I spent almost 2 months in Saint Petersburg in total. This city has a special place in my heart. It’s the place where I had the time of my life. It’s the place where I did my first volunteering which changed the way I travel. So am I able to accurately tell what are the top things to see in St. Petersburg, Russia?
Seven weeks is a lot of time. Even though there’s still so many places I don’t know in Saint Petersburg, I can show you a perfect plan to visiting the most important and the most interesting places in the city. Following this plan will let you use your limited time the most efficiently.
Top things to see in St Petersburg, Russia
Day 1
Start your day arriving to Nevski Prospekt metro station. It’s in the very heart of the city and you can reach the most beautiful and top places to see in St. Petersburg on foot from there. When you go out of the station the first thing you will see is Kazan Cathedral. If you turn your back to it you will see, in my opinion, one of the most beautiful buildings in the world – Church of Savior on Blood
Church of Savior on Blood
The church was built by tsar Alexander III in the place where his father was killed in a bombing attack by a revolutionary organization. He wanted the building to stand out in the baroque and neoclassical architecture and therefore the church is inspired by medieval Russian style.
There is so many places to visit in Saint Petersburg but I could spend hours looking at this church only. I think it’s one of my favorite buildings in the world. If I had to choose just one top thing to see in St. Petersburg, Russia – that’s the one!
Read more about the Church of Savior on Blood in a separate post.
Palace Square
Just a short walk from the Church of Savior on Blood you will find the Palace Square. Walk along Nevsky Prospect and turn into Bolshaya Morskaya street. It will take you through impressive arches in the building of the General Staff. Right in front you will see the Winter Palace with the famous Hermitage Museum.
It’s an important place in the history of Petersburg and Russia – let’s only mention that the first person to live in the palace was Catherine the Great and it was the first building taken by the Bolsheviks at the beginning of October revolution. Don’t go to the Hermitage on your first day, you need a lot of time and energy for it.
In the center of the square you will find a monumental Alexander Column raised after Russia won over Napoleon’s France. The column is made of one huge piece of granite. On top of it an angel smashes a snake with a cross and is a symbol of triumph over evil.
Spit of Vasilyevsky Island
The eastern end of Vasilyevsky Island with its two rostral columns is another top thing to see in Saint Petersburg, Russia. It’s popular among tourists for a reason – it’s a perfect viewpoint at Peter and Paul Fortress, Neva River, Winter Palace and the dome of St. Isaac’s cathedral.
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St. Isaac’s Cathedral & the Bronze Horseman
From the Spit walk along Admiralty Embankment towards the Bronze Horseman – a monument offered to Peter I by Catherine II. The monument stands on a so called Thunder Stone, the biggest stone ever moved by humans. The legend says that till the Bronze Horseman stands in the city, no enemy will conquer it. That’s why during the II World War the monument was protected with sandbags and a wooden building. That’s how it wasn’t destroyed by bombs – and Saint Petersburg wasn’t conquered.
From the Bronze Horseman it’s just a quick walk through Alexander Garden to Saint Isaac’s Cathedral, a monumental building with a dome covered with a thin layer of pure gold. It’s the biggest cathedral in Saint Petersburg and the fourth biggest dome building in the world.
Make sure to visit it inside and climb up to the viewing platform at the colonnade, one of the best ones you can see in St. Petersburg.
Read more about St. Isaac’s Cathedral in a separate post.
Peter and Paul Fortress
If you have enough strength you can walk to Peter and Paul Fortress from St. Isaac’s Cathedral through Nevski Prospekt, Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood, Field of Mars and Trinity Bridge. It adds 3,5 km to your walk but it’s an amazing part, especially because of the view you have from Trinity Bridge. You can also take the metro and arrive to Gor’kovskaya metro station on blue line.
While crossing the bridge on the way to the Fortress, don’t forget to throw a coin on the hare, the symbol of Hare Island. They say that if you manage to hit the rabbit and make the coin stay on its base you will have good luck. There probably is a small fortune lying down in the water already…. 🙂
In the fortress there is a lot of choice of museums and points of interest. You can see Saints Peter and Paul Cathedral with the tombs of Russian tsars (read more about it here), you can climb up the fortress walls, visit the museum of the history of Saint Petersburg and not only – check the list of all available exhibitions here.
Or you can relax on the beach right outside the fortress 🙂 Just please, don’t go into Neva River like some do, it’s extremely polluted…
Mosque in Saint Petersburg, Russia
Close to the fortress there is an impressive mosque of Saint Petersburg with its outstanding turquoise dome and portals. If the gates are open go inside too. I was inside back in 2014 and it is so impressive. This time the gates were closed unfortunately but still I enjoyed watching it from the outside.
Aurora
Aurora is a Russian cruiser. One of many war ships turned into a museum, you could say. But Aurora has an important place in Russian and Saint Petersburg’s history. It is believed that its blank shot gave a signal to start the Bolsheviks’ assault on Winter Palace – and began the October Revolution.
If you are interested in the museum, go on deck – check the opening hours and prices here. You can also just look at Aurora from the shore, as a monument, an important representative of the country’s history.
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Day 2
The Hermitage
No matter if you’re interested in art or not, you need to go to the Hermitage. It’s not only the largest museum of art and culture in the world, it’s also an immense and beautiful palace, winter residence of the tsars. That’s why it’s one of the top things you need to see in St. Petersburg even if you know nothing about art.
You can spend the whole day in the Hermitage easily. I’ve been there three times already and I still feel like I haven’t seen everything.
Make sure to take a map. The rooms have numbers and you will see them over each door. Check where you are and where you will go next. Walking around this museum without a plan is not working – you won’t see even half of it. And you won’t have an idea which half is still missing 🙂
If you’re there in high touristic season make sure to arrive to the Hermitage before opening and wait in the queue for the gates to open. The later you arrive the more people is there and you might not be able to see the most famous paintings without squeezing between a group of 50 people blocking your way. Despite being in the museum early, last time we haven’t seen the only painting by Leonardo Da Vinci in the Hermitage because of the crowds.