Culture

St. Petersburg's culture plays an important role in the development of the city. It is one of the major factors contributing to social unity and harmonious relationships among people of different nationalities and religions. Culture and the arts promote the spiritual and creative development of individuals and the society as a whole. The sphere of culture and the arts also makes an impact on the economic revival of the city by creating jobs, attracting investments, and developing new sectors such as cultural tourism and creative industries.

St. Petersburg is a cultural center of international significance, which houses within its borders 5,830 monuments of culture. In the city resides a powerful network of cultural institutions: museums, theaters, libraries, exhibition and concert halls. Thanks to Hermitage, Russian Museum, Mariinsky Theater, Russian National Library, Peter and Paul Fortress, Maly Drama Theater, St. Isaac's Cathedral, St. Petersburg is rated among the world's ten cities most worth visiting. The historical center of St. Petersburg is included in the UNESCO List of the World Heritage. According to the UN rating, St. Petersburg occupies the eighth place in the list of the most attractive cities in the world for tourism. Its unique architecture, historical monuments and museums account for the world fame of St. Petersburg. These include the Hermitage, the Russian Museum, the Museum of the Russian Academy of Arts, as well as the Mariinsky Theater, the Academy of the Russian Ballet, the Philharmony, the University, the Russian National Library, the Pushkin House, and the parks and palaces of Peterhof, Tsarsoe Selo, and Pavlovsk.

Saint-Petersburg has been included in the list of the world heritage sites of UNESCO. Each year the city is visited 5 million tourists and this number increases. A number of leading international hotel operators operate in Saint-Petersburg including: Kempinski, Corinthia, ACCOR (with the brands Novotel and IBIS), Rezidor SAS (with the brands Radisson SAS and Park inn), Sokos Hotel, Marriott (with the brand Courtyard by Marriott) and etc.