10 Things to Do in St. Petersburg, Russia
St. Petersburg is the most theatrical city I have ever walked through. Built on a swamp by decree, it rose as a stage set of palaces, golden spires, and wide canals, all under a pale northern light. I spent five days there and was still rushing at the end, because the place simply refuses to be seen in a hurry. Plan for at least three full days and pace yourself.
Spend a day in the Hermitage
The State Hermitage in the Winter Palace is not a museum you finish, it is a palace you surrender to. Green and white halls, gilded state rooms, and masterpiece after masterpiece from Rembrandt to da Vinci. Book your ticket online and go early, then accept that you will only see a fraction and be glad for it. It is exhausting and unforgettable, so plan breaks in the cafes and courtyards to catch your breath.
Take a canal cruise
St. Petersburg is built on islands and threaded with canals, and the bridges are its signature. A boat ride under the low arches gives you the city from its best angle, past painted facades and the dome of St. Isaac’s. Go in the evening when the light turns soft, and if you are there in summer, stay out for the white nights when the sky barely darkens.
Climb St. Isaac’s Cathedral colonnade
For the classic panorama, climb the 260 stairs to the colonnade of St. Isaac’s Cathedral. The view spreads across rooftops, the Admiralty, and the Neva river, and on a clear day it is unbeatable. Do the cathedral interior first, all marble and malachite, then earn the view with the climb. Go early to dodge the tour groups that pipe up the staircase.
Visit the Peterhof fountains
Catch a hydrofoil to Peterhof, the summer palace called the Russian Versailles. The Grand Cascade of gilded fountains is the main event, and the lower park is huge and easy to lose hours in. Time your visit so the fountains are running, which they are during the warm season, and bring walking shoes for the grounds, because the park is bigger than it looks from the terrace.
See the Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood
The multi colored onion domes of the Savior on Spilled Blood make it the most photographed building in the city. Inside, the walls are covered in a dense mosaic of biblical scenes, work that took decades. It is bright where the Hermitage is dark, and it rewards an hour of craning your neck to follow the gold scenes overhead.
Walk along the Nevsky Prospekt
The main avenue is the spine of the city, running from the Admiralty to the Alexander Nevsky Monastery. Walk it once the whole way, past the shopping arcades, the Kazan Cathedral, and the pastry shops. Look up at the facades and the balconies, because the detail at street level hides the true grandeur. Stop for coffee at a historic patisserie along the way and watch the city cross this great boulevard.
Visit the Yusupov Palace
The Yusupov Palace on the Moika river is smaller than the Winter Palace and somehow more intimate, with its own theater and the room where Rasputin was murdered. The guided tour tells the story in vivid detail, and the restored interiors are gorgeous. It is a break from the crowds and one of the city’s best guided visits, with the family’s rich history laid out room by room.
See the State Russian Museum
Across the square from the main palaces, the State Russian Museum holds the country’s finest collection of Russian art, from icons to the avant garde of Malevich and Kandinsky. It is calmer than the Hermitage and gives you the specifically Russian story that the big museum glides past. Go for the interwar works if you have limited time, because those rooms are the strongest in the building.
Catch the opening of the bridges at night
In the summer, the drawbridges over the Neva rise in the small hours to let ships pass, and the whole city gathers on the embankments to watch. Lights on the water, palatial facades around you, and the great bridges splitting open is a scene that will stay with you. Time it, because it happens once a night and you do not want to be stranded on the wrong island when the spans go up.
Eat and drink like a local
Skip the tourist menus and find the dumpling houses and the blini places, joining the lines where locals queue. Try the borscht, the pelmeni, and the honey cake, and finish with a glass of mulled wine or a local craft beer. The food is heartier and more varied than you expect, and the cafes make a great place to rest between palaces, with clever interiors and strong coffee.
St. Petersburg demands energy and rewards it with spectacle. Pace your palaces, take the boat, and let the white nights weave their spell, and you will understand why people fall for this city.
