Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Summer Gardens (Letny Sad)
This is the place to rest on a bench after a day
of visiting museums, or to escape from the crush of city sidewalks—or to imagine how
Peter the Great spent his summer afternoons. Peter brought in marble Renaissance-era
statues from Italy to give the park a more European feel. He and his successors threw
grand receptions here with dancing, drinking, and fireworks under the endless sun of
the White Nights. Summer Palace is open to visitors, its rooms re-created as they
would have been in Peter's time.
Entrance from Kutuzov Embankment (Naberezhnya Kutuzova) or Panteleimon Bridge (Panteleimonovsky Most). Park
daily 10am-10pm; admission charged during festivals. Summer Palace Wed-Sun 10:30am-5pm. Tickets $2 (£1).
Metro: Gostiny Dvor or Gorkovskaya.
Peterhof Palace and Park (Petrodvorets)
Unquestionably the number-
one day trip from St. Petersburg, Peterhof lures visitors with its Versailles-inspired
palace, overlooking a cascade of fountains and gardens opening onto the Baltic Sea.
Start with the
Great Palace,
built in 1715 by Jean Baptiste Leblond, and be pre-
pared to squint at all the gold inside. Many visitors say the palace feels too magnifi-
cent to live in—and Peter felt the same, preferring
Monplaisir,
a small baroque
bungalow close to the water's edge that was the first building in the Peterhof complex.
In the lush park, the Monplaisir house, the small red-and-white Hermitage, and the
Marly Palace
(with a carved wood desk that Peter himself made) are well worth
exploring, too. Before heading down into the park, spend a moment on the palace bal-
cony to take in the view of the greenery and the
Grand Cascade
from above. Be sure
to see
Samson Fountain,
with the biblical strongman tearing apart the jaws of a lion,
symbolizing Peter's victory over Sweden in 1709.
Boat trips are the best way to get to Peterhof from mid-May to early October, not
least because of the breathtaking view of the palace as you pull up to the Peterhof pier.
Russian Cruises
(
&
812/974-0100;
www.russian-cruises.ru) is well equipped and
offers English-language commentary. From October to May the best way to go is by
bus. Russian vendors hawk trips on direct buses from Nevsky Prospekt metro station.
2 Razvodnaya Ulitsa.
&
812/427-9527.
Admission to the palace costs $12 (£6) adults, $6 (£3) college students and
children; admission to the park alone costs $7 (£4) adults, $3.50 (£2) students and children. The palace is open
Tues-Sat 10:30am-5pm (closed last Tues of each month). Monplaisir and other buildings on the grounds have differ-
ent hours.
WALKING TOUR
ST. PETERSBURG HIGHLIGHTS
This tour, starting at Palace Square, links key St. Petersburg sights with less important
ones. The side streets and embankments are just as crucial to understanding the city
as are the palaces, so look at everything, even between stops. Allow 2 hours.
1
Palace Square
Stand at the Alexander Column in the
center and turn around slowly, a full 360
degrees. Each building on the asymmetri-
cal square emerged in a different era but
they combine to create a flawless ensem-
ble. Nothing in this view, or this city, is
accidental. Imagine the royal equipages
pulling into the square, the czarist army
processions, the revolutionaries' resent-
ment of all the square stood for—and the
Communist-era appropriation of the
square for holiday parades.
