Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
17
Side Trips from
St. Petersburg
Anywhere you go outside St.
Petersburg will give you new perspective
on the city's geography and its place in
Russia's history. Whether you want to
breathe fresh air, delight in country palaces
of the nobility, or see rural architecture,
branching out from the city is well worth
a day or so of your trip.
Peterhof, Pavlovsk, and Pushkin (Tsar-
skoye Tselo—home of the ill-fated Amber
Room) house three of the most spectacular
summer estates of the Romanov czars and
most tour groups and individual tourists
visit at least one of them. I recommend the
same, though avoid them on rainy days.
The extensive, landscaped parklands
around the palaces are as much a part of
the trip as the overly gilded interiors. The
towns, charming in their own right, never-
theless remind you why Peter chose to base
his capital elsewhere, on the river-crossed
delta opening to the Baltic Sea.
The other destinations listed here
reflect entirely different chapters in Rus-
sian history. Vyborg is a 13th-century
town that has been Swedish, Finnish, and
Karelian (an ethnic group based in what is
now northwest Russia and eastern Fin-
land) as well as Russian, and its architec-
ture and mind-set are nothing like those of
Peter the Great's Enlightenment-era capi-
tal. Kronshtadt is an island fortress that
once served as a Viking rest stop but later
became a major Soviet naval base closed to
outsiders. It's now open to tourists and
makes for a fascinating day trip.
All these destinations are best appreci-
ated with a tour guide unless you know a
lot about them before you go. Peterhof
and Kronshtadt are fairly easy to reach on
your own, and both can be accessed by
boat in the warmer months. The other
destinations require multiple modes of
transportation, making them better candi-
dates for an organized tour.
1
PETERHOF
PETRODVORETS
30km (19 miles) W of St. Petersburg
Unquestionably the number-one day trip from St. Petersburg, Peterhof lures visitors with
its Versailles-inspired palace, which overlooks a cascade of fountains and gardens opening
onto the Baltic Sea. This scene is much better appreciated from April to October, when
the Grand Cascade is flowing and the park is in bloom. Going to Peter the Great's sum-
mer palace by ferry or hydrofoil enhances the pleasure of the experience, giving you a
sense of Peter's maritime ambitions and of the region's role as Russia's western frontier.
The boat ride and extensive park make this a great summer outing for kids.
ESSENTIALS
You'll get much more out of Peterhof if the weather is clear, since a major part of the
experience is seeing the fountains (Apr-Oct) and wandering the grounds. The trip can
