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St. Petersburg's Parks and Gardens

St. Petersburg is the greenest of Russia's major cities. The statistics are impressive: Over 200 parks and gardens, plus over a thousand tree-lined streets and more than 700 leafy squares; and more than 2,000 hectares of greenery in total - or more than 56 square meters for each of the city's more than 4.5 million inhabitants.

Alexander Garden - Named after Tsar Alexander II, this is St. Petersburg's most central park, located right behind the Admiralty and opposite the Hermitage. It's home to a wonderful illuminated musical fountain.

Botanical Garden - Russia's only botanic gardens, and home to more than 12,000 species of plants, including the unique Queen of the Night, which blooms just one night a year.

Catherine Garden - One of St. Petersburg's most popular parks, located on Nevsky Prospect in front of the Alexandriinsky Theater. The park is named after Catherine the Great, to whom there is a statue in the middle of the garden.

Leningrad Zoo - Leningrad may have changed its name, but its zoo hasn't. Russia's only zoo is located by the Peter and Paul Fortress. It is one of the oldest zoos in the world, one of the world's most northerly, and ranks second in terms of its number of animals.

Summer Garden - The oldest park in St. Petersburg, the Summer Garden was laid out in 1704 by order of Peter the Great around his first summer residence. Peter also drew up the original plan for the garden, which is home to Russia's oldest collection of park sculptures.

Field of Mars - Named after the Roman god of war, the Field of Mars was for a long time the setting for military parades and drills for imperial guards regiments. Its layout remains unchanged, and today it houses St. Petersburg's Eternal Flame.

Michael Garden - A unique combination of two styles of landscape gardening: French formalism and English landscape.

Moscow Victory Park - This park's attractions include the Alley of Heroes, on which can be found bronze monuments to those Heroes of the Soviet Union, who were given USSR's highest state award twice.

Maritime Victory Park - St. Petersburg's largest park in terms of area.

Tauride Garden - Located in the grounds of the Tauride Palace, formerly home to Catherine the Great's favorite Grigory Potemkin, this park was seriously damaged during the Siege of Leningrad, but has since been restored.

Kirov Central Culture and Leisure Park - A favourite place for St. Petersburgers to spend free time, especially when the weather's good during the summer.