The Dostoyevsky Museum in St Petersburg

When I decided to spend three weeks traveling across Russia, I knew I'd need a really good book for the total of seven days that I'd be spending on the train. I still remember the day I went to my local bookstore for the sole purpose of choosing a book: and after thumbing through classics like War and Peace (which I discarded because it would put my backpack over its weight limit) I settled on Fyodor Dostoyevsky's Crime and Punishment.

It was a great choice, both right in length to sustain me across my travels, and a riveting enough read to keep me interested when the Siberian landscape became tedious or it was too dark to see outside. During this trip I really made friends with Dostoyevsky and wanted to know more about the life of this man who made me fascinated by the city of St Petersburg before I'd even arrived.

There was no doubt in my mind that I would visit the Dostoyevsky Memorial Flat and Museum in St Petersburg during my stay. I finally got there on my third day, after getting to know the main parts of the city and following the Neva River where parts of Crime and Punishment take place. The Dostoyevsky Museum is actually housed in the writer's final residence, a flat not far from the Vladimirskaya metro station. I found it easily enough, passing a large statue of Dostoyevsky himself on the way.

Inside the museum, you could rent an audio guide in English to give you more information about the wealth of displays and artifacts they had on show. I walked around quite fascinated by it all. As well as having some rooms preserved the way Dostoyevsky used them - especially his study with a large desk, where his writing took place - there were displays of various memorabilia including drafts of his novels, newspaper clippings about his deportation to Omsk and his lucky escape from execution, and even notes from his children (I loved the one that said "Dear Papa, Please give us sweets!).

Even if you're not a Dostoyevsky fan, any book lover will be intrigued by this collection, which really gives an insight into what must have been like to be a writer in Russia in the nineteenth century.

If you go: The Dostoyevsky Museum is located at Kuznechny Pereulok 5/2 in the Vladimirksy district of St Petersburg. The usual opening hours are Tuesday to Sunday from 11am to 5pm. To get there, take the metro to the Vladimirskaya / Dostoyevskaya metro stations - then it's just a short walk.