Singer Building

The former headquarters of the Singer sewing machine company, which opened a factory in the Russian capital in 1904, is one of St Petersburg’s most gorgeous buildings. The Style Modern architecture, designed by Pavel Suzor, and topped with a glass tower and sculpture, also housed the American consulate for a few years prior to WWI. Now it's home to the bookstore Dom Knigi, a cafe with superb views of the Kazan Cathedral, and the offices of vk.com, Russia's equivalent to Facebook.