Saint Petersburg is the most European city in Russia, and next to Moscow you feel that difference within the first hour. Canals, bridges, low buildings and wide avenues. In summer there are the white nights, when you can read a book at two in the morning, while the bridges are raised and the city is cut in two. Below I have written how to divide the city into three or four days.
Saint Petersburg in brief
| Country | Russia; 5 million people |
| Money | Roubles, cash only; foreign cards do not work |
| Visa | 90 days visa-free for citizens of Azerbaijan |
| Best time | June for the white nights, May and September for quiet |
| Getting there | Direct flight from Baku, or the Sapsan via Moscow |
| How many days | Three days for the city, a fourth for the palaces |
The Hermitage and Nevsky Prospekt in Saint Petersburg
The Hermitage is one of the largest museums in the world and seeing all of it in one day is not possible. Buy the ticket online; the queue is sometimes two hours. Inside, pick a route for yourself — the ceremonial rooms of the Winter Palace and the Impressionist collection are the parts that stay with you most.
Nevsky Prospekt is the city’s main axis, and the Kazan cathedral, the Yeliseyev store and the Church of the Saviour on Spilled Blood are all on that line. The mosaics of the last one astonish you from inside, and the ticket is bought separately. If you climb the colonnade of Saint Isaac’s cathedral, the city’s roofs are in the palm of your hand.
The palaces: Peterhof and Tsarskoye Selo
Peterhof is forty minutes from the city, and in summer going by the fast boat called the Meteor is the best option. The fountains of the lower park work without pumps, by pressure alone, and are open from the middle of May to October. In winter the fountains are switched off, so check the season.
Tsarskoye Selo, the town of Pushkin, is known for the Catherine Palace and the famous Amber Room. The number of tickets is limited and in summer they run out in the morning. Pavlovsk is quieter and its park is lovely. You cannot fit these three palaces into one day — choose one, and taking the day programme in advance settles the queue question.
The white nights and the bridges
From the end of May to the middle of July night does not fall; the sky simply dims a little. In that period the city is alive at one in the morning and there are people on the embankments. After one o’clock the bridges over the Neva are raised so that ships can pass. The sight is magnificent, but there is one condition: once the bridge is up, you cannot cross to the other bank.
So know which bank your hotel is on and build the night programme around it. The canal boat tours work by day and by night and show you the city from an entirely different angle.
Transport and money in Saint Petersburg
The metro is deep and the escalators are long, but it is fast. The Podorozhnik card works on all transport. Plan all your spending in cash: Azerbaijani cards do not work here either. From Pulkovo airport to the centre takes forty minutes by bus and metro, and half an hour by taxi. There is a direct flight from Baku, and comparing the flight prices with the option via Moscow sometimes works out better.
During the white nights season the times the bridges are raised and the museum schedules are announced separately. The current timetable is on the city’s official tourism portal.
The food includes pelmeni, borscht, Olivier salad and the smelt fish, the last of which fills the whole city in the spring months. The canteen-style places called stolovaya are cheap. For halal food there are Central Asian restaurants around Sennaya and Apraksin, and Azerbaijani cooking can be found too.
Season and budget in Saint Petersburg
June is the most popular month because of the white nights, and also the most expensive. May and September are quiet and better value, with 15–20 degrees. Winter is long and dark, going black at three in the afternoon, but the museums are empty and the hotels get cheaper. Rain is possible all year round, and an umbrella is always needed.
A three-star hotel in the centre is 40–80 dollars, and a boutique hotel on Nevsky 90–150. A hostel bed starts at 10–20 dollars, and the choice in this city is very wide. The Hermitage is 10 dollars and the Peterhof park around 12. Excluding the flight, a four-day trip fits into 400–700 dollars a head.
Frequently asked questions about Saint Petersburg
Which dates are the white nights?
From the end of May to the middle of July. The peak is the second half of June, when the hotels are at their most expensive.
How many hours should you give the Hermitage?
At least three. If you want to see all of it, plan two separate days; in one day you tire and nothing stays with you.
Does it make sense to combine it with Moscow?
Yes, the Sapsan train is four hours. Both cities fit comfortably into a week: three days for one and four for the other.
In closing
Saint Petersburg is a city of museums and palaces, but the real impression comes from a night walk along a canal. Buy the tickets in advance, bring cash with you, and remember the hour the bridges go up. To put the route together with us, fill in the application form.
Note: the prices in this article are those at the time of publication and may change with the exchange rate.
