After the Faberge museum we grabbed a quick meal at one of St. Petersburg's many excellent cafes/ restaurants and then set off with our guide - a new one for the evening - and driver for a White Nights city tour. In the height of summer, it doesn’t get dark in St. Petersburg until 2.00 am and then it’s only dark for 2 hours. As a result, the city really comes alive at night during the summer. People are out eating and drinking really late, and having a good time. The full white night affect doesn’t kick in until late May (10 days or so after we visited) – but it was still light until about 11.00 pm. We watched all the main buildings lighting up – they are floodlit – and they look brilliant.

We also stopped by the Church of Spilled Blood and put a padlock on a bridge and threw the keys in the canal – a local custom to ensure good fortune. We then headed down to the river Neva to drink champagne with our guide – and, another St. Petersburg custom – to make paper boats, which are inscribed with one’s name – and floated off down the river. A fun and very enjoyable end to a wondrous day.