Санкт-Петербург
Once a swamp, then an imperial capital, and now a showpiece of vanished aristocratic opulence shot through with the dingy ruins of communism, St. Petersburg is Russia’s most accessible and most tourist-worthy city. During the Soviet era, it was called Leningrad, but in 1991 St. Petersburg reverted to its more fitting historic name. Designed by imported French, Dutch, and Italian architects, this is, arguably, European Russia’s least “Russian” city.
Palaces, gardens, statues, and arched bridges over graceful waterways bring back the time of the czars. Neighborhood markets bustle with gregarious honey maids offering samples, and brim with exotic fishes and meats, pickled goodies, and fresh produce. Stirring monuments—still adorned with hammers, sickles, and red stars—tower over the masses, evoking Soviet times. Jammed with reverent worshippers, glorious Orthodox churches are heavy with incense, shimmer with icons, and filled with hauntingly beautiful music. Topping things off are two of the world’s premier art museums—the Hermitage and the Russian Museum—and one of its most opulent royal houses, the Catherine Palace.
St. Petersburg can challenge its visitors, most of whom have to jump through hoops to get a visa—and then struggle with not enough time, limited English, and an idiosyncratic (and not quite Western) approach to “service” and predictability. But most visitors leave St. Petersburg with vivid memories of a magnificent city, one that lives according to its own rules. While this place can be exasperating, it is worth grappling with. Beyond its brick-and-mortar sights, St. Petersburg gives first-timers a perfect peek into the enigmatic Russian culture.
Save time on a sunny day just to walk. Keep your head up: The upper facades are sun-warmed and untouched by street grime. While Nevsky Prospekt—the city’s famous main boulevard—encapsulates all that’s wonderful and discouraging about this quixotic burg, get beyond that axis. Explore the back streets along the canals. Stroll through the Summer Garden. Shop for a picnic at a local market hall. Go for a canal boat cruise. Step into a neighborhood church to watch people get intimate with an icon. Take a Metro ride anywhere, just for the experience. Climb St. Isaac’s Cathedral for the view. When the Baltic Sea brings clouds and drizzle, plunge into the Hermitage or the Russian Museum.
St. Petersburg is fantastic and gigantic. Two full days is a great start; with more time, you can squeeze in some of the out-of-town sights. A longer stay makes the visa hassle and expense more worthwhile.
Don’t get uptight about timing your visit to the summer solstice for St. Petersburg’s much-bandied “White Nights.” While it’s enjoyable—and a bit mind-bending—to watch the sun set after 11 o’clock at night, you can enjoy bright evenings here all summer long.
If you’re arriving by cruise, you’ll most likely have two days here. To make the most of your daylight sightseeing time, find out whether your cruise line offers an evening visit to the Hermitage.
With just one day, you’ll have to make some tough decisions. Devout art lovers should tour the Hermitage, then follow my self-guided Nevsky Prospekt walk. For a wider-ranging experience, skip the Hermitage and follow this ambitious plan (if you’re not up for it all, omit the Russian Museum):
| 9:00 | Follow my self-guided Nevsky Prospekt walk (about 2 hours), stopping in the Kazan Cathedral (30 minutes), Church on Spilled Blood (30 minutes), and Russian Museum (2 hours). Along the way, grab a quick lunch (30 minutes) and take some time to shop and linger (30 minutes). |
| 15:00 | Take a canal boat cruise. |
| 16:00 | Ride the Metro to the Peter and Paul Fortress, and tour the Romanov tombs at Sts. Peter and Paul Cathedral. |
| 18:00 | Walk back across the Neva, pausing at Strelka for a panoramic view. |
| Evening | Attend the ballet (seasonal), a concert, or the circus; explore some of the city’s hipster dining and nightlife neighborhoods; or simply enjoy the city’s famous “White Nights.” |
| 9:00 | Follow my self-guided walk along Nevsky Prospekt to acquaint yourself with the city. |
| 11:00 | Visit the Kazan Cathedral and Church on Spilled Blood, and grab a quick lunch. |
| 13:00 | Tour the Russian Museum. |
| 15:00 | Take a canal boat cruise. |
| 16:30 | Visit St. Isaac’s Cathedral. |
| 18:30 | Dinner. |
| Evening | Ballet, concert, circus, etc. |
| 10:30 | Plunge into the Hermitage. |
| 13:30 | Grab a quick lunch, then walk across the Neva River to the Strelka viewpoint, continuing to Peter and Paul Fortress. |
| 15:30 | Tour the Kunstkamera and/or the Museum of Russian Political History; for a break, stroll through the Summer Garden. |
| 18:00 | Visit the Fabergé Museum. |
| 19:30 | Dinner. |
| Evening | See above. |
With more time, do days 1 and 2 at a more relaxed tempo, with more time in the Hermitage or the Russian Museum—letting what you don’t get to spill over to days 3, 4, and 5. Other choices are to visit other museums that interest you; ride the Metro to less-touristed parts of the city (such as the back streets of Vasilyevsky Island; see here); or go to Peterhof or Tsarskoye Selo for the day. WWII history buffs should consider a visit to Piskaryovskoye Memorial Cemetery.
If connecting to St. Petersburg via Helsinki or Tallinn, bear in mind that St. Petersburg’s time zone is one hour ahead of those cities.
By Sea: The only way to visit St. Petersburg without the bother of getting a Russian visa is to arrive by sea.
One option is to take a cruise: Many lines include a two-day stop in St. Petersburg on their Baltic itineraries. If you join an excursion into St. Petersburg with your cruise line, no visa is required (see sidebar on next page).
The other sea option is the St. Peter Line ferry, which departs from Helsinki every other night, year-round (and also has a once-weekly connection via Tallinn, plus two-day journeys all the way to Stockholm). Passengers sleep while the boat travels overnight from Helsinki to St. Petersburg; they then have a day to explore the city before sailing back to Helsinki (again overnight). As of this writing, paying €25 for the St. Peter Line “City Bus Tour” shuttle service from the port to downtown St. Petersburg allows you to see the city without a guide or a visa. However, requirements are constantly in flux, so confirm this is still possible before making plans. You can buy a one-way ticket on the St. Peter Line only if you have a Russian visa.
By Air: Many airlines serve St. Petersburg directly. Flying in and/or out of Helsinki rather than St. Petersburg itself is a viable option, as the Finlyandsky train station in St. Petersburg (where trains from Helsinki arrive and depart) is much easier to reach from the center than St. Petersburg’s airport.
By Train from Helsinki: The 3.5-hour Allegro train trip through birch forests and past the old fortress city of Vyborg costs about €70-105 (price varies with demand, 4/day). Border formalities are carried out efficiently at your seat en route, and on-board currency exchange means you can hit the ground with cash in your pocket. Trains arrive at the Finlyandsky train station in St. Petersburg, which is right at the Ploshchad Lenina Metro stop (with an iconic Lenin statue out front).
By Bus: Buses from either Tallinn or Helsinki are easy and cheap, but not quick (from Tallinn—€25-30, about 10/day, 7 hours, www.luxexpress.eu; from Helsinki—€35-40, cheaper for students, 3-5/day, 8-9 hours, www.matkahuolto.fi). Buses arrive at the Baltiisky Vokzal train station in St. Petersburg (Metro: Baltiiskaya).
St. Petersburg is gigantic and decentralized; you’ll want to carefully plan your time to minimize backtracking. Most of the sights (and the dense urban core) are on the south bank of the Neva River; to the north are the historic Peter and Paul Fortress and the tidy, grid-planned residential zone of Vasilyevsky Island (with the cruise port at its western tip). The city—built over a swamp—is a horizontal one. Foundations for skyscrapers are too challenging.
Don’t go looking for a cutesy, cobbled “old town”; the entire city was carefully planned to fit within its three concentric waterways: first the Moyka (Мойка) River, then the Griboyedov Canal (Канал Грибоедова), and finally the Fontanka (Фонтанка) River.
The geographical center of the city is the Admiralty building, with a slender, golden spire that shines like a beacon (next to the river, Hermitage, and Palace Square). From here, bustling avenues (called prospekty) radiate out to the distant suburbs. The busiest and most interesting thoroughfare is Nevsky Prospekt (Невский Проспект). Almost everything you’ll want to see is either along Nevsky or a few blocks to either side of it. Uprising Square (Ploshchad Vosstaniya, Площадь Восстания)—home to a tall obelisk and the Moskovsky train station—marks the end of the usual tourist zone.
Maps make St. Petersburg appear smaller than it is. What looks like “just a few blocks” can easily translate into a half-hour walk. The two-mile walk along Nevsky from the Admiralty to Uprising Square takes about an hour at a brisk pace. Make things easier on yourself by getting comfortable with the city’s cheap and generally well-coordinated public transit. The Metro boasts frequent trains that zip effortlessly below clogged streets. A well-planned network of buses, trolley buses, and shared minibuses called marshrutki help you bridge the (sometimes long) gaps between sights and Metro stops; while a bit less user-friendly to the uninitiated, these can save tons of time when mastered.
A few terms you’ll see on maps: ulitsa is “street,” ploshchad is “square,” prospekt is “avenue,” and most is “bridge.” Many street signs are conveniently bilingual. They usually list the house number of the building they’re on, as well as the numbers of the buildings to either side (this is convenient, as buildings can be very large).
You may see free maps around town, but if you’ll be navigating on your own, buy a good map at one of the bookstores listed later, under “Helpful Hints.” I like the “city tourist map” by Discus, with labels in both English and Cyrillic.
The city TI has several branches. While they aren’t as well-organized as many European TIs, the staff tries hard, speaks at least a bit of English, and may be willing to call around to help you with a question they can’t answer. The most convenient branch is in the glass pavilion just to the left of the Hermitage (as you face it from Palace Square); the main branch is a few steps off Nevsky Prospekt (at Sadovaya 14, across from Gostiny Dvor—watch for the low-profile door and go up one flight of stairs; Mon-Fri 10:00-19:00, closed Sat-Sun, tel. 310-2231, www.visit-petersburg.ru or www.ispb.info). You’ll also see TI kiosks in high-tourist areas such as St. Isaac’s Cathedral, Peter and Paul Fortress, on Uprising Square (Ploshchad Vosstaniya) near Moskovsky train station, and at the airport (all generally open daily 9:00-19:00, but hours and services are unpredictable). The city also runs a 24-hour “Tourist Help Line,” with English operators, at tel. 303-0555.
The bimonthly St. Petersburg In Your Pocket guidebook is good; look for free copies around town or browse it online at www.inyourpocket.com.
For more details on each of the following, see “St. Petersburg Connections,” at the end of this chapter.
By Train: All train stations have Metro stops. But if you’re arriving with large bags, for convenience and peace of mind, pay the extra cost and arrange in advance with your hotel to be picked up at the station by a driver. Although a few newer Metro stations (such as Admiralteyskaya) are friendly to wheeled luggage, most have unavoidable flights of stairs (as do some train stations themselves). Those grabbing a taxi at the station without booking it in advance are likely to be overcharged (see “By Taxi,” later).
By Plane: St. Petersburg’s Pulkovo Airport is about 12 miles south of the center, and linked to downtown by a Metro/bus combination or taxi.
By Boat: St. Petersburg is a major stop for cruise ships and the St. Peter Line passenger ferry.
Sightseeing Schedules: Opening times for St. Petersburg’s museums and churches are very changeable—particularly the closed days, and days when sights are open late. When planning your visit, confirm hours online.
Take note of closed days: The Hermitage, Kunstkamera, and Peterhof are closed on Mondays, the Russian Museum and Tsarskoye Selo on Tuesdays, many religious sites (St. Isaac’s, Church on Spilled Blood) on Wednesdays, the Museum of Russian Political History on Thursdays, and the Fabergé Museum on Fridays.
Don’t Drink the Water: While new water treatment plants have improved quality in recent years, and most locals wash fruit and brush their teeth with tap water, they still don’t drink it—and neither should you. Buy bottled water cheaply in grocery stores. St. Petersburg provides its residents with preheated water that’s boiled at a station in the suburbs, then piped directly into city taps. Each summer, they close the plant for a week or two of cleaning—effectively cutting off the city’s hot water. For this reason, wealthier locals (and most hotels) have their own backup hot-water heaters.
Theft Alert: Russia has hardworking, often unusually aggressive pickpockets who target tourists. Be particularly aware anywhere along Nevsky Prospekt, in crowded shopping areas (such as Gostiny Dvor), and on public transport. Assume that any scuffle is a distraction by a team of thieves, and that anyone who approaches you on the street is trying to pull off a scam. Some thieves are well-dressed and even carry guidebooks to fool you. Thieves can be rough—they’ve even been known to detach and steal big camera lenses in one smooth motion. Keep anything precious close (wear a money belt for your passport, credit cards, and other valuables, leave the fancy jewelry at home, and don’t be careless with cameras, smartphones, and tablets).
Pedestrian Safety: Russian drivers are shockingly forceful, zipping between lanes and around any obstructions. They drive fast, even on small downtown streets. Don’t jaywalk: Always use crosswalks and look both ways before crossing—especially along Nevsky Prospekt, with its eight lanes of traffic moving at terrifying speeds.
Online Translation Tip: If a website you want is available only in Russian, try using the Chrome browser (www.google.com/chrome), which can (roughly) translate the page for you.
Business Hours: Most shops, restaurants, and services are open the same hours seven days a week (the legacy of communism, which tried to do away with weekends). You’ll see a surprising number of shops and restaurants open 24/7 (look for 24 Чaca).
“Sightseeing Tax” for Foreigners: You may notice that the admission price for Russians to various sights can be cheaper than the cost for foreigners. I’ve listed only the “foreigner” price, but if you happen to have a Russian passport, insist on the lower price.
Tipping: As in most of Europe, tipping here is less routine—and much less generous—than in the US. But if you’re satisfied with the service, you can round the bill up 5-10 percent (more than that is considered excessive). Tip a taxi driver by rounding up the fare a bit (pay 300 R on an 280-R fare).
Dress Code: In Orthodox churches, modest dress is expected (no shorts or bare shoulders; women are encouraged to cover their heads with a scarf).
Pharmacy: Look for the chain called 36.6—as in the normal Celsius body temperature. The most central location is at Gorokhovaya 16, near the Admiralteyskaya Metro stop (open long hours daily).
Medical/Dental Services: The (entirely Russian-staffed) American Medical Clinic is near St. Isaac’s Cathedral on the Moyka embankment (Naberezhnaya reki Moyki 78, tel. 740-2090, www.amclinic.com, info@amclinic.ru).
Internet Access: Most hotels, many cafés and restaurants, and even some museums have free Wi-Fi hotspots. If you need a terminal, you can get online at the Internet café at the back of the Subway restaurant at Nevsky Prospekt 11 (enter on side street and take stairs to second floor; Skype installed, open 24 hours, tel. 314-6705).
Laundry: Prachka.com is St. Petersburg’s launderette chain. The most convenient branch is along Sadovaya Ulitsa, beyond the back end of Gostiny Dvor if coming from Nevsky. It’s in the old Apraksin Dvor market complex: Walk along the street almost to the end and look for the small launderette in one of the basement stalls. Don’t be put off by the run-down building—inside, it’s all modern and computer-controlled (daily 10:00-22:00, Sadovaya Ulitsa 30).
Bookstore: The city’s best-known bookstore, Dom Knigi (“House of Books,” Дом Книги), is in the old Singer sewing machine building at Nevsky Prospekt 28 (by the Griboyedov Canal, across from Kazan Cathedral). It sells English novels and locally produced guidebooks and has a pretty second-floor café with a view over the Kazan Cathedral (daily 9:00-24:00). Anglia Bookshop (Англия), just off Nevsky Prospekt facing the Fontanka River (next to the horse statues on the Anichkov Bridge, at the end of my self-guided Nevsky Prospekt walk), has a fine selection of English-language books by Russian authors and about Russian history (Mon-Sat 11:00-20:00, Sun 12:00-20:00, Fontanka 38, tel. 579-8284). You’ll also see the Bukvoyed (Буквоед) bookstore chain around town, with several handy branches along Nevsky Prospekt (generally daily 9:00-22:00).
Currency Fluctuation: The ruble is on a roller-coaster ride—mostly going down. Depending on economic conditions when you travel, you may find higher prices (in rubles) than those quoted here. Because of the currency instability, in some listings I’ve given prices in US dollars, especially for personal services and smaller vendors (walking tours, private guides, etc.) For current exchange rates, check www.oanda.com.
ATMs: The word for ATM is банкомат (bankomat). They are most commonly inside banks, hotels, restaurants, and other establishments, though you will find a few out on the street. Locals advise using machines inside bank lobbies when possible.
Telephones: There are no pay phones in St. Petersburg. For international calls, your best bet is to use Skype or another computer-based service from your hotel or an Internet café.
Mail: Mailboxes are blue with “Почта России” in white lettering. The central post office, open 24 hours, is in a historic building a couple of blocks beyond St. Isaac’s Cathedral at Pochtamtskaya Ulitsa 9 (look for the archway that crosses the street). The Russian mail service has a reputation for delivering things extremely slowly, if at all, but just for postcards—well, you can take the risk.
Convenience Stores: There are small stores in every neighborhood (often down a few steps from street level and open late or even 24 hours) where you can pick up basic necessities. Look for signs saying Продукты (“foodstuffs”) or Универсам (Universam, meaning “self-service store”). In the very center, the 24-hour universam at Bolshaya Konyushennaya Ulitsa 4 (at the corner of Shvedsky Pereulok) is convenient and decent-sized.
What’s With All the Weddings? It’s a Russian tradition for bride and groom to visit about 10 different parks and monuments around town on their wedding day and have their photo taken.
The best available English-language journey planner for St. Petersburg’s public transportation is www.spb.rusavtobus.ru/en. Though not very user-friendly, it covers both the Metro and surface transport. The official Metro website (www.metro.spb.ru) is in Russian only.
By Metro: Compared to systems in many other European metropolises, St. Petersburg’s Metro has fewer stations and lines. This means it’s a longer walk between stations—but beneath the city you’ll move at a shockingly fast pace. The system is clean, efficient, very cheap, and—with a little practice—easy to use (everything is clearly labeled in English). You’ll marvel at one of the most impressive people-movers on the planet—at rush hour, it’s astonishing to simply stand on the platform and watch the hundreds upon hundreds of commuters pile in and out of each train. It’s worth taking at least once just for the experience.
You enter with a metal token (zheton, жетон), which you can buy for 31 R—either at the ticket windows, or from machines in station entrances (in Russian and English, easy to figure out: push button labeled Купить жетоны—“buy tokens,” select the number of tokens you want, then insert money). A 10-journey pass is sold at ticket windows only (295 R, valid 7 days, cannot be shared). There are no day passes.
Signs in the Metro are fully bilingual, and maps of the system are posted widely. Each of the five lines is numbered and color-coded. It helps to know the end station in the direction you’re traveling. Unlike most European subway systems, transfer stations (where two lines meet) have two names, one for each line. Some stations in the center have flood doors along the boarding area that open only when trains arrive. Trains run from about 6:00 in the morning to a little after midnight.
Though St. Petersburg’s Metro is not as ornate as Moscow’s, some stations are works of art. For a rundown of the best stations, see here. It’s OK to take pictures in the Metro, but you can’t use a flash.
Because bedrock is far beneath the city surface, the Metro is very deep. The Admiralteyskaya station is nearly 350 feet below ground. The escalator ride alone takes several minutes—long enough that people pull out ebook readers, play smartphone solitaire, or kiss.
Pickpocket Alert: Metro stations, especially at rush hour, are particularly high-risk for pickpocketing. While any line near a touristy sight is targeted, the busy green line—connecting the cruise port to the city center (Gostiny Dvor), then out to the Alexander Nevsky Lavra Monastery—is particularly plagued. A common strategy: A team of thieves spot a tourist. Then, as everyone loads into the train, the thief in front stumbles, your arms go out, the guy behind you grabs his target, the door closes...and it’s just you without your wallet, zipping across town on the train.
By Bus and Trolley Bus: Buses and trolley buses (with overhead wires) are very quick, cheap, and convenient for getting around the center of town. They’re useful for connecting locations not served by the Metro, and let you see the city instead of burying you underground (especially nice when zipping along Nevsky Prospekt). The system takes a little patience to figure out (it helps if you can sound out Cyrillic to decipher posted schedules); ideally, ask a knowledgeable local which bus number to look for.
Along the street, stops are marked by an А (for buses), a flat-topped M for trolley buses, and a К for marshrutki minibuses (explained later). Signs at bus stops—in Russian only—list the route number, frequency, and sometimes the names of the stops en route. (Tram lines, marked by a Т, run only in the city’s outer districts.)
All surface transport costs 28 R per ride; pay the conductor, who wears a reflective vest and will give you a thin paper-slip ticket. There are no transfers, so you pay again if you switch buses. Be sure to ask your hotel for a rundown of which handy buses stops are nearby.
The buses and trolley buses that run along Nevsky Prospekt (between its start, at Malaya Morskaya Ulitsa, and Uprising Square/Ploshchad Vosstaniya) are useful: buses #3, #7, #24, and #191, and trolley buses #1, #5, #7, #10, #11, and #22. Don’t be afraid to make mistakes; if you take the wrong bus and it turns off Nevsky, just hop out at the next stop. Trolley buses #5 and #22 conveniently veer off from the lower end of Nevsky down Malaya Morskaya Ulitsa to St. Isaac’s Cathedral and the Mariinsky Theater.
Marshrutki (Minibuses): These “share taxis”—operated by private companies—travel along set, numbered routes, prefixed with the letter К. You can wave them down anywhere along the way and ask to be dropped off at any point along the route. They’re designed more for residents than for tourists, but can be useful for going to Peterhof, Tsarskoye Selo, or the airport.
By Taxi: Locals tend to avoid cabs, and you should use them only with caution. You won’t see taxi stands in St. Petersburg, and you should walk away from cabbies who hail you down (“Taxi?”). But you can always call and order an official taxi by phone (you’ll probably need a Russian speaker to help, as few dispatchers or cabbies speak English). Official taxis are a little more expensive and safer than those hailed on the street. Pay the fare on the meter, rounding up a little. Beware that congested city traffic can make a taxi ride slow. Official taxis typically have a set minimum fare—typically 350-400 R—which covers most trips within the city center.
Two reliable companies are 068 (tel. 068, www.taxi068.ru) and Novoye Zhyoltoye (New Yellow Taxis, Новое Жёлтое; tel. 600-8888, www.peterburg.nyt.ru/en). You can send in a form from the English-language section of either website to order a taxi, but you’ll need to give a local phone number. The Ladybird taxi service (tel. 900-0504, www.ladybird-taxi.ru) has only women drivers and provides car seats for kids.
“Fishing for a Lada”: Most Russians in need of a ride “fish for a Lada” (referring to the ubiquitous Soviet-era beater car). Immigrants (generally from Central Asia) cruise around town in sometimes well-worn cars as informal taxis. The local points to the pavement, the car stops, they agree on a destination and a price, and it’s a win-win deal. For a tourist, the challenge is to communicate, as the driver will rarely speak a word of English; it also helps to know roughly how much you should pay. This custom demands some common-sense caution (never get into a car with passengers). An average trip within the center will run about 200 R. Consider working out an hourly rate (generally around 1,000 R/hour).
Peterswalk has been doing excellent, English-language walking tours of the city since 1996. I like this tour because rather than visiting the crowded, famous sights, you’ll simply walk through the city and learn about contemporary life and culture ($22/person, 4 hours, mobile +7-921-943-1229, www.peterswalk.com, info@peterswalk.com). From April through October, the tour begins every day at 10:30 at Hostel Life, around the corner from Nevsky Prospekt 47 (near the Fontanka River—ring the bell at Vladimirsky Prospekt 1 and go up to the fourth floor; tour may run sporadically off-season—check website). Peterswalk also does bike tours, private guided tours, and visa-free tours for cruise travelers (see below).
Peterswalk offers 3.5-hour weekend and late-night bike tours (mid-May-Sept Sat-Sun at 11:00, also mid-May-Aug Tue and Thu at 22:30, $40/person, starts at SkatProkat bike shop at Goncharnaya Ulitsa 7, near Moskovsky train station and Ploschad Vosstaniya).
St. Petersburg is a delight to see from the water. Low-slung canal boats ply their way through the city, offering a handy orientation to major landmarks. After curling through narrow, urban waterways, your boat pops out onto the wide Neva River and a grand panorama of the Hermitage, Admiralty, and Peter and Paul Fortress. Various companies advertise at touristy points near canals and offer essentially the same one-hour cruise, most with recorded or live narration in Russian. It’s worth asking the various hawkers around town whether they have an English option. One that does is Neptun (Нептун), near the Hermitage (600 R one-hour cruise, 3/hour; recorded narration in English typically available at 13:00, 15:00, and 17:00; on Moyka embankment at #26, near recommended Troitsky Most restaurant—see map on here, tel. 924-4452, www.neptun-boat.ru).
CityTour runs red, double-decker, hop-on, hop-off buses that make a circuit of major sights in the center, with recorded commentary. Buses start at Ostrovsky Square (near the statue of Catherine the Great, along Nevsky Prospekt) about every 30 minutes from 9:00 to 19:00; the full circle takes two hours (600 R all-day ticket, buy on board, tel. 718-4769, mobile +7-961-800-0755, www.citytourspb.ru).
Each of the following guide organizations is smart, small, reliable, and committed to helping visitors enjoy and understand their city. I work with them when my tour groups are in town, and they are consistently excellent. If you have a visa, you can hire them privately for walking or car tours (generally $40/hour for up to 8 people on foot, 4-hour minimum). If you’re coming on a cruise without a visa, see the next section.
Natalya German-Tsarkova: Natalya and her team of guides make touring the city easy and meaningful ($40/hour, $300/4 hours, $450/8 hours with car, up to 6 people; mobile +7-921-391-1894, www.original-tours.com, natalya.german@gmail.com).
Timofey Kruglikov’s “Tailored Tours of St. Petersburg”: Tim and his team of guides are passionate about art and history, and they’re all Russian scholars ($40/hour, $70/hour with car, 4-hour minimum, www.tour-petersburg.com, info@tour-petersburg.com).
Peterswalk Private Guides: The most entrepreneurial and “Back Door” of these guide groups, Peterswalk offers daily public walks and bike tours (explained above) as well as private tours. Their passion is to be out and about in town, connecting with today’s reality ($40/hour for up to 8 people, 4-hour minimum, mobile +7-921-943-1229, www.peterswalk.com, info@peterswalk.com).
The three outfits recommended above can also work with cruise passengers who don’t have visas. For many cruisers, this is the ideal way to experience St. Petersburg: It’s less hassle than getting a visa and offers more freedom than a typical cruise-line excursion.
You’ll have to book well in advance to allow time for your guide to handle all the red tape (expect to provide your passport details). For two full eight-hour days of sightseeing with a guide and car, a couple can expect to pay around $550 per person. Larger groups are cheaper per person ($350/person for 4, $270/person for 6). The price typically includes admission fees. Your guide can pick you up at your cruise terminal, and bring you back there at the end of each day.
Two self-guided walks take you through two sides of St. Petersburg: “A Stroll on Nevsky Prospekt” cuts through the bustling historical center of town, while my “Back-Streets Walk on Vasilyevsky Island” (see here) reveals a local neighborhood and an aspect of the city that most tourists never see.
Taking about two hours (not counting sightseeing stops), this walk, worth ▲▲▲, offers a fascinating glimpse into the heart of the city.
Nevsky Prospekt (Невский Проспект)—St. Petersburg’s famous main thoroughfare—represents the best and the worst of this beguiling metropolis. Along its two-mile length from the Neva River to Uprising Square (Ploshchad Vosstaniya, Площадь Восстания), this superlative boulevard passes some of the city’s most opulent palaces (the Hermitage), top museums (the Hermitage and Russian Museum), most important churches (Kazan Cathedral, Church on Spilled Blood), finest urban architecture, liveliest shopping zones, lushest parks, and slice upon slice of Russian life.
This walk also gives you a taste of the smog, congestion, and general chaos with which the city perennially grapples. Pickpockets are brazen here (blurring the line between petty theft and mugging), as are drivers—it’s essential to be watchful, remain calm, and cross the street only at designated crosswalks (and even then, use caution). If it’s crowded and you’re getting stressed, duck into a serene shopping gallery or café for a break.
As Nevsky Prospekt cuts diagonally through town from the Admiralty building (the bull’s eye of this city’s urban layout), it crosses three waterways. We’ll focus on the first mile-and-a-quarter stretch to the Fontanka River—though you could carry on all the way to Uprising Square and beyond.
• Begin your walk on the vast square facing the Hermitage.
The impressively monumental Palace Square (Dvortsovaya Ploshchad)—with the arcing, Neoclassical General Staff Building facing the bubbly, Baroque Hermitage—lets you know you’re in an imperial capital. It oozes blue-blood class.
Take a moment just to let the grand scale of this space sink in. Like all of St. Petersburg, it was custom-built to impress—and intimidate—visiting dignitaries. If your trip also takes you to Estonia, ponder this: The entire Old Town of Tallinn could fit comfortably inside the footprint of this square and palace.
The Alexander Column honors Czar Alexander I, and celebrates Russia’s military victory over Napoleon in 1812. Along with Moscow’s Red Square, this is the stage upon which much of early modern Russian history played out. On January 22, 1905, the czar’s imperial guard opened fire on peaceful protesters here, massacring hundreds (or possibly thousands). By 1917, the czar was ousted. The provisional government that replaced him was in turn dislodged by the Bolsheviks’ October Revolution—kicking off 75 years of communist rule.
• As you face the Hermitage, exit the square over your left shoulder, toward the glittering dome. When you reach the corner, before continuing, look across the busy street.
The Alexander Garden (Alexandrovsky Sad), with benches and jungle gyms, are a favorite place for families. It’s the backyard of the Admiralty building—the stately structure with the golden spire. When Peter the Great was laying out his new capital in the early 18th century, he made the Admiralty its centerpiece—indicating the importance he placed on his imperial navy. From here, three great avenues fan out through the city; of these, Nevsky Prospekt is the main drag.
Before we head up the street, notice that St. Isaac’s Cathedral—with that shimmering dome—is a 10-minute walk away (to the right, with your back to the Admiralty, at the far end of this park; for more on this church, see here).
• Standing at the corner across from the garden, you’re already at the start of Nevsky Prospekt. Use the crosswalk to reach the right side of the street and the first part of this walk.
A few steps down this first block, watch on the right for the shop marked КОФЕ ХАУЗ. Visitors are intimidated by the Cyrillic alphabet, but with a little practice (and the alphabet tips on here), you can decode signs easily—often surprising yourself when they turn out to be familiar words. In this case, Кофе Хауз is Kofe Haus...coffeehouse. This Moscow-based Starbucks clone is popular, but very expensive. Russia’s deeply stratified society has an enormous lower class, a tiny upper class, and virtually no middle class. Trendy shops like this (where a latte costs double your hometown Starbucks) are filled with upwardly mobile urbanites, but the poorer locals around you could never dream of affording a drink here.
In the next block, halfway down on the right, the recommended Stolle (Штолле) is a chain restaurant good for a snack or light lunch. They specialize in savory and sweet pies.
Look directly across the street at the building with 1939 above the door. On the pillar just to the right of the door, notice the small length of barbed wire and blue plaque. This is a monument to the Siege of Leningrad, as the city was named during the Soviet era. During World War II, Nazi forces encircled the city and bombarded it for 872 days (from September 1941 through January 1944). At the outset, the city’s population, swollen with refugees, was at 3 million—but by the siege’s end, a million or more people were dead, mostly civilians who succumbed to starvation. The assault claimed more lives than any other siege in world history. St. Petersburg’s buildings were ravaged, but not the spirit of those who refused to surrender.
Here, the north side of the street was in the direct line of fire from Nazi shells, lobbed in from German positions southwest of the city. The blue sign reads, roughly, “Citizens: During artillery bombardment, this side is more dangerous.”
About 30 yards down, on the right, the “Буквоед” sign marks an outlet of the Bukvoyed bookstore chain—a handy place to pick up a St. Petersburg map if you need one. At the next intersection, look left down Bolshaya Morskaya street to see the magnificent yellow arch of the General Staff Building. The archway opens to Palace Square—where we started this walk. To the right, the street leads to a handy branch of the Teremok (Теремок) Russian fast-food chain (see here) and, beyond that, to the square in front of St. Isaac’s Cathedral.
• Continuing one more block on Nevsky Prospekt brings you to the first of St. Petersburg’s concentric waterways, the Moyka River. As you proceed straight across the bridge, stick to the right side of the street.
Crossing the Moyka, you’ll likely see many touts selling tickets for canal boat tours. While this is an excellent way to get your bearings in St. Petersburg, most offer commentary only in Russian. Confirm the language before you hop aboard (see here).
The river is lined with fine 19th-century architecture. The pink building with white columns (on your right as you cross the water) is the Stroganov Palace. The aristocratic family that resided here left their mark all over Russia—commissioning opulent churches, financing the czars’ military agenda, and fostering the arts—but their lasting legacy is the beef dish, likely named for them, that has made “Stroganoff” a household name around the world.
Continue another long block, and watch across the street (on the left) for another chance to practice your Russian—though the distinctive logo may give it away: САБВЭЙ (“SABVAY” = Subway).
Just beyond Subway, looking left (across the street), notice the pretty, park-like street (Bolshaya Konyushennaya) flanked by beautiful buildings. On the left side is a sort of community center for Dutch transplants, while the building on the right is for Germans. Catherine the Great (r. 1762-1796), who—like Peter the Great—loved to promote the multiethnic nature of her empire, encouraged various cultural enclaves to settle in community buildings like these. Each enclave consisted of several apartment houses clustered around a church. You’ll see another example as you proceed up Nevsky Prospekt, where the German Lutheran Church of St. Peter and St. Paul is set back between two yellow buildings (on the left). The church is a reminder that much of St. Petersburg was built by Lutherans: Dutch, Germans, Swedes, and so on. This is only one of the many houses of worship built along this avenue under the auspices of the czars. Later, the aggressively atheistic communist regime repurposed churches all over the city; in this case, the church was turned into a swimming pool.
• Coming up on the right is the Kazan Cathedral, with its stately semicircular colonnade and grand dome.
Built in the early 1800s and named for a revered Russian icon, Kazan Cathedral was later converted into a “Museum of Atheism” under the communists. It’s since been restored to its former glory and is free to enter. To find the main entrance, go down Kazanskaya street (perpendicular to Nevsky, just before the church). Go in through what looks like a “side” door, and soak in the mystical Orthodox ambience. Inside you’ll find a dim interior, a much-venerated replica of the icon of Our Lady of Kazan, a monument to the commander who fended off Napoleon’s 1812 invasion, and lots of candles and solemn worshippers (for more on the cathedral’s interior, see the listing on here). You’ll exit through the left transept, which pops you out into a delightful little grassy park facing Nevsky Prospekt. This is a good spot to sit, relax, and maybe buy a drink from a vendor.
St. Petersburg, devastated in the siege of World War II, has put tremendous energy into restoring its architectural treasures—and today it sparkles. While the mostly communist 20th century left the outskirts with lots of gargantuan “Stalin Empire”-style buildings, the center is remarkably dense with 18th- and 19th-century architectural gems. From 1712 until 1918, the city was the capital of Russia, and the impossibly wealthy Romanov czars and czarinas—who seemingly had more money than they knew what to do with—energetically left their mark. Today, their palaces and “rental property” (apartment blocks owned by wealthy aristocrats until the Revolution) line the city’s waterways and boulevards.
During the glory days of St. Petersburg, this ornate architecture evolved in three phases:
Elizabethan Baroque (c. 1740-1760): Czarina Elizabeth (the daughter of Peter the Great) commissioned the French-born Italian architect Francesco Bartolomeo Rastrelli (1700-1771) to create buildings bursting with frilly Baroque energy. The Louis Teens of France (Louis XIV, XV, and XVI) had set the bar for palaces that just screamed “your ruler is divine.” And Elizabeth wanted to top them all. Elizabethan Baroque buildings feature white-stucco frills, lots of gold leaf and mirrors, and a “more is better” opulence; examples include the facades of the Winter Palace/Hermitage and the Catherine Palace at Tsarskoye Selo.
Catherine’s Neoclassicism (c. 1762-1796): Catherine the Great, who ruled from 1762 until 1796, was disgusted by the Baroque excesses of Elizabeth. In Catherine’s age, rulers looked back to the glories of ancient Greece and Rome for inspiration. She commissioned Scottish architect Charles Cameron (c. 1740-1812) to give the city a Neoclassical makeover, with stern, clean columns and arches as an antidote to Baroque baubles and frills. Examples of this style include many of the side-wings and other structures at the Catherine Palace grounds.
Russian Empire Style (c. 1801-1840s): As throughout Napoleonic Europe, Neoclassicism was put on steroids—it became bolder, more bombastic, and took on an even grander scale. Under Alexander I (r. 1801-1825), the Empire Style (which had been favored by Napoleon before his fall) had come to represent a connection between modern monarchs and the ancient greats. Later, inspired by this French fashion, Czar Nicolas I (r. 1825-1855) commissioned the Italian architect Carlo Rossi to give the city a Neoclassical statement. Examples include the Russian Museum, the General Staff Building on Palace Square (the big yellow building facing the Winter Palace), and many facades lining the Neva. Rossi street—behind Ostrovsky Square (just off Nevsky Prospekt)—is called “the Street of Perfect Proportions,” with buildings as high as the street is wide and a clean line of Neoclassical columns on each side.
Later Styles: Following these three styles, in the mid-1800s, Nicholas I—with his emphasis on orthodoxy, autocracy, and populism—embraced the eclectic “Historicist” style of mixing different historical styles; the shiny dome of St. Isaac’s is a perfect example. And by the turn of the 20th century, the Bolsheviks were already on the rise—about to introduce a starkly different, boxy-concrete style that would dominate Russia virtually through the entire 20th century.
It’s appropriate that Nevsky Prospekt is lined with so many important churches. The street leads to the monastery that holds relics of Alexander Nevsky (1220-1263), an esteemed Russian saint who, as an influential prince, fought off encroaching German and Swedish foes—including in a pivotal 1240 battle on the Neva River, near what would later become St. Petersburg. (For more on the Alexander Nevsky Lavra Monastery, see here.)
• Leaving the park, head to the intersection and cross over Nevsky Prospekt.
Scrutinize the distinctive oxidized-copper tower of the Art Nouveau building on the corner (at #28). At the base of the globe-topped turret is an unlikely symbol—an American bald eagle, wings spread wide, grasping a laurel wreath in its talon and wearing a stars-and-stripes shield on its breast. Architecture fans know this building as the Singer House (yes, the Russian headquarters of the American sewing machine company—the globe at the top proclaims Singer’s worldwide reach). Today it’s home to Dom Knigi (“House of Books”). Up close, take a minute to examine the building’s fine decorative details. Inside, the inviting bookshop has a delightfully atmospheric—if pricey—turn-of-the-century café on the second floor (daily 9:00-23:00).
• The Singer building sits next to the Griboyedov Canal. Walk to the midsection of the intersection/bridge over the water (watch out for pickpockets in this highly concentrated tourist zone—they work in groups and can get physical all along Nevsky Prospekt).
Looking down the length of the river, you can’t miss one of Russia’s most distinctive buildings: the Church on Spilled Blood. Dramatically scenic from here, it gets even prettier as you get closer. To snap some classic photos, work your way to the small bridge partway down the river. If you plan to visit this church, now’s a good time; the Russian Museum is also nearby (the yellow building fronting the canal just before the church is a side-wing of that museum; we’ll reach the museum’s main entrance later on this walk). The church and museum are both described in more detail later, under “Sights in St. Petersburg.” If you want to do some souvenir shopping, see if the handy (if touristy and overpriced) crafts market just behind the church is open. I’ll wait right here.
Back already? Let’s continue down Nevsky Prospekt (for now, stay on the left side). Just after the river is the Small Philharmonic (Малый филармония)—one of the “big four” cultural institutions in St. Petersburg (the others are the Great Philharmonic, the Mariinsky Theater, and the Mikhailovsky Theater). Consider taking in a performance while you’re in town; on a short visit, the ballet is a popular choice (for details, see “Entertainment in St. Petersburg,” later).
A half-block farther along, tucked between buildings on the left, you’ll see the pale yellow facade of the Roman Catholic St. Catherine’s Church. This is one of several “St. Catherines” that line Nevsky Prospekt—many congregations named their churches for the empress who encouraged their construction. This one has an endearing starving artists’ market out front.
At the next corner, on the left, is the Grand Hotel Europe—an ultra-fancy (if dated) five-star hotel that opened in 1875. Its opulence attracted the likes of Tchaikovsky, Stravinsky, Debussy, and H. G. Wells as guests.
The hotel sits at the corner of Mikhailovskaya street. If you detour one long block down this street, you’ll find the main entrance of the Russian Museum, with a fantastic collection of works by exclusively Russian artists. (While the Hermitage’s art collection is world-class, there’s nothing “local” or Russian about it.) For a self-guided tour of the highlights of the Russian Museum, see here. Presiding over the park in front of the museum (Ploshchad Iskusstv, “Square of the Arts”) is a statue of Alexander Pushkin (1799-1837)—Russia’s leading poet, considered by many to have raised modern Russian literature to an art form.
Back on Nevsky, capping the red tower across the boulevard from the hotel, notice the black metal skeletal spire—like a naked Christmas tree. This was part of an early 19th-century optical telegraph system that stretched more than 800 miles from here to Warsaw (which was then part of the Russian Empire). Each tower in this line-of-sight chain across the empire winked Morse code signals at the next with mirrors.
• Continue along Nevsky to the middle of the next block.
In a gap in the buildings on the left, you’ll see yet another church—the beautiful robin-egg-blue home of the local Armenian community. St. Catherine’s Gregorian Church belongs to the Armenian Apostolic faith, one of the oldest branches of Christianity—founded in a.d. 301, when St. Gregory the Illuminator baptized the Armenian king. Approaching the front door, look for the little shop window on the right, which sells breads, jams, and honey imported from Armenia to comfort homesick transplants here.
Now face across the street to confront the gigantic, yellow Gostiny Dvor shopping complex. We’ll cross over later to take a look, but for now, continue past the church. Keep an eye out on the left for #48 (look for the Пассажъ sign above the door; it’s before the ramp leading to a pedestrian underpass). Step inside and climb the stairs into the gorgeously restored, glass-roofed “Passazh” arcade, an elite haven for high-class shoppers since 1846 (daily 10:00-21:00), making it one of the first shopping malls in the world. The communists converted the Passazh into a supermarket and, later, into a “model store,” intended to leave foreigners with a (misleadingly) positive impression of the availability of goods in the USSR. These days it sells perfume, jewels, and decorative glass, giving off a genteel air as mellow music plays in the background.
• At the end of the block, use the pedestrian underpass (which also leads to a pair of convenient downtown Metro stops—Nevsky Prospekt on the blue line, and Gostiny Dvor on the green line) to cross beneath Nevsky Prospekt: Take the ramp down, turn right, then turn right again up the next ramp.
You’ll pop out of the underpass at Gostiny Dvor (which means, basically, “merchants’ courtyard”—like a Turkish caravanserai). Built in the 1760s, this marketplace is a giant but hollow structure, with two stories of shops (more than 100 in all) wrapping around a central courtyard. To see an undiscovered corner of Nevsky that most tourists miss, head upstairs: At the corner of the building nearest the underpass, go through the door and up the stairs, then find your way back outside to reach the tranquil, beautifully symmetrical arcades. Standing at the corner, the arches seem to recede in both directions nearly as far as the eye can see.
Looking out, take note of the open plaza in front of Gostiny Dvor. This is a popular place for political protests—which, in Putin’s Russia, are barely tolerated. Article 31 of the Russian constitution guarantees the freedom of assembly—a right that seems always to be in question, especially since any protest must be officially registered. To push the boundaries, on the 31st of every month, peaceful demonstrators routinely seek government permission to stage a protest here, are denied, then stage the protest anyway—only to be dutifully arrested by riot-gear-clad cops. This “Strategy-31” movement tries to keep the issue of free speech alive in the consciousness of a Russia that seems willing to let that freedom lapse.
• Go back into the underpass, and this time, stay on the right side of Nevsky Prospekt for one more block.
You’ll soon reach Ostrovsky Square (Ploshchad Ostrovskogo), a fine park anchored by a statue of Catherine the Great. While Peter the Great gets founding credit for this city, Catherine arguably made it great. A Prussian blue-blood (born in today’s Poland), Catherine married Russia’s Czar Peter III, then quickly overthrew him in a palace coup. Throughout her 34-year reign, Catherine never remarried, but she is believed to have cleverly parlayed sexual politics to consolidate her power.
On the pillar below and to the right of Catherine is Prince Grigory Potemkin, one of the statesmen and military leaders with whom Catherine collaborated and consorted. Potemkin is the namesake of a fascinating story about how even a great ruler can be fooled. After Potemkin conquered the Crimean peninsula during the Russo-Turkish War, Catherine visited to survey her new domain. To convince her that “Russification” of the Crimea had been a success, Potemkin supposedly created artificially perfect villages, with stage-set houses peopled by “Russian villagers” custom-ordered from Centralsky Casting. To this day the term “Potemkin village” describes something artificial used to hoodwink a gullible target—a term as applicable to modern Russian and American politics as it was to Catherine’s nation-building. In 1972, when President Nixon visited this city, Nevsky Prospekt itself was similarly spruced up to disguise the USSR’s economic hardships. (Because Nixon viewed the street from a limo, the authorities only fixed up the bottom two floors of each facade.)
• From the square, use the crosswalk to head back over Nevsky Prospekt.
Just across from the park is the pleasantly pedestrianized street called Malaya Sadovaya. On the corner, Yeliseevsky’s delicatessen occupies a sumptuously decorated Art Nouveau building (at #56). Once the purveyor of fine food to the Russian aristocracy (like Dallmayr’s in Munich), Yeliseevsky’s was bumped down several pegs when the communists symbolically turned it into “Grocery Store #1.” Now, in another sign of the times, it’s been remodeled into an almost laughably over-the-top boutique deli with a small, expensive café—drop in to browse the selection of cheese and chocolates (daily 10:00-23:00, photography strictly prohibited).
A few steps beyond Yeliseevsky’s, find the passage (at #60, just past the Teremok fast-food joint) leading to the Zara department store. The store fills a space once occupied by the historic Aurora (Аврора) Cinema—one of the first movie houses in St. Petersburg. Entering, you’ll step upon the original tiles and head up the grand staircase to the elegantly decorated main hall (daily 10:00-22:00).
• Continue along Nevsky Prospekt for another block and a half, until you hit the Fontanka River.
Of St. Petersburg’s many beautiful and interesting bridges, the Anichkov Bridge is one of the finest. On pillars anchoring each end are statues of a man with a horse. The ensemble, sculpted in 1841 and known collectively as The Horse Tamers, expresses humanity’s ongoing desire to corral nature. Watch the relationship between horse and man evolve: In one view, it’s a struggle, with the man overwhelmed by the wild beast’s power; in another, it’s a cooperative arrangement, with the man leading the bridled and saddled horse. Looking over the Fontanka River, it’s easy to take this as a metaphor for St. Petersburg’s relationship to the water. To survive and prosper, the city had to tame the inhospitable, swampy delta on which it is built.
• You’ve walked the most interesting stretch of Nevsky Prospekt, but if you’d like to see more of the city center, continue by foot or by bus down Nevsky for a half-mile until you reach Uprising Square (described on here; for bus numbers, see here).
Otherwise, you have several options. Just to the left along the Fontanka embankment is the exquisite Fabergé Museum (see here). To sightsee at the Russian Museum, Church on Spilled Blood, Kazan Cathedral, or Hermitage, walk back along Nevsky the way you came, or hop on a bus (see here for buses that make the trip; note that a few trolley buses veer off from the end of Nevsky for St. Isaac’s Cathedral, saving an extra 10-minute walk).
To easily reach the Peter and Paul Fortress, take the Metro: Backtrack to the underpass in front of Gostiny Dvor, find the Nevsky Prospekt station on the blue line, and ride one stop to Gorkovskaya—a short walk from the fortress.
Or, from the same Metro station, locate the Gostiny Dvor station on the green line, which you can ride one stop to the Vasileostrovskaya stop to begin my “Back Streets Walk,” described next.
Tourists in St. Petersburg typically visit just a handful of famous sights and walk the grand Nevsky Prospekt. That’s exciting, but if that’s all you do, you’ll miss the workaday city. This self-guided walk, worth ▲▲, is the remedy.
To start, ride the subway to the Vasileostrovskaya station (green line, first westbound stop after Gostiny Dvor). From this stop, you’ll walk 15 minutes (passing a local market) to the riverfront, another 15 scenic minutes along the riverfront to the Strelka viewpoint, and 15 more minutes to either the Peter and Paul Fortress or the Hermitage and Nevsky Prospekt (in opposite directions).
• Exiting the Metro station, you’ll be kitty-corner from a palatial McDonald’s. Turn right, then right again, and pause in the middle of the pedestrian street. You’re smack-dab in...
This street, called Ulitsa 7-ya Liniya/Ulitsa 6-ya Liniya (улица 7-я Линия/улица 6-я Линия), is in the center of an upscale residential zone that stretches from the city center all the way to the massive Marine Facade cruise port. Carefully planned Vasilyevsky Island has 30 numbered north/west streets (called “lines”) that cross its three big east/west thoroughfares (named “big”/bolshoy, “medium”/sredny, and “small”/maly). Each side of the street has a different number—in this case, 6 on the left, 7 on the right.
You’re standing upon what was a canal—part of the planned town that was laid out in the 1720s, during Peter the Great’s lifetime. Directly in front of the Metro station, just before the park-like center strip, notice the statue of a horse-driven tram. In the 19th century (after the canal was filled in), trams like this shuttled from river to river. The lowest buildings (on the left) date from the original 18th-century town.
Head to the center strip and stroll under the larch trees down this lively, colorful, traffic-free street—one of the oldest in the city. Gurgling fountains punctuate the walk. Look for food trucks parked on the sidewalk, selling cheap, tasty pastries. You’ll pass several chain stores: mobile phones (Мегафон—that’s “Megafon”); fast-food joints both Russian (Теремок) and American (Subway); and American-sounding chains that are actually Russian (Coffeeshop Company). Imagine this street under communism: less colorful...less tacky.
• After one very long block, on the left you’ll see a pink church.
While a church was first built here in the 1720s as part of the original street plan, the present building dates from the 1760s. Today this is a neighborhood church, where ordinary people stop by on the way home (visitors are welcome—no photos; women can borrow a scarf to cover their heads). Step inside for a totally untouristy Russian Orthodox experience (for more on the faith and the features of its churches, see here). Like most of St. Petersburg, this church echoes European styles—its Baroque exterior would be at home in Bavaria. But the interior is filled with Orthodox icons. Its iconostasis, or altar screen, survived communism. Discreetly notice the ritual: Women cover their heads, while sullen teens just flip up the hoods of their windbreakers. Upon leaving, worshippers turn back, face the church, and cross themselves. The reverence of these acts illustrates how faith has been reincorporated into Russian life in a huge way since the end of the atheistic communist era.
• Continuing past the church, you’ll reach a big intersection (Bolshoy Prospekt, “Big Avenue”). Cross the street, then detour a block to the left (cutting through the little park) to reach the yellow building with a big green Рынок sign over the gate. This is the neighborhood’s...
Poke through the gateway into the inner courtyard to find some open-air stalls, including a tasty tandoor bakery from Uzbekistan, the former Soviet republic in Central Asia (on the left as you enter the courtyard). Inside the market, wade through the clothing stalls to find the food—just follow your nose. (For strategies on enjoying a Russian market, see the sidebar on here.)
Backtrack to the street you were on (Ulitsa 6-ya Liniya), cross to the right side, and continue in the direction you were headed. After about 50 yards, pop into the historic, brick-and-stone pharmacy (on your right, Аптека). While open for business, it’s like a little museum taking you back to 1908 (Mon-Fri 9:00-21:00).
• Detour around the pharmacy (leaving the building, take three left turns) for a quick look at some...
While these are a bit sterile, you can imagine how they originally served as a mews (stables). Throughout the town, formal parade entries to grand buildings face the front, while the rough “back entries” are for servants and the poor. With the 1917 Revolution, larger buildings were divided up to house many families—Doctor Zhivago-style. Partitions were put into staircases, and bathrooms were retrofitted into kitchens. Vast blocks were divided into a series of courtyards, with apartments becoming cheaper the deeper they were buried. Walking around town, you can see how fine 19th-century features survive on some buildings, and other buildings—shelled in World War II—were rebuilt more simply in the 1950s and 1960s. Continue walking around the old pharmacy block—exploring the unpolished back sides of 18th- and 19th-century buildings, and peeking into courtyards and playgrounds—then turn left again to return to the main street.
• Turn right, and notice the yellow building with sculpted heads over the windows, just before the river. This is the...
This was where big brains lived in the 18th century, and in Soviet times it functioned as a residential think tank. Each of the black plaques between the windows honors a great Russian scientist. The blue plaque by the door identifies the former apartment of Ivan Pavlov. If that name rings a bell, it’s because he famously studied conditioned responses (and was the first Russian to win a Nobel Prize).
• Continuing along, you’ll pop out at the...
You’re separated from the nicely pedestrianized embankment by a busy highway. (The nearest crosswalk is one very long block to your right, as you face the river.)
To your left, the Annunciation (Blagoveshchensky) Bridge, from 1850, was the first permanent bridge over the Neva.
Just to your right, notice the many cargo ships stacked up along the embankment. St. Petersburg is at the mouth of the Neva River, but its 342 bridges impede the progress of ships wanting to head upstream. The solution: Each night, from about 1:30 to 5:00 in the morning, drawbridges throughout the city center open, allowing cargo boats to proceed. Boats arriving during the day tie up here to wait their turn. From here, ships can go upstream and reach either the Arctic Sea (far to the north) or the Black Sea (far to the south) via a series of industrial canals built in Soviet times to connect the Neva with the great rivers of Russia’s interior.
• From here, you have two choices: Head right, to the Schmidt embankment and Optina Pustyn Church (described next), or walk left to the Strelka viewpoint, from where you can circle around to either the Peter and Paul Fortress or the Hermitage (described later, under “Sights in St. Petersburg”).
Turning right, the fine riverside promenade is lined with muscular Russian-made ships (note their ports of registry painted on their sterns). A stroll along here leads to the Schmidt embankment, where smaller, luxury cruise ships tie up. St. Petersburg is Russia’s leading port, and looking downstream, you can see the huge cranes that are part of its big shipbuilding and shipping industry. Although marine shipping is still important to St. Petersburg, imagine when the town was newly founded in the early 18th century, and the only real access was by sea.
• Across from the Schmidt embankment is a dazzling gold-domed church.
This is one of the many branch churches of the Eastern Orthodox Optina monastery. Step inside to enjoy one of St. Petersburg’s most beautiful church interiors—with splendid frescoes, ornate icons, and shimmering gold (daily 8:00-20:00; tourists welcome but be discreet). Repurposed by the communists, this house of worship spent time as a hockey rink. Restorers even found a hard-hit puck still embedded in one wall. Now the building has reclaimed its sacred purpose, and its male choir is one of Russia’s most beloved. Its café and bookshop face the busy embankment road.