Saint-Petersburg

St. Petersburg is a relatively young (300 years of history) and the most European of all Russian cities. Its architecture was created by mostly Italian architects. As in everything that happens in Russia, in the image of the city there is no direct imitation, and its own unique style has been worked out.

It is difficult to understand Petersburg for a tourist who came here for 2-3 days. If you stay up late, you can see the White Nights, which last from the end of May to the end of July. You can also see raising of the bridges accompanied by the music of Tchaikovsky, try day and night boat riding along the rivers and canals, festivals with fireworks and concerts. The city does not sleep and neither do our tourists.

5-8 days in St. Petersburg give a less chaotic picture of what is happening, you get a better understanding of the city, start to feel it. The tourist begins to feel at home here. Be careful not to get addicted! That’s because the city welcomes any foreigner in a friendly manner, it has been so from the very beginning of its foundation. Do not be offended if you are not answered a question, maybe the locals wanted to help and answer, but did not know how. More days in the city mean a chance to see more: Gatchina, Konstantinovsky Palace, Oranienbaum, Kronstadt, a chance to go to Valaam, Novgorod, discover a new cozy place and have a nice time with a cup of coffee.

St. Petersburg is not only the city of White Nights, the season lasts from April to mid-October. Christmas and New Year are also a reason to see the city, you will not be cold!

How to get to St.Petersburg

The location of the city easily allows you to get to it from other countries and cities and make a good combination of cities on your route. From Helsinki it takes 4 hours to get to St. Petersburg by the Allegro train, there is also bus and railway communication with Tallinn, Riga, Minsk.

The high-speed Sapsan train goes from Moscow and St.Petersburg 6 times a day and covers the distance of almost 800 km for 4 hours. If there is no direct airplane, it is not an excuse for not coming.

Time zone

St. Petersburg is in the same time zone as Moscow. In winter time difference with most European countries is 2 hours, in summer it is only 1 hour.

We recommend you to make the standard tour brighter and add the following to the program:

Faberge museum

A relatively new museum (opened in 2013) in the building of the Shuvalov Palace on the Fontanka near Anichkov Bridge. It has the richest collection of the Faberge family’s works: tsar’s gifts and utensils. In addition to this, you can see the beautiful interiors and a collection of paintings. The aim of the founders of the museum is to search for lost masterpieces and return them to Russia. It has been successfully implemented: at the moment the collection consists of 4000 items.

Exhibitions of internationally recognized artists, such as Frida Kahlo and Modigliani, are oftern held there.aberge museum.

Konstantinovsky palace

25 km from St.Petersburg

The palace rose from the ashes like a Phoenix and became the official residence of the President of the Russian Federation in 2003.

Interiors of the palace can be seen during the broadcasts of foreign leaders’ visits. This is the place of summits and official receptions.

The palace can be visited by groups of tourists, only if the time is booked in advance by the travel company.

The tour includes the enfilade of the ceremonial rooms and living rooms of the Konstantinovsky Palace, official apartments of the President of the Russian Federation and rooms for meetings in an informal atmosphere. It allows you to get a complete picture of the history of the Strelna Palace and Park Ensemble and its modern function as the «Palace of Congresses».

In the basements of the palace there is a storage with a collection of wines from Hungary, Chile, South Africa, Germany, Austria and Israel, which can be tasted during a specially ordered tour.

Gatchina

32 km to Pavlovsk, 50 km from St.Petersburg

If you are going to Pskov or from Pskov, don’t forget to squeeze a visit to Gatchina into the program.

Gatchina was the official residence of emperor Pavel the First. The palace was surrounded by forests and built in the style of English castles.

The local nature was transformed by architects and landscape designers and turned into a beautiful park with lakes, islands, bridges and pavilions. To have a view of the whole Gatchina, you can climb the Signal Tower of the Palace. To feel the romanticism of the place you need to go to the underground tunnel leading from the palace to the lake. In the Armory gallery there is a beautiful collection of hunting weapons.

Restorers work hard in Gatchina, and, thanks to their efforts, new halls have been constantly opened. The interiors of the halls are great: those are the best projects of the architect Vincenzo Brenna.

Oranienbaum,

55 km from St.Petersburg

This suburban residence of a close friend of Peter the First, Alexander Menshikov. It was created at the same time with the Konstantinovsky Palace and the Peterhof residence at the beginning of the 18th century for official receptions. It is interesting to visit the Great Menshikov Palace, as well as the Chinese Palace built by the architect Rinaldi for Catherine the Second. The Glass Beaded Salon of the Chinese palace with all its beauty can compete with the famous Amber Room in Tsarskoe Selo. It is a masterpiece in the world of palace interiors.

The Palace ensemble and the city centre are UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

Kronshtadt, 52 km from St.Petersburg

Kronshtadt is located on an island in the Gulf of Finland and connected with the land by a dike. The dike of Kronshtadt is a 20 km road, which serves as a protection from floods for St. Petersburg.

Kronshtadt (“the crown town”) was founded on the 7th of May in 1704 by Peter the Great as a fortress and a barrier from the enemies’ navy and a military base of the Russian Navy.

In the Soviet era Kronshtadt was a closed military town and port. It was opened for the public and tourists in 1996.

It is included in the list of world heritage of UNESCO.

St. Nikolas Navy Cathedral is the main highlight of the city.

Russian Literature and writers in St.Petersburg

You can go on a city tour around sights connected with Pushkin, Dostoyevsky, Nabokov, their schools, houses, monuments and cathedrals. We visit one of the museums, telling about the life and work of the writers. We walk in the area, where the Dostoyevsky characters lived. We have lunch in a historical and bohemian place of the city. You will see the city from a different angle.

Cooking master-class:

At a lesson in the culinary school, we cook Russian cuisine in a great manner. The dishes we cook:

— Baked whole pikeperch in sour cream stuffed with buckwheat, boletus mushrooms and eggs

— “Kulebyaka” – a pie with meat, mushrooms, baked turnips and onions

— Pozharsky meatballs with mashed turnips and onion sauce

— Fish soup with pies

— The king of Pies — «Kurnik» — with three fillings

— Vinaigrette with fried carp fillet and caviar jelly

The lesson lasts 2,5 to 3 hours. After the lesson you eat the food you cooked.

Saint-Petersburg

How to get to St.Petersburg

Time zone

Hotels in St.Petersburg

Hotels 5*

Hotels 4*

Hotels 3*