The city of London is packed with historic buildings and sites that are icons of Western civilization.

But times change, and today's London has come up with some clever nicknames for the latest additions to its skyline.

The newest ones are the cheese grater and the walkie-talkie.

Hi, I'm Rick Steves.

Today on Travel with Rick Steves, we'll get an update on how you can get the most out of London.

And we'll cruise to the Baltic to take in the sights of St. Petersburg, home to Zar Peter

the Great's Magnificent Hermitage Museum.

And once you enter in the lobby and you see the staircase, you chose drops.

It's something magical.

We'll also take a break from city life to visit the rural villages of Turkey, where

sightseeing takes on a whole new meaning.

There won't be an attraction in the village such as a museum or a site, but the attraction

will be you, an America walking through the streets of the village.

Come along as we get better acquainted with rural Turkey, London, and St. Petersburg

in the hour ahead on Travel with Rick Steeves.

When Russians are Peter the Great

decided to build himself a new capital city in 1703, he started from scratch.

The result is the city of St. Petersburg.

It's Russia's cultural center and home to some stunning sites that we'll explore in just a bit.

We'll also dally for a while in a quieter setting, rural Turkey, where tourists are as rare as rush hour road rage.

But let's start off in a more hectic scene, London.

Since the days of the Roman Empire, London's been a bustling hub of business and culture

...