Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
61
a 4km-long (2
1
⁄
2
-mile) avenue that slices
across the city center roughly northwest to
southeast. The city retains a coherent cen-
ter even as it has expanded north, east, and
south in recent decades. (The sea stops it
from expanding westward.) Museums,
hotels, and shopping are conveniently
concentrated in and around Nevsky and
the historical downtown. Train and bus
stations are all attached to the subway
system, which is fast and efficient even
though the city has outgrown its over-
crowded four lines.
Today's St. Petersburg houses five mil-
lion residents and, like Moscow, is both
dense and territorially large. That means a
lot of walking even within the city center,
but St. Petersburg is not nearly as unwieldy
or overwhelming as its southern sister.
Addresses in Russia are often perplex-
ing, so don't be afraid to ask for detailed
directions. (See “Address Advice” in chap-
ter 4.) It's also a good idea to carry your
hotel business card with you, to show taxi
drivers the name written in Russian to
avoid misunderstandings.
By Public Transportation
The
St. Petersburg Metro
is a fast, cheap,
and extraordinarily deep subway system
that every visitor should try out at least
once. Station entrances are marked with a
big blue letter
M.
The four-line system is
easy to follow, with each line color-coded
and transfers clearly marked—though
usually in Russian only. This is where it's
highly useful to learn the Cyrillic alphabet
(see alphabet lesson and glossary in chap-
ter 19). Trains run from 5:45am to
12:15am. Each train car has a metro map
inside to consult, though it's a good idea to
carry one with you (they're available free at
all ticket counters). The trains run quite
frequently but the system is insufficient
for the size of the city and doesn't serve
many of the key tourist attractions. It can
3
Drawbridge Dilemma
The drawbridges that span the Neva are both a charming attraction and a
logistical consideration for St. Petersburg's tourists. They remain down during
the day for automobile and foot traffic, but lift in the middle of the night in a
carefully synchronized performance to allow shipping traffic from the Baltic
Sea into Russia's inland rivers. That means you want to be sure to be on the
same side of the river as your hotel when night falls, or else you may be stuck
for a few hours.
The main bridges are up at roughly the following times, with minor adjust-
ments each year:
Volodarskiy:
2 to 3:45am and 4:15 to 5:45am
Alexandra Nevskogo:
2:20 to 5:10am
Liteiny:
1:50 to 4:40am
Troitskiy:
1:40 to 4:50am
Dvortsovy:
1:25 to 4:55am
Blagoveshchenksy (formerly Leytenanta Shmidta):
1:25 to 2:45 and 3:10 to 5am
Birzhevoy:
2 to 4:55am
Tuchkov:
2 to 2:55 and 3:35 to 4:55am
Finlyandsky:
2 to 5:30am
Bolshoi Okhtinsky:
2 to 5am
