Saint Petersburg Russia
Russia
Frequently Asked Questions
At the Marine Façade terminal, built on land reclaimed from the Gulf of Finland at the tip of Vasilievsky Island. The historic centre is not walkable: plan on a short taxi or coach ride.
No. The Marine Façade terminal sits well out on Vasilievsky Island. A taxi or the excursion coach is essential, though the ride is short.
The Hermitage, even if you see only a fraction of it, then the Church of the Saviour on Spilled Blood and a stretch of Nevsky Prospect. A canal cruise rounds out the day nicely if time allows.
Choose before you go in. The Hermitage is among the largest museums in the world, with collections running from antiquities to Rembrandt and Matisse. A port call shows a fraction of it: two wings seen properly beat ten at a run.
Two, if you can. The Church of the Saviour on Spilled Blood, bristling with multicoloured domes, is covered in mosaics from floor to vaults. A few streets away, St Isaac's Cathedral plays a different tune: monumental granite columns and a gilded dome.
The legendary avenue of Russian literature, running several kilometres through the centre past palaces, arcades and historic cafés. Walk at least a stretch of it, between the Anichkov Bridge and the curved colonnade of Kazan Cathedral.
Yes, on the Moyka or the Fontanka, and it justifies the Venice of the North nickname. It is also the best way to understand the city: St Petersburg was designed to be seen from the water.
Only on a two-day call, which is common here. Peterhof's terraced gardens line up dozens of gilded fountains that run with no pumps at all, by gravity alone. The Grand Cascade, facing the sea, justifies the hydrofoil trip on its own.
Because Peter the Great wanted Russia to have a window on Europe. He built the imperial capital on the marshes of the Neva, and the city now spreads its palaces, canals and gilded domes across a chequerboard of banks and islands inscribed on the World Heritage list.
The Russian rouble and Russian. Bring cash: foreign-issued cards cannot be relied on. English turns up in the major museums and tourist services, less so elsewhere.
