8 books-excursions to the picturesque corners of St. Petersburg and Moscow

1. "Legendary bridges. Stories and legends about St. Petersburg bridges", Lilia Sergeeva

In St. Petersburg‑There are many bridges in St. Petersburg, and a story can be told about each of them. To build one, the builders performed real miracles. Mysterious legends are associated with others. Still others are usually visited before exams or on the day of the wedding.

The guide Lilia Sergeeva has collected information about the origin, construction and fate of the most interesting bridges in the city in one book. The guide will help you create walking routes and take a look at St. Petersburg from a new perspective.

2. "Non-paraded Moscow: apartment buildings in stories and photographs", Elena Krizhevskaya

Apartment buildings in Saint Petersburg‑St. Petersburg is quite popular, but Moscow ones are already less so. Photographer, amateur local historian and writer Elena Krizhevskaya is sure that in vain — they are in no way inferior to their famous northern counterparts.

The author described and photographed interesting apartment buildings in the capital: from Arbat to Patriarchal, from Prechistenka to Ostozhenka, from Tverskaya to Zamoskvorechye. Hundreds of colorful illustrations will allow you to appreciate the ornate entrances, which are almost impossible for an outsider to get into.

From the book you will learn how much it cost to rent an apartment in one of the apartment buildings, in which environment Russian "futurism" was born and where Mikhail Bulgakov lived. And at the same time, plan non-banal routes for walking around the capital.

3. "Mystical Moscow. The most mysterious places and legends of the capital that take your breath away", Agnes Nevsky

Sometimes in Moscow you can catch a magical green fog and go through the portal at other time . Find stones that will help with infertility and get rid of lack of money. Get to know the black five-meter ghost and the ghosts from Khitrovka. Agnes Nevsky invites you to go hunting for urban legends.

With an exciting guide to secret locations and esoteric places of the capital, you will be able to find the ghost of the Perlov house, uncover the secrets of the Volkov‑Yusupov chambers, find out why you should avoid the Kuznetsky Bridge at night, and bypass the ancient towns of Moscow. And also to get acquainted with local toponyms and biographies of famous Muscovites.

4. "Ceremonial Petersburg: the history of mansions and palaces of Northern Venice", Vladislav Poda

To some palaces and mansions of St. Petersburg‑It's not so easy to get to St. Petersburg. They are vigilantly guarded by strict guards, preventing outsiders from appreciating the exquisite interiors. But the guide Vladislav Pod managed to get into the closed buildings — and now everyone has a chance to enjoy inaccessible architectural masterpieces.

These houses hosted meetings of poets and ballrooms, hosted emperors and plotted revolution. In Soviet times, a polyclinic could be located inside, but today it is elite housing. Together with the author, you can follow the fate of the majestic buildings and make up routes walks in front of St. Petersburg to see the famous facades with your own eyes.

5. "The architectural alphabet of St. Petersburg: from acroterium to apple", Tatyana Yerova

"A" is acrotelium. "B" is the baluster. "V" is the monogram. To study architectural terms on the example of St. Petersburg‑St. Petersburg offers a book by photographer and blogger Tatyana Yerova. The author will not only tell you what risalite, gutters and flutes are, but also explain how the details of palaces, mansions and churches form the architectural alphabet of St. Petersburg.

The book contains a lot of unexpected facts. For example, you can find out where Catherine II's beloved levrettes rest, why St. Petersburg houses have so many false windows and where to go to find the only lonely Atlanta of St. Petersburg. After reading, you can invite friends for an architectural walk to show them bay windows and flutes, acroteria and sandricks.

6. "Secrets of Moscow mansions. The houses of the richest people of their era inside and out", Vitaly Kalashnikov

This mansion seemed to have descended from Vasnetsov's paintings, Bulgakov lived and wrote "The Master and Margarita" in this house, and not far from this building is the Leo Tolstoy Museum, although the writer himself has never been here. The Moscow guide Vitaly Kalashnikov immerses in the atmosphere of old Moscow and reveals the secrets of the capital's mansions. In the book, he describes ancient buildings that you can visit in person, as well as evaluate the facades and interiors — because now there are libraries, museums and even canteens inside.

7. "Walking in unknown St. Petersburg", Vladislav Poda

Now the embankment of the Griboyedov Canal is a popular tourist destination in St. Petersburg. But she might not have been! At one time, the channel was planned to be filled in. In the author's guide, Vladislav Poda tells dozens of interesting facts about St. Petersburg, and also invites you to walk through former criminal districts, aristocratic streets, major factories, manufactories and other amazing places.

8. "Voices from windows: the revived stories of St. Petersburg houses", Ekaterina Kubryakova

Saint‑Ekaterina Kubryakova's Petersburg is a mysterious and unusual place where the destinies of the capital's aristocracy, creative bohemians and children of the blockade are intertwined. To eavesdrop on the performance of Marlene Dietrich and Konstantin Paustovsky, to find out whose story served as the prototype for the creation of the heroine Anna Karenina, to attend a meeting of evangelists in a magnificent malachite room — all this you can do if you read the book. It consists of 37 stories that took place within the walls of St. Petersburg houses.