Saint Petersburg: Museums Palaces and Historic Collections (Museums)

by Cathy Giangrande, John Julius Norwich

Release Date: July, 2003

Edition: Hardcover

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An outstanding guidebook to St. Petersburg

I began reading Cathy Giandrande's little guide to St. Petersburg with a great deal of skepticism. As I kept exploring the book, all my doubts quickly disappeared. That alone came to me as a surprise. Unlike most Russians who still suffer from a mild identity disorder, Petersburgers have a strong sense of local patriotism and know what they are and what their city is about. From time to time, their patriotism mutates into a peculiar kind of city chauvinism. It is taken for granted that no temporary visitor, be he or she from Moscow or Paris, can know the city or truly appreciate it. I am no different. As a Petersburger, I would never think that an outsider, least a foreigner, least someone from a culture many Russians perceive as hostile and extremely russophobic, would be able to put together a concise guide to the lesser known museums and landmarks of the city and do it in such a low key, friendly and unbiased manner, that the final work is a joy to read and is more useful from any practical standpoint of city exploration than many far weightier and thicker "serious" guides.
Cathy Giangrande's St. Petersburg is a guide to the city museums and lesser-known landmarks. If the author "missed" any museums, then I have a feeling, that she excluded them deliberately because they are so obscure (like the Museum of Armed Forces Medical Academy) that almost no locals are aware of their existence. On the other hand, the guidebook contains information on some really obscure museums, such as the new private museum of toys.

The book is a journey of exploration and is a pleasure to read "as is" from cover to cover. Alternately, it can be used as a helpful reference manual.

The guidebook has its own share of minor irritants, such as the occasional misspelling of French and English words transliterated backwards, but they are not very significant.

The book is beautifully printed on high quality paper and is richly illustrated with color photographs. It contains a helpful map or rather an outline plan of the central part of the city, a schematic plan of St. Petersburg region, and a well-designed plan of St.Petersburg "Metro" (or the city's subway system). All museum and landmark entries include detailed address and contact information, and indicate the nearest subway or suburban train station.

Among all foreign languages guides and books on St. Petersburg, that I ever came across, this one is the only work that is worth translating into Russian. Even locals would find this book a great aid in exploring their own city.

A masterpiece among specialty city guides

I began reading Cathy Giandrande's little guide to St. Petersburg with a great deal of skepticism. As I kept exploring the book, all my doubts quickly disappeared. That alone came to me as a surprise. Unlike most Russians who still suffer from a mild identity disorder, Petersburgers have a strong sense of local patriotism and know what they are and what their city is about. From time to time, their patriotism mutates into a peculiar kind of city chauvinism. It is taken for granted that no temporary visitor, be he or she from Moscow or Paris, can know the city or truly appreciate it. I am no different. As a Petersburger, I would never think that an outsider, least a foreigner, least someone from a culture many Russians perceive as hostile and extremely russophobic, would be able to put together a concise guide to the lesser known museums and landmarks of the city and do it in such a low key, friendly and unbiased manner, that the final work is a joy to read and is more useful from any practical standpoint of city exploration than many far weightier and thicker "serious" guides.

Cathy Giangrande's St. Petersburg is a guide to the city museums and lesser-known landmarks. If the author "missed" any museums, then I have a feeling, that she excluded them deliberately because they are so obscure (like the Museum of Armed Forces Medical Academy) that almost no locals are aware of their existence. On the other hand, the guidebook contains information on some really obscure museums, such as the new private museum of toys.

The book is a journey of exploration and is a pleasure to read "as is" from cover to cover. Alternately, it can be used as a helpful reference manual.

The guidebook has its own share of minor irritants, such as the occasional misspelling of French and English words transliterated backwards, but they are not very significant.

The book is beautifully printed on high quality paper and is richly illustrated with color photographs. It contains a helpful map or rather an outline plan of the central part of the city, a schematic plan of St. Petersburg region, and a well-designed plan of St.Petersburg "Metro" (or the city's subway system). All museum and landmark entries include detailed address and contact information, and indicate the nearest subway or suburban train station.

Among all foreign languages guides and books on St. Petersburg, that I ever came across, this one is the only work that is worth translating into Russian. Even locals would find this book a great aid in exploring their own city.