St. Petersburg, Russia

If Moscow is the backbone of Russia, then St. Petersburg must be the heart.  Beauty and more beauty--from the Hermitage to Peterof to Pushkin to all the pre-1917 palaces which line the center of the city.  And yet the ugliness of what the average Russian endures today is always present to counter pose the beauty of the past.  A truly fascinating place and one which deserves a long visit in order to see its true face.