Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
SUGGESTED ITINERARIES
If You Have
1
Day
Begin at
Palace Square
and the
Her-
mitage,
for an intense morning of history
and art that provides context for the rest
of the St. Petersburg experience. Next,
take your pick from the sights on the
“walking tour”
later in this section, fol-
lowed by a visit to the
Peter and Paul
Fortress
and an evening stroll along
Nevsky Prospekt.
If You Have
2
Days
Use your second day to take in the mas-
terpieces of the
Russian Museum,
then
visit the eye-catching
Church on the
Spilled Blood,
the sculpted
Summer
Gardens,
and the prestigious banks of the
Fontanka River.
Shop in
Gostiny Dvor,
then use this evening for a visit to the
renowned
Mariinsky Theater.
If You Have
3
Days
A third day offers an ideal opportunity to
whiz up the Baltic Coast to
Peterhof,
the
palace Peter modeled partly on Versailles.
The ride itself—on hydrofoil or ferry—is
part of the adventure, offering a seafarers'
view of the city and surrounding forest.
Catch the ferry at the piers on Dvortso-
vaya Naberezhnaya in front of the Winter
Palace.
THE TOP ATTRACTIONS
The State Hermitage Museum and the Winter Palace
The Winter
Palace would be a museum itself even if it didn't hold the Hermitage Museum, one of
the world's largest and most valuable collections of fine art. The permanent collection
which, among other treasures, includes more French artworks than any museum out-
side France. Hall no. 185 to 189 are worth a glance even if their labels
RUSSIAN CUL
-
TURE
and
STATE ROOMS
don't enthrall you. The Pavilion Hall, with mosaic tables and
floors, marble fountains, engineering marvels, and a wraparound view, is a favorite for
the whole family. The Impressionist and more recent works, including two rooms of
early Picasso, are a must-see, Planning is key to any Hermitage visit, and an online
tour can be a great preparation. Allow yourself a full morning or afternoon in the Her-
mitage itself—or a full day, if you can spare it. You won't regret it.
1 Palace Sq. Entrance to Hermitage main collection: through courtyard of Winter Palace, from Palace Sq.
&
812/110-9079.
www.hermitage.ru. Admission to Hermitage Museum $13 (£7) adults, $3 (£2) students with ID,
free for those under 18. English tours for up to 5 people by official museum guides $55 (£28). Admission to other
buildings in the Hermitage collection is $7.50 (£4) for each one, or you can buy a $25(£14) ticket that allows entrance
to the main museum and 3 others of your choice over the course of 1 day. Main museum Tues-Sat 10:30am-6pm;
Sun and Russian holidays 10:30am-5pm. Ticket office closes 1 hr. before museum closing. Metro: Nevsky Prospekt.
Peter and Paul Fortress (Petropavlovskaya Krepost)
Peter and Paul
Fortress was one of Peter the Great's masterpieces. The citadel occupies small Hare's
Island (Zaichy Ostrov) across from the Winter Palace, and contains a notable cathe-
dral, the Museum of City History, a mint, an old printing house, a former political
prison, and a long stretch of sandy beach packed with bathers in the summer.
Peter
and Paul Cathedral
, named after the city's patron saints and erected in 1723,
was St. Petersburg's first stone church. Two highlights are
walking along the fortress's
southern walls
(tickets can be purchased for about 50¢ (25p) at the stairs on either
end); and watching (and hearing) the
daily cannon blast
at noon.
The fortress is on
Zaichy Ostrov
(
Hare's Island;
&
812/230-0340;
metro: Gorkovskaya). Entrance to the fortress
grounds is free. Admission to cathedral and other museums on the grounds costs $4.25 (£2) adults, $2 (£1) children.
