Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
209
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THE BEST OF ST. PETERSBURG IN 1 DAY
This blitz tour begins at Palace Square and the Hermitage, for an intense morning of
history and art that provides context for the rest of the St. Petersburg experience. The
semicircle of sights surrounding this nucleus provides a sense of the careful vision the
city's designers infused into their masterpiece. A walk along the embankment and across
the Neva to the Peter and Paul Fortress rounds out the day. An optional stroll along
Nevsky Prospekt is reserved for evening, when the avenue lacks its midday intensity.
Note:
Don't do this tour on Monday, when the Hermitage is closed.
Start:
Metro Nevsky
Prospekt. Then follow Nevsky west to Bolshaya Morskaya Ulitsa and turn right, entering
Palace Square through the arch.
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Palace Square (Dvortsovaya
Ploshchad)
Site of czarist processions, raucous impe-
rial revelry, revolutionary riots, Soviet dis-
plays of worker unity, and anti-Communist
demonstrations, Palace Square encapsu-
lates St. Petersburg's rich and troubled
300-year history. The best way to enter it
is through the Triumphal Arch from
Nevsky Prospekt. If you get here before
10am, you'll have it mostly to yourself and
have plenty of time to explore its facets
before the Hermitage opens at 10:30am.
See “Around Palace Square” in chapter 14
for more information.
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State Hermitage Museum
With a collection second in size only to
that of the Louvre, the Hermitage would
be an international treasure even if it were
housed in a concrete warehouse. But its
packaging, the resplendent Winter Palace,
enhances the experience of viewing world
art from the ancient Egyptians to the
French Impressionists. Entering through
the tranquil courtyard, you forget that the
mighty Neva River splashes against the
palace's other face. Get a map at the
entrance—or even better, print one out
from the museum website before you leave
home—and plan your visit in order to
avoid exhaustion. See p. 247 for a com-
plete review.
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LITERATURNOYE CAFÉ
A city landmark perched on the corner of
Moika Canal and Nevsky Prospekt, this
cafe plays up its past as a haunt of Alexan-
der Pushkin and other 19th- and 20th-
century poets and writers. The first floor
has been taken over by a KFC, but the
second floor is great for a cup of tea or a
midday meal overlooking the city in a
cozy setting. The terrace is nice on a sum-
mer day, but awfully tiny. The cafe is
located at 18 Nevsky Prospekt (
&
812/
312-6057
). See p. 238 for a full review.
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Moika
For a reminder of the city's swampy past,
wander the embankment of Moika Canal
as it heads south from Nevsky Prospekt.
You'll pass little commerce and few tour-
ists, but you'll see quaint arched bridges
closer in scale and style to those of western
Europe than to Moscow. An exception is
the Blue Bridge between St. Isaac's Cathe-
dral and City Hall, a cast-iron bridge so
wide that you don't notice the water under
it. Note the Stroganov Palace on the oppo-
site bank. The Moika's more remote banks
inspired philosophical and suicidal strolls
by Dostoyevsky's heroes. Many of the his-
toric buildings you pass are rather dilapi-
dated and look better from a distance or at
dusk.
