration and beautification for the tri-centenary celebrations in 2003 have restored St Petersburg to its original glory. The renovation project was no doubt aided by the fact that former Russian president Vladimir Putin hails from St Petersburg.

Situated on a series of islands where the River Neva meets the Gulf of Finland, St Petersburg was a planned city. Peter the Great took up residence in a tiny log cabin by the Neva and personally supervised the construction of his grand European capital, a project continued by his niece Anna and daughter Elizabeth.

The city was more than just a vanity project - at the time, western Russia was threatened by Sweden, and a vast naval port was created to allow the Russian Navy to assert its dominance over the Baltic Sea. Nevertheless, the grandiose palaces immediately marked St Petersburg out as one of the great cities of Europe.

During the 18th and 19th centuries, the Tsars of St Petersburg lived a life of extravagant luxury in the magnificent palaces constructed by Domenico Trezzini and Bartomoleo Rastrelli. This opulent lifestyle depended on the abject poverty of serfs and peasants, sowing the seeds of discontent that eventually led to the Russian Revolution.

During the three-year Nazi blockade of St Petersburg from 1941 to 1944, more than 1 million residents starved or froze to death, and the city's artists and intelligentsia were decimated in Stalin's purges. The city persisted in a state of suspended animation for the rest of the Soviet era.

Following the collapse of Communism in 1985, St Petersburg was starved of state funding and many of its most glorious palaces and cathedrals fell into disrepair. Since then, the city has fought its way back to greatness, aided by foreign investors and the new Russian oligarchs.

The biggest concerns for modern-day visitors to St Petersburg are the prices (the city is almost as costly as Moscow) and the weather. St Petersburg is best visited during the warm days and white nights of midsummer, but it is bitterly cold in the depths of the Russian winter.